<b>By DEBORAH BEHRENDS<br>
Illinois Correspondent</b> </p><p>

HAMPSHIRE, Ill. — Armed with little more than a nostalgic feeling for old windmills, Kane County farmer Frank Engel bought his first one about 10 years ago while driving around in Wisconsin.
“I didn’t know much about them when I first got started. I just knew I wanted one for myself,” Engel said.</p><p>
“We had one on the farm when I was growing up.”</p><p>
A farmer his whole life, he and his elder son, Ed, farm about 900 acres planted in corn, soybeans and wheat. Ed also helps his father with the part-time business selling, installing and refurbishing windmills.</p><p>
He stared with one on his property, although he wasn’t even sure how to put it together when he got it home in pieces. Then he made sure both sons and his daughter had one. With two on the property now, Engel jokes, “My wife won’t let me put up any more here.”</p><p>
The first one he put up was a steel windmill, the second a more rare wooden model. Engel explained that as the windmill speeds up, the braking system pulls the blades inward, almost like a claw.
“The wooden ones are rare and very hard to find. Most of the wheels were wood prior to 1900. Steel is just more durable,” Engel explained.</p><p>
She may have limited him to only two on the farm, but wife Carol is a good sport, visiting museums in Indiana and Texas, and other windmill enthusiasts when the couple vacations.</p><p>
Since erecting that first windmill on his own property, Engel figures he has sold and put up about 30 all across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin at a cost to the new owner of $2,000 to $5,000.</p><p>
Elgin history</p><p>

Engel also has played a role in saving a piece of Elgin history.
Three years ago, in October 2004, Engel and several others collaborated to remove a windmill manufactured by the Elgin Windmill Co. from property at the corner of McLean Boulevard and Larkin Avenue.</p><p>
“There was even a gentleman there who had worked in the factory, which closed in the 1920s,” Engel said.</p><p>
“He was there in a wheelchair the whole day.”</p><p>
He explained the windmill had to be completely dismantled with the help of a crane and then trucked to his farm east of Hampshire.</p><p>
Engel has restored the head of the windmill and is now working on the tower itself.</p><p>
Maurice Dyer of the historical society said the cost of restoration and placing the windmill in the museum’s artifact garden is about $9,500. He said that includes restoration of the windmill, tower and water tank; construction of the new base and reassembly of the windmill in the garden.</p><p>
“The project timeline was expected to over five years. To date, the fan, gearbox, tail and stub tower have been completed,” Dyer said.
He said the historical society has procured about half the funding needed for the project.</p><p>
Elizabeth Marston, executive director of the historical society, said the artifact garden will include a variety of large items related to Elgin history.</p><p>
“We have a lot of these outdoor things that we want to show people, but they just won’t fit in the museum. Outdoor exhibits make the museum accessible 24 hours a day,” Marston explained.