Let’s go to California, where firefighters are battling a wildfire with high quality hand tools produced by a company halfway across the nation in rural Kansas. These hand tools are also serving gardeners, growers and others around the nation and beyond.
Loren Kisby is owner and founder of Prohoe, the company which produced these remarkable tools. Loren grew up at Clifton and went to K-State. He became a teacher, served in the Army, and worked in business before farming. He also met and married Judy through their sisters who went on a church trip together.
Loren and Judy moved to a farm near Munden in Republic County and had two children. As their family grew, their farmhouse needed to expand also. Loren hand-dug a trench for an addition to their house – but then it rained, and the trench caved in.
Loren looked at the muddy mess and realized he needed a special tool to clean out the mud. He welded a chunk of broken disk blade onto a metal handle to make the tool. It worked great.
Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Loren Kisby – Prohoe”
