Then he started moving even heavier concrete blocks and columns, and then built a wooden device of two-by-fours he called "the Wallington lever" that he could saddle around the blocks.

Depending on the firmness of the ground, or by using a couple of rocks for fulcrums or swivels slipped beneath his blocks on hard surfaces, he could "walk" heavy blocks by pushing the arms of his lever.

In an attempt to set a world record, he moved a 10,400-pound concrete column by himself, without any rollers. He even moved a large out-building for one of his sons.

"Yeah, it was a 30-by-40-foot pole barn," he says. "By myself, I could move it at about 6 feet per hour. With my son, we doubled that speed. We ended up moving it more than 200 feet."