The 3rd “character” that Tim and I reminisce about was “Fat” Ringle. We never did know his real first name since he was ALWAYS called “Fat” Ringle by EVERYONE. He was another local farmer who lived about 1-½ miles south of us. Just like with John Reichley, he seemed to be ALWAYS either sitting at Heckleman’s Sohio Station or at TEACO, so we always wondered when he ever did any farming! We probably figured he did all the farming when we were at school or something. The “childhood” mind, although very profound on some ways, is very limited in other ways. The one obvious outstanding characteristic of “Fat” Ringle was that he was REALLY FAT! To our “kid eyes,” he was as big as an elephant! It seemed like EVERYTIME we went to “hang around” Heckleman’s, that he and John Reichley were ALWAYS sitting in the metal lawn chairs, smoking and talking. “Fat” always wore bib overalls and was 1 of 2 guys that always wore a polka-dot hat. The other guy that always wore a white polka-dot hat was “Pork” Bellamy. He also was rather “short for his weight”! When I was a kid, I assumed that ALL fat guys wore polka-dot hats since I NEVER saw a skinny guy wearing one! The one thing that Tim and I STILL laugh about was that both the metal lawn chairs in Heckleman’s were full of weld brazing because “Fat” Ringle’s weight would cause the chairs to break and they would be constantly brazing them back together! If you wonder why Bill Heckleman just didn’t buy new stronger chairs, then you had to know Bill! I don’t think I EVER saw him buy anything new as long as I knew him! Every year he would paint EVERYTHING inside and outside the station! Tim and I still refer to this method as “A Sherwin-Williams Overhaul.” All the equipment was painted “SOHIO Blue.” When you needed a portable air tank to pump up a flat tire in the field, he had an old oxygen tank from a World War II bomber that he filled with air. This, of course, was annually painted with “SOHIO Blue.” He had that tank until he retired sometime in the mid to late 1980’s or so! I just had a very interesting and profound thought! I wonder after I die someday if some guy will include me when he writes stories for HIS website about “Characters” he remembers as a kid?????? (Hmmmm, quite possible, in deed)!!!!!