"A couple of years ago we went to a show in Indiana," Helen said. "They were featuring Ottawa, so we took two engines. We got there, and there was only one other Ottawa there!"
Meanwhile, collectors in Ottawa, Kan., had initiated their own show. The Myerses made their first trip to the company's birthplace in 1995, and they were sold. They've been to every show there since, taking as many as five different pieces from their collection every time.
They've been fortunate on those trips to meet and visit with people who had direct connections to the Ottawa company.
They even discovered a former employee who was a co-designer of a piece in their collection. "These are the kinds of things we've learned," George said. "That just makes it all worthwhile." "They've really adopted us in Ottawa," Helen said. "They've been very, very friendly, welcomed us with open arms. We really do like going to shows in the midwest. People are just friendlier."
The engines they show are as historically accurate as possible.
"We're not just interested in getting them to work," George said, "but in getting them exactly the way they were. I have no objection to people that improve on a restoration, but we try to put them back the way they were originally."
Adding a further unique touch, George crafts handsome inlaid-wood carts for the engines. His carts are truly his: he cuts oak trees in woods near the couple's home, saws the logs in his own mill and planer, and does the inlay work himself.
They're also creating a data base of Ottawa engines.
"We keep a list of names and addresses, serial numbers, horsepower, and style of engine on everyone we meet who has an Ottawa," Helen said. "We hope one day to be able to learn it all."