Chillicothe, Missouri
This story was written by William L. Plowman of the Department
of Business and Administration of the State of Missouri, Jefferson
Building, Jefferson City, Missouri, and Suggested by Colonel Ross
Diehl.
For the benefit of tourists, Elwood Allnutt combines a hobby
with his business. He operates a motel (the Wind moor) at the edge
of Chillicothe, on U. S. Highway 65. It has 10 units with air
conditioning and television. Along with the motel he has a
restaurant, service station and dance pavilion for visitors. But
that’s not all.
For years, Allnutt wanted to own a fire truck, a steam engine
and other antique vehicles. In the past year, he has begun making
his dream come true.
Now at the motel are an old threshing machine, steam traction
engine, and fire truck. Next on Allnutt’s acquisition list is
an antique auto.
However, Allnutt’s hobby is not a selfish one. As he puts
it: ‘A lot of kids today don’t know what a steam engine and
thresher look like. And they’re like I was as a kid; I always
wanted to get on a fire truck and crank the siren. So I’m
getting the machines all cleaned and painted, and we let the kids
play on them. On special days, we’ll fire up the steam engine.
Might be nice, too, for parades’.
While he spoke, his son Freddie Dean, 4 years old, and a
playmate Shelly Hall, 7, were clambering and exploring the
machines. The Allnuts have another son Junior, 11, and a daughter,
Pamella Pat, age 2.
Lending assistance in Allnutt’s machine hobby has been Ross
Diehl, a retired Army Colonel, who operated threshing outfits in
Missouri, Kansas and the Dakotas for 30 years.
Allnutt’s first purchase, the fire truck, was arranged last
November. It is a 4-cylinder 1925 Graham Bros, model with pumper
tanks. A hand crank siren is on the right side of the cab, in
front; farther back is a big spotlight. Other equipment: Water
tank, chemical tank, two ladders (slightly warped), hose and hose
racks, and axes. It weighs 6,720 lbs. The wood steering wheel is 2
inches thick. The ignition has a padlock-type switch. It operates
on two 6-volt batteries. Front tires are 34×5, rear tires are
24×7.
Originally purchased by the town of Bloomfield, Iowa, on Sept.
19, 1924, the truck cost $5,900. Allnutt bought it at Baring, Mo.,
and drove it back to the motel, averaging 40 miles per hour on the
more than 100-mile trip.
The 20-horsepower steam engine was built about 1920 by
Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. and cost about $3,000. Allnutt
got it at a sawmill at Savannah, Mo., in June and brought it home
on a trailer. It is in excellent condition, although the cab is
missing. It weighs 12 tons, burns wood or coal, and will carry 150
pounds of steam pressure per square inch.
Diehl pointed out that the bygone steam engine led to the great
development of wheat in America.
The threshing machine is the newest acquisition. Allnutt towed
it by tractor from a farm north of Dunlap, Mo., on June 27. That
was his worst trip because a wheel came off the thresher and he was
stranded on the road for several hour sat night before temporary
repairs could be made. A Belle City thresher, it was made in
Peoria, III., about 1918 and probably cost $2,000. It was in use
until three years ago, with a capacity of 800 bushels a day.
