Dennis Brown (above), of Dexter, climbed atop his invention which is known simply as the Miracle Bucket.

     What do you do when you want or need something which will enable you to do a better job and it isn't available? If you're like Dennis Brown of Dexter, you invent. Brown, originally of Frisco, had been in the business of land grading for nearly 22 years when he said he finally became too frustrated with conventional dirt-moving equipment. And what started as a quest to make work easier and more efficient for him turned into what is now being labeled the "Miracle Bucket." Brown has obtained three different patents for equipment which ultimately composes the major points of the bucket and has sold quite a few of them in the past couple of years from his business Bronco Fabricating. But now he has a new potential customer; the U.S. Government. According to Brown and his staff, a purchasing agent for the government, Gerald Crisp, notified Brown after seeing information about his invention at the company's website www.broncoent.com.

The Miracle Bucket (above) is an original piece of equipment invented and developed by Dexter resident Dennis Brown.

     "He (Crisp) flew down and spent a full day here looking at the operation and looking over the bucket," Brown explained. "But he wanted to know if we could make a few modifications." What was originally designed more for the purpose of land grading, though, was being commissioned from the U.S. Government to clear ground in Antarctica. "Mr. Crisp drew out the modifications he wanted, like putting skis on it because the tires wouldn't work in the cold of Antarctica, they'd fall off, and we started working on it," Brown commented. Brown and his crew immediately rose the task of designing and installing the skis and finding ways to make sure the machine would still be able to perform as it would on regular land. What emerged and has been shipped out for Antarctica, was an 18-foot bucket completed to the government's specifications. Brown is hopeful this will be the beginning of something big. After all, if the government is pleased with the results they see they could very well order many more. And who knows what could happen from there. Brown thinks what will go on to make his invention a success is the ease with which the operator can do their job.
     "There's a lot of different settings for the machine," Brown said. "It can bulk large amounts of dirt or it can finish faster than anything available on the market today." Brown said he knew how he wanted it to perform from the onset and knew what he expected from it. He said he wanted it to be simple, timing it where one cylinder would raise the frame and simultaneously rotate the scraper to positively eject the wet material all in one action. He said he also wanted to have some teeth in the forward part of the scraper that would be used to air out heavy soil or bust up hardened soil. Brown figured that adding his already-patented damping devices would control the bounce that is characteristic of drag scrapers. "The project wasn't as easy as it may sound here," Brown remarked. "But it's complete and it works beautifully. It's just a high-speed finish scraper." Although many of Brown's customers have reportedly fallen in love with the ease and quality of work which can be accomplished with the "Miracle Bucket," Brown admits to not being able to please everyone.
     "It's a complicated tool. Everything's controlled by laser," Brown commented. "And some people don't like the idea of having to get familiar with all the settings. But those who have tried it and liked it fell in love with it." In fact, the name "Miracle Bucket" was reportedly given to the machine by a satisfied user. In the meantime, Brown said he hopes all goes well with his machine and the government while he humbly waits to hear reports about its performance. So, does Brown feel any smarter than the average person for having developed such a machine? "My lawyer said I'm the smartest man he knows," Brown remarked. "He says that every time I write him a check."