DAVENPORT, Iowa-- Harvesting the two acres of wheat planted in the fall is a labor of love for Tony Knobbe and Leslie Schollenberger.
But something about the picture perfect Midwest scene is out of character.
The two tractors and combine used for the harvest are more than 60 years old. And the farmers are a retired businessman and a banker.
"I worked for John Deere for almost 34 years, and Tony worked for Wells Fargo Bank for 30 years also. But we've always had this farming thing in the background, so now we're reliving it on a smaller scale," says Schollenberger.
It was the tractor that grew this farming friendship shortly after the two became neighbors.
"When I brought that 60 into the place and fired it up, he heard someone else in the neighborhood with a two cylinder tractor, and he came running," says Knobbe.
Instead of keeping these antiques stored away in a garage, the two decided it would be better to actually use them out in the field. And now the wheat they harvest is being used to make a local whiskey, Cody Road from the Mississippi River Distilling Company in Leclaire, Iowa.
Owner of the distillery, Ryan Burchett says the old machines don't make the whiskey taste better, but the old fashioned local process keeps customers coming out for more.
"This kind of stuff is what we're all about. Number one, it's local. But number two, it's two guys doing this because they really love to do it, not because they're making millions of dollars or anything. And hat's because they have some old tractors that they just want to use," says Burchett.
For many this hard work wouldn't be much of a retirement.
"You're out in the elements, and you're going to get dirty and dusty," says Knobbe.
But for Tony and Less, there's no place they'd rather be; growing crops and life long friendships the good old fashioned way.