Preserving Antique Gas Engines: A Family Affair

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Wayne Hawkins' 5 hp Scott-Ewing vertical gas engine. The engine was built in Bluffton, Ohio.

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Preservation of vintage farm equipment is often a family affair, especially in the Hawkins family. Both Wayne Hawkins and his son, David, collect, restore and exhibit antique gas engines. Wayne started his collection when he bought his first gas engine in 1961. He no longer has that 1-1/2 hp Stover, but he fondly remembers taking it to shows and visiting with other collectors.

After a few years of collecting and restoring, Wayne decided to concentrate on Ohio-built engines. He further limited his collection to the smaller engines, those from 1 to 15 hp. David, on the other hand, decided to collect the bigger engines, those rated 25 hp and larger.

By invitation only

Wayne is retired from a career as a maintenance man at the Kaiser Aluminum plant in Heath, Ohio; David is a retired trucker. Several years ago, David purchased a small acreage where he erected a shop where he could work on his engines. Fortunately, he built it big enough to display many of the engines he and his dad had collected.

A number of years ago they started an invitational show at David’s shop. Friends and serious collectors were invited to bring their best displays. The group spends three days running and comparing engines, helping each other find parts for their prized possessions and talking about old iron. On Saturday evening, a big dinner gives them a chance to gather with friends who share their passion for gas engines and compare notes on their hobby.

This year, we were invited to the show too. As we drove to the show site, we were surprised that there was no big sign along the road directing us to the show or even announcing the show.

Instead, we saw a small wood sign simply listing the house number. We turned in the driveway and saw a house way down a long, curved lane. There was no sign of great activity. However, as we drove down the lane toward the house and rounded the curve, we saw a large building and a group of men standing around, talking. Canopies were set up with gas engines underneath; the adjacent field was full of trucks (some with campers) and trailers loaded with gas engines. We knew we had arrived at the right place.

In the past, Wayne set up and exhibited at six to 10 shows a year, but he says gas prices and time have forced him to cut back. He set up displays at six shows this year. His favorites include the Coolspring (Pa.) Power Museum show, the Greenville, Ohio, show, and the Tri-State Gas Engine & Tractor Assn. show in Portland, Ind. (He’s missed only two Portland shows in 40 years.) The shows don’t change much from year to year, he says, but more people exhibit now than when he first started. “And many more people come to see the gas engines now,” he says, “because somebody always has one running.”

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