Editor's note: This information was shared by Rick Shriver. To read more about the feed mill and see scans of documents in Rick's collection, visit his website at this link.

For as long as I can remember, there have been various machines and antiquities in the barn on our family farm. There were many that I could identify and many that I could not. One such contrivance had a wooden hopper and a metal flywheel, and it sat on four wooden legs. I just never really knew what it was.

One day I was rummaging through some papers that my mother had found in an old desk and stuffed into a manila envelope. Among the papers was an envelope containing a hand-written letter on a piece of letterhead that had an engraving of that mysterious machine. The letterhead identified the machine as a "cob and feed mill." The letter was from the manufacturer, and acknowledged an order that had been placed by my great-grandfather, Ulysses Parmiter.

Continuing to look through the papers, I found another piece of correspondence from the manufacturer confirming the shipment of the cob and feed mill. There was also a receipt for $20, and a bill of lading from the Pennsylvania Railroad indicating that the machine was shipped from New Holland, Pennsylvania to Malta, Ohio on November 23, 1901. And finally, there was an instruction sheet explaining how to operate and maintain the mill.

Recently I decided to assemble all these items in one place in hopes of preserving them. It was then that I finally connected the dots. All the correspondence was from Abram M. Zimmerman, and the letterhead was from the "New Holland Machine Works." New Holland Machine Works would later become "New Holland," which was purchased by the Sperry Corporation in the 1940s, and would continue to manufacture agricultural and construction equipment into the 21st century as "Sperry New Holland."

The New Holland Machine Works was founded and operated by Abram Zimmerman. Zimmerman, the son of a conservative Mennonite family, was described as a mechanical genius who began his career by making improvements in the blacksmith shop where he worked. The cob and feed mill is engraved on the envelopes, the letterhead and the receipts that were issued by the New Holland Machine Works, suggesting that it was the primary product being sold in 1901.

So it appears that in November, 1901, my great-grandfather Ulysses ordered a "Cob and Feed Mill" from the New Holland Machine Works. On November 18, Abram Zimmerman wrote to Ulysses acknowledging the order. On November 23rd, Zimmerman again wrote to Ulysses saying the mill had been shipped. The bill of lading from the Pennsylvania Railroad confirmed that the cob and feed mill had been shipped to Malta.

A receipt for $19 signed by Zimmerman was also in the correspondence. The cost of the mill was $19, with $1 for an extra set of plates, which Ulysses had pre-paid. The mill could be operated by power supplied by a stationary hit-and-miss engine or some other means of rotary propulsion.

At least one mystery in our old barn is solved. Now if I could just figure out the rest of them. 

On May 18, 1900, representatives of the Motsinger Device Manufacturing Company broke ground for their new 40-by-100-foot brick factory located just north of the Pendleton Falls on land acquired from the Pendleton Window Glass Company. This was the fruition of Homer N. Motsinger’s dream to manufacture his newly patented Auto Sparker. The factory was to initially employ 30 skilled tradesmen and 16 laborers working in two shifts. The town of Pendleton agreed to finance the building and supply the natural gas on the fear of Motsinger moving his factory to another city.

Homer Motsinger was born in Shoals, Indiana, attended Purdue University and moved to Pendleton around 1895 where he married Inez Cole, the daughter of a prominent Pendleton businessman. The couple lived on North Main Street before moving to their newly built home at 204 West Street in 1900. 

 Their new residence was designed by New York’s leading architect, Stanford White, who also had designed Fifth Avenue mansions for the Vanderbilts and the Astors. (An interesting side note is that 53 year-old Stanford White was murdered by Harry Thaw six years after designing the Motsinger home. Thaw was the jealous husband of his much younger wife and noted actress. The incident occurred at the Madison Square Roof Garden, a building that, coincidentally, White had also designed. Harry Thaw went to trial for the murder of White, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and rode to the asylum on a private train. Thaw’s wife, Evelyn Thaw, became the subject of the movie, The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, with her life portrayed by a young Joan Collins.)

Homer Motsinger continued to develop and receive patents for gasoline engine-related accessories. His two-story lab was located on his property immediately to the west of his house. (This lab building was later relocated across High Street to the north and reduced to a single story.) In addition to the patent for the Auto Sparker, Homer Motsinger received twenty other patents for ancillary engine devices including a carburetor, magneto, electric igniter, thermostat, and muffler.

Patent no. 907,628 for a gas engine spark timer, granted to Homer Motsinger in 1908 

The Motsinger Device Company established additional offices in New York and Chicago. Motsinger was prolific in advertising his products through trade magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and was even featured in an article in Scientific American. It should be noted that Motsinger had many quality competitors, including Anderson’s Remy Electric for the business of manufacturing friction magnetos for gasoline engines. Homer Motosinger also pursued potential customers by establishing displays at the 1903 Chicago Auto Show and the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.
Homer and the Motsinger Device Company relocated to West Lafayette, Indiana, in 1910, with his house being sold to Ben Phipps, a local hardware dealer. The Pendleton factory buildings were later acquired by the Lee Canning Company and subsequently by the Fall Creek Canning Company. Now it is the sanctuary and offices for the Family Life Church. The new two-story brick building in West Lafayette was considerably larger than the Pendleton facility and was built with hopes of increasing production and expanding markets.

From serial numbers, it can be determined that the Pendleton factory produced approximately 53,000 Auto Sparkers at $20 each and 5000 magnetos at $10 each (about $500 and $250 each, respectively, in 2012 dollars). Even though the West Lafayette factory much was much larger and in operation longer, they only produced 20,000 of the complex Auto Sparkers. However, they did produce about 17,000 magnetos.

Friction magnetos of the early 1900s had a leather pulley which rotated the armature when the pulley was placed in contact with the engine’s flywheel. The unique quality of the Auto Sparker was described as being a dynamo designed to initially provide enough spark for gasoline engines to start without the normally required battery assist. Thus, the “Auto” in Auto Sparker did not refer to “automobile” but meant the unit could provide enough electricity to start the engine automatically by merely rotating the flywheel by hand.  Homer’s later Motsinger D.C. Magneto was designed to perform the same task at a cheaper cost. Unfortunately, these low-tension electric generators failed to provide sufficiently high enough voltage to meet demands. Newer designed high-tension magnetos produced higher voltage and had a more efficient direct gear drive rather than a friction pulley. Unfortunately, the Motsinger Company never successfully developed a high-tension magneto.

Homer Motsinger adjusted his manufacturing output in West Lafayette to produce artillery shells for World War I.  Sadly, he was not able to recoup the money invested for the required tooling changes, and his company suffered severe financial losses. Having aged beyond his years, Motsinger divested his ownership in his beloved company and was later employed by the U.S. Ball Bearing Mfg. Company in Chicago for a short period of time.

The manufacturing industry lost a prolific inventor and entrepreneur when 45-year-old Homer Motsinger died in August, 1920, in Chicago.  Even though his family had lived in several different cities, Homer always considered Pendleton, Indiana, to be his home.  Homer N. Motsinger, his wife, Inez, and their four children are all buried in Grove Lawn Cemetery and lie together 150 yards north of his “Factory by the Falls.”

Bob Eley is a collector of Motsinger items and other Indiana-made magnetos. Contact him at 131 N. Main St., Pendleton , IN 46064. This article also appeared in The Herald Bulletin and is printed here with the permission of the author. 

The exam that follows was taken from an original 1895 document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society & Library in Salina, Kan., and reprinted by the Salina Journal. 

From the Dec. 5, 1895, San Francisco Call (Library of Congress/Chronicling America) Illustration of the Whittier public school, drawn by a Call artist from a photograph.

Although the original reads, “Examination Graduation Questions of Saline County, Kansas,” there has been some debate about the exam’s authenticity and whom it was intended for — either eighth graders or potential teachers. The recent discovery of handwritten notes for the grammar section of the exam, found by a Saline County school superintendent’s grandchildren, support the legitimacy of the test.

The Salina Journal obtained a scan of the original and has a PDF version available on its website: Examination Graduation Questions.

The exam has six sections: grammar, arithmetic, U.S. history, orthography, geography and physiology. The last of which isn't consistently included on copies of the test floating around the Internet. Give it a try — then check your answers!

Grammar (Time, 1 hour)  

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of “lie,” “play,” and “run.”

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7–10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

[back to the exam sections]

Arithmetic (Time, 1 hour 15 minutes)  

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cents/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 feet long at $20 per meter?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

[back to the exam sections]

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)  

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the U.S.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

[back to the exam sections]

Orthography (Time, 1 hour)  

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication.

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals.

4. Give four substitutes for caret “u.”

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final “e.” Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

[back to the exam sections]

Geography (Time, 1 hour)  

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

[back to the exam sections]

Physiology (Time, 45 minutes)  

1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion?

2. How does the nutrition reach the circulation?

3. Wha tis the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?

4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in case of laceration?

5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health.

[back to the exam sections]

Done? Check yourself at one of these two websites I found that claim to have the answers: www.the-reality-check.com/1895_test_answers.html and www.critesclan.com/lee/editorials/eighth-grade-exam.html.

[back to the exam sections]

Daylight saving time hits us every year, and 2009 is the third year where we'll spend more time "saving" than in standard time. 

Jack Delano Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad conductor George E. Burton and engineer J.W. Edwards compare time before pulling out of Corwith railroad yard for Chillicothe, Ill., in March 1943.

Many technological advancements came about in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — barbed wire, the gas tractor, the automobile — and one that is easily overlooked: time standardization.

Railroads were the driving force in the U.S. (and Canada), establishing standard time zones in 1883 to ensure trains remained on schedule. On March 19, 1918, the "Standard Time Act" became U.S. law, which created daylight saving time as well as the nation's four time zones.

However, national daylight saving time was repealed the following year. Whether to participate in any sort of "daylight saving" returned to a local level for the next 20-plus years, until World War II. The U.S. government reinstated national daylight saving time, during certain months, from Feb. 9, 1942, to Sept. 30, 1945. Following WWII, once again the nation decided on a local level whether to conserve daylight.

More than two decades past until, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, daylight saving time become a national standard again. In 1966, the Uniform Time Act was passed, which established daylight saving time (with local exemptions) from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, with the change occurring at 2 a.m. local time.

During the energy crisis in the mid-1970s, Congress enacted earlier starts to daylight saving: Jan. 6 in '74 and Feb. 23 in '75. 1976 saw the return to the last Sunday in April.

Ten years later, in 1986, the starting date was moved to April's first Sunday, effective the following year.

Through all the changes to the start day, the end of daylight saving remained rather constant. That is until October 2005: Enter the Energy Policy Act. The act changed the start to the second Sunday in March and the end to the first Sunday in November, beginning in 2007.

So now, as a nation, we spend 34 weeks — 65 percent of the year — saving daylight. Check out U.S. Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Subchapter IX for the specifics. (And remember to "fall back" Nov. 1, 2009!)

Red sky at night is the shepherd’s delight;

red sky in the morning is the shepherd’s warning.

Variations of this weather lore abound, involving both shepherds and sailors or a combination of the two, and even appear in the Bible and Shakespeare:

[Jesus] answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say,

It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

And in the morning, It will be foul weather: for the sky is red.

—Matthew 16:2-3 (authorized 1903 translation)  

Like a red morn that ever yet betoken’d,

Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field,

Sorrow to shepherds, woe unto the birds,

Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.

—William Shakespeare’s “Venus and Adonis,” lines 453-456 (1593)  

Yet all heed the same – a red sky at night foretells calm weather the following day, whereas a red sky in the morning warns of storms.

Originating most likely in England sometime before the 14th century, the phrase incorporates the path of weather systems and the sun.

Weather fronts typically travel west to east across England (and the U.S., for that matter), in opposition to the rise and fall of the sun.

As the sun sets in a clear westerly sky, its light reflects off the clouds to the east – clouds that have already passed over the region. When the sun rises in a clear easterly sky, its light reflects off the clouds to the west – clouds that have yet to affect the region.

The “red sky” comes from the sunlight’s refraction through the atmosphere before reaching the clouds on the opposing horizon. The shorter wavelengths of the visible light spectrum (the blues and violets) are diverted, leaving the longer wavelengths (the reds and oranges) to reflect off the clouds.

Wavelengths aside, the phrase merely suggests you’ll experience clear weather when clouds have already passed and none appear to be incoming, and the opposite when clouds are fresh on the horizon.

In the mid-1920s, a curious conversion kit became available. 

From what I could find, Snow-Motors Inc., based out of Detroit, Mich., offered a kit that replaced the wheels and axles to a number of conveyances with “two revolving cylinders instead of wheels — something on the order of a steam roller,” as Time reported in January 1926.

The snow motor conversion enabled someone to travel from 6 to 8 mph across snow and ice with ease. “The machine has already proved its usefulness in deep snow previously unnavigable,” Time continued. “One such machine has done the work which formerly required three teams.”

In the promotional film below, courtesy of YouTuber LETHLSS, the Snow-Motors kit is demonstrated with a Fordson tractor and a Chevrolet automobile. Thanks to Bob Kuhns, of Arlington, Kan., who brought this intriguing contraption to our attention. He came across the video posted on the TreasureNet forum; that version of the film suggests it resides in the “Archives of Michigan.”

Watch the film on TreasureNet.com: “Fordson snow-motor.”

Read Time’s 1926 account of Snow-Motors Inc.: “Business & Finance: Snow Motors.”

Have something you'd like to share with your fellow Farm Collector or Gas Engine Magazine readers? Maybe it's a rescue/restoration story, antique tractor or gas engine review or helpful tip you've gleaned from experience. Whatever it is, we want you to write about it and send it in. Just email Online Editor Christian Williams  with the subject line "Field Notes" and you might see your story here.   

This month I would like to tell the reader of an amazing 80 HP Bessmer project that the Coolspring Museum Museum accomplished, and all within a year’s time. This feat was made possible by the ambitious and untiring work of so many of our volunteers, as well as the generosity of two individuals. The project included the disassembly of a vintage building, the moving of 30-plus tons of machinery, and the re-erection of all at the Coolspring Power Museum. Final details will be completed this spring and it will be operating by summer. 

During the autumn of 2009 while exploring some of the old oil fields south of Kane, PA, we found the air plant that the late Paul “Skip” McKenna operated still existed and was intact. The big 80 HP Bessemer engine-compressor was still there and looked as if it just shut down yesterday! I remembered knowing Skip and had seen him operate the engine to pump oil in the early 1980’s but had expected the installation to be long gone. But it was still there and complete to every detail so we thought that the entire installation could be moved to the museum and operate again for all to see and enjoy. After some inquiry, we found that it was owned by Mrs. Helen McKenna and Mike Batista and with some discussion, they readily agreed to donate it all to the museum provided we clean up the site. The project began!

 
The original site of the McKenna air plant as found in
November 2009. 

First, I would like to give some history of the site and description of its use. During the 1880’s, the area south of Kane and near James City was a rich oil field with many wells closely spaced. These wells were drilled with steam engines and then the same engines were used to pump the oil from the ground. During that time, a central boiler was set up with pipes running to about one dozen wells each. After the turn of the twentieth century, the oil production decreased and it was no longer feasible to operate a big boiler. An alternative had to be found and this was the air plant.  This plan was quite common in northwestern Pennsylvania and had a gas engine to drive an air compressor and used the pressurized air to replace the steam.  So all the old steam engines still operated the wells with a central gas engine air plant supplying the power. A new era of oil production was born with this innovation. 

At the McKenna site, we found remnants of the  foundation of an earlier gas engine and compressor but could not determine what it was. The 80 HP Bessemer, a type 10, was installed in 1925 and was state of the art at that time. It must have been quite expensive as well as difficult to move to such a remote area. The Bessemer was a combination unit having the engine and compressor cylinders opposed on one common frame with the crank shaft and single 7-foot flywheel in the center. It served well for the next 60 years and is still in like new condition. We were also able to save the last six steam engines and they will again be operated from the air of the Bessemer. 

As we entered the building, it was a trip back into time with everything in place and ready for the next run. There was still oil in the oil cans ready to lube the engine. After securing the donation, we removed some of the small parts, and although anxious to start the project, decided it was best to leave all locked up for the coming winter and begin in the spring. Now we had time to choose a site at the Museum for its new home as well as plan the details of how this big project would be done. 

 
Chris Austin clearing the site for the Bessemer air plant by
pulling out tree stumps with a 1952 D8 Caterpillar.  

With our relocation site chosen in a wooded area on high ground at the Museum, we began to clear the area of trees and brush with a 1952 D8 Caterpillar. It was pleasant to hear our old tractor work a bit! Soon after Mark Himes brought his Case backhoe and trucked in a borrowed excavator so we had a big hole in the ground in short order. The third photo from May, 2010 shows the foundation for the engine being formed and readied for concrete. 

 
The foundation for the engine being formed and readied for
concrete. 

Museum member, Ben Egloff from Albion, NY headed the project and spent every weekend in Coolspring from April thru November. While the site was being prepared, he disassembled everything at the Kane location and oversaw loading it onto our trucks. 

 
Ken Uplinger on the forklift and Chris Austin directing as one
half of the flywheel is unloaded. 

 
The Bessemer main frame arrives at Coolspring. 

In June 2010, the main frame of Bessemer was brought home on the old faithful Museum truck. At this time, we had to pause for the June engine show, then turn our attention to putting it all back together again!

 
The Bessemer placed on the foundation and grouted in place. 

 
Pat Colby using a shovel as the pit is filled in. 

The project was now taking shape and we were all enthused to see completion before snowfall. In September, 2010 photo seven shows Pat Colby using a shovel as the pit is filled in. Note the engine is more complete and the flywheel is in place. Next came the re-erection of the building. The roof had to be dismantled but the four walls were brought home in entire sections and we were able to use our crane to set them into place. Finally, photo eight shows a smiling Ben as the installation is essentially complete by the time of the fall engine show. 

Before any snowfall, the building was completed with all doors and windows in place and secured until the final details can be completed this spring. The Museum thanks all those who have worked to hard to make this project possible. It will be here for all to enjoy and to interpret as an important part of oil field heritage. 

For more information about Coolspring Power Museum, please visit www.coolspringpowermuseum.org  or call (814) 849-6883.