What they found was more than a sleepy rural company.
"I thought Mr. Warner (company founder C.E. Warner) was a great man," George said. "He did his thing, his way. Really, he was up there with Edison and Ford ... they were three great men."
When the couple researched the company through the Ottawa, Kan., historical society, they found more than they bargained for.
The company's foundations were modest.
"They started out as poor farmers on a homestead in Kansas," he said. "They were raising hogs, and then they got into the fence business, and had a foundry. They were running that company really without much more than guts."
Warner's vision was unique for the time, George said.
"Today, a company will build a product, and then convince people to buy it," he said. "But Warner figured out a need, and then started building: he had a market right away."
The couple was hooked. They started seeking out shows that featured Ottawa engines. But the company line was little known in their part of the country.
"In the east, where we are, the only thing in Ottawa you'd readily find is drag saws," George said. "The others are kind of scarce."