Howard Anderson has been volunteering to help restore and rebuild old buildings at Probstfield Farm north of Moorhead for the past nine years.
He collects old tractors and has a 1946 Dodge farm truck. He asked to keep some of the vehicles on the farm in exchange for making repairs.
“That was the bait,” he said. “The next year we restored a couple of small buildings and in 2008 I agreed to take the lead on the barn. We put a new roof on it and new windows. That was a huge project.”
Anderson taught middle school math for Moorhead Area Public Schools for 30 years. He also spent 10 years living and teaching abroad. During his summers, Anderson did construction work.
He said he sees the value in preserving the Probstfield Farm, the first farm in Clay County, established in the late 1860s.