Remembering his best friend: Camden Schmidt's combine in fair's derby honors his grandpa
Camden Schmidt's first entry in the Monroe County Fair's combine derby honors his best friend: his grandpa.
“He and I were best friends,” Camden, 17, of Monroe, said. “We would ride four-wheelers and snowmobiles together. He would come to every sporting event of mine. We’d work on our different projects together, and he would always let me use his tools. He would help me with anything, any time I needed it.”
Camden’s grandpa, Robert J. Kuehnlein, 74, of Monroe died March 30.
Last fall, the duo started preparing a combine for this year's derby. Camden is the youngest participant in tonight’s event. The minimum age for a driver is 16.
“Camden Schmidt is the only 17-year-old this year,” Henry Meyer, derby organizer, said. “There are 20 combines entering this year. We have two 19-year-olds who competed last year for the first time and are back this year: Griffin Linn from Carleton and Travis Gotz from Carleton. All of the other drivers have been doing it for many years.”
The Monroe County Fair has had a combine derby since 2006, and Camden has watched many of them. Last year, he helped some of the drivers work on their combines at Meyer’s farm.
“After getting involved with helping the guys in the derby with their combines last year, I decided to save money and purchase my own for this year,” Camden said.
“He became very interested in the combines,” Camden's mom, Tammy, said. “He always wanted to do the derby car or the combine derby.”
When Kuehnlein heard about Camden’s interest, he helped his grandson locate a combine in Ottawa, Ohio. Camden paid $2,000 for the 1979 Allis-Chalmer Gleaner L2 that had been used to harvest wheat, soybeans and corn. Last fall, Camden and his dad, Jerry, spent eight hours driving it to Kuehnlein’s house.
“(My grandpa) let me park it in his yard, told me to keep it there as long as I needed and said he would even help me work on it,” Camden said.
Kuehnlein and Camden removed the cutter bar and reel. Then Camden and his dad took off other parts, like the auger, access door and wobble box.
Next came painting and decorating. Camden added several references to Kuehnlein on the combine, including two decals.
“Camden wanted a patriotic theme. His grandpa was in the Navy. He served as a Seabee in the Vietnam War,” Tammy said. “Camden’s uncle Roy made the theme come to life on a hand drawing and presented it to Camden.”
Camden's sister Jaren, 19, also helped with the design. The Schmidt family also includes Morgen, 13. Camden and his crew painted the combine red, white and blue and added stars and eagles.
Camden hopes to use his grandpa-inspired combine in more derbies.
“Since this is the first time this combine has seen a derby, he should be able to bring it home and use it again. The goal is to get multiple derbies out of it,” Tammy said.
“The plan is to store it at my grandparents’ house and begin repairing what needs to be fixed so I can us it again next year,” Camden said.
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Camden will be a senior this fall at Monroe High School, where he plays football and golf. He also plays travel baseball. He’s a member of the Rainsville Wranglers 4-H Club and is part of the large and small animal boards and Teen Ambassadors. He shows sheep and rabbits at the fair.
Camden is not concerned about winning tonight's derby.
“My grandpa was really looking forward to watching me in the derby at the fair this year,” Camden said. “It has been tough losing my best friend, but I know he will be so proud of me, no matter the outcome. He will be watching me from the best seat in the house.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Camden Schmidt's combine in Monroe County Fair derby honors grandpa
