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Loretta's Witch Whirligig
Loretta's Witch Whirligig
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Loretta's Witch Whirligig
Cut, Welded And Balanced In A Farm Shop Outside O'Neill, Nebraska
By Loretta Quinlan, 71 — windmill welder's daughter, and the last person still building these. The farmstead is cleared the first week of November.
"Everybody tells me to just set up somewhere else. I'm seventy-one and my next neighbor will be twelve feet off the property line. There's no somewhere else. There's just town."
37
Years at the bench
412
In the final run
0
Cords, fans, batteries
What comes in the box
The Witch
Steel witch on her broom, cut from Loretta's 1989 pattern
Twin Rotor Assembly
Two counter-turning rings of bats and stars, balanced by hand
One-Piece Ground Stake
Set it ten inches deep with your heel — no tools, no anchor kit
Loretta's Card
A short note from the shop, signed before it left the farm
Six things make a Quinlan a Quinlan
The Fantail Balance
Two rings turning against each other — the way her father balanced windmill fantails on the farms around O'Neill. It spins on the draft off a passing pickup and stays seated on the stake when it really blows.
The 1989 Broom Pattern
Cut from the same outline Loretta drew on a Thursday night for the grade school harvest carnival. Every witch since has come off that one pattern. There is no drawing of it anywhere.
Galvanized Under The Black
Galvanized steel first, powder coat over the top — two layers, in that order. That's the difference between a piece that looks the same in its fourth October and one showing rust by Thanksgiving.
Nothing To Plug In
No motor, no cord across the walk, no batteries to die on the twenty-ninth, no fan running all evening. Nothing that lies flat on your grass looking dead at nine in the morning.
The Heel-Set Stake
One piece, driven in with your boot. Ten inches down and it's done. "I put it up myself without any help from my husband" is the sentence she hears most.
Three Pieces, One Shelf
Witch, rotor assembly, stake. Comes apart in under a minute and stands behind the rake all winter. It isn't a thing you throw out and buy again — that's the whole point of steel.
From the folk art collection
"The wind whirligig is one of the few genuinely American folk forms, and almost nobody is still cutting them by hand on the Plains. Loretta learned the balance from windmill work — that's a direct line from farm machinery into folk art, and it runs out when her shop comes down. We hold two of her father's weather vanes. These witches will be the last things off that bench."
Ray Sutcliffe
Curator, Plains Folk Art Collection, Lincoln
One finish, two layers
She has never offered a second color. "Paint is how you find out in March what you bought in October."
Where people put it
Why this isn't a factory yard stake
- Thirty-seven years on one pattern — Built by Loretta Quinlan, who has cut every one of these since 1989 in her father's shop.
- No hands but hers — Cut, welded, deburred, coated and balanced by one person. No assembly line, no second shop, no outsourcing.
- Steel, not painted aluminum — Galvanized under the powder coat, welded rings, weight you feel the second you lift it out of the box.
- Never sold in a store — Thirty-seven years of word of mouth, no listing, no sign at the end of the lane. This run is the first time anyone could simply buy one.
- Ships in a rigid box — Rotor packed separately, never a poly bag. Signed card from the shop in every carton.
90-day returns, no questions asked. Put her by the walk and live with her for a season. If she doesn't belong there, we send a prepaid label and refund the full amount. "These ought to only go to yards where somebody's glad to see them."
About hand-built: Every piece is cut and welded by Loretta herself. Small differences between them aren't faults — they're the evidence of the hand that made them. Slight variation in bat spacing, weld bead or edge finish is exactly why this isn't a factory product. Wipe with a damp cloth, let it dry, store the three pieces flat over winter.
Product details
| Material | Galvanized steel, welded |
|---|---|
| Finish | Matte black powder coat over galvanized core |
| Height | 47 in / 120 cm on the stake — roughly counter height plus a hand |
| Mechanism | Twin counter-rotating rotors, windmill fantail balance |
| Power | None. No motor, no cord, no batteries, no solar |
| Set contents | 1 witch + 1 twin rotor assembly + 1 ground stake + signed card |
| Assembly | Three pieces, no tools, under a minute |
| Installation | Heel-set stake, approx. 10 in into the ground |
| Season | Goes out in September, comes in when the snow does |
| Storage | Breaks down into three pieces, stores flat |
| Origin | Cut, welded and coated at O'Neill, Nebraska |
| Craftsmanship | One welder, 37 years on one pattern, her father's bench |
| Care | Wipe with a damp cloth, dry, store the pieces flat over winter |
| Final run | 412 built over last winter — no restock, no reproductions |
The Final Series
The Final Series
Some things are made by one pair of hands, for decades, and then never again.
The Final Series is the last work of craftspeople who are putting down their tools. No factory, no successor, no second batch.
Just the final pieces from their workshops, each one shaped by a lifetime of getting it right.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Free US Shipping
Free US Shipping
Free shipping across the United States
- Delivery time: 3–5 business days
- Each calendar is carefully packed and ships from the US
- Printed from original oil paintings on thick, writable paper
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email support@backroad-goods.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at support@backroad-goods.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (ET) — whether it’s about your order, a gift, or just to say hello.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Hang it in your kitchen, and if it simply isn’t right for you, email support@backroad-goods.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.