CHARLIE’S ENGINE CREW

friend, Webster Mooney of Nortonville, Kansas, introduced me to
Charlie and Alden Fricke of Mt. Union, Iowa. I had noticed the
Fricke Brothers’ engines even before this, and that Charlie
always had room on the engine he was operating for young people.
When you would see Charlie in the parade, there would be some young
people riding with him.

I’ve been in this hobby since before the first shows. We
(Lyman Knapp, my Dad and I) were talking and thinking steam and old
tractors before we knew that there were other people in this great
country that had the same interest. Then, a preacher in
Pennsylvania started THE FARM ALBUM as it was first called. His
name was Elmer L. Ritzman. The first thing we knew, steam shows
were started. At first only a few, but it wasn’t long before
shows sprang up in several states, such as Blakers in Ohio; Kinzer,
Pennsylvania; Mt. Pleasant; Pontiac, Illinois. Along with these
shows, names like Charlie Harrison, LeRoy Blaker and Holmer Holp in
Ohio, Arthur Young in Pennsylvania, Lyman Knapp in Oklahoma, Harold
Ottaway and E. C. ‘Big Mac’ McMillin of Kansas, Fred Kiser
and Milford Feese in Illinois, became well known. It was through
this little magazine that we learned of different collectors and of
course, got to meet these people at the shows. And it was June 24,
1946 when Rev. Elmer made a little trip to see if there was enough
interest to start his little magazine.

Over the years, many of the old steam boys that loved their
engines have passed on. So if this hobby is to survive, we must
train young engineers and give them a chance to run an engine.
I’ve read many an article in the hobby magazines and in the old
American Thresherman where the old timers would say, ‘Dad
started me firing the old Gaar Scott’ or whatever make of
engine they had when they were 12 or 14 years old. So let’s
take time to teach the young people who show interest in our
hobby.

Getting back to ‘Charlie’s Engine Crew,’ I’ve
gotten to know Charlie Fricke much better in the last few years. I
haven’t seen anyone that spends more time with young people.
Charlie has a special way with these kids. He always has time to
show and teach them. And it’s not just all work with Charlie.
He lets them have the reward of pulling a steam throttle. And as
you know, that is a thrill you will always remember. At the 1981
Mt. Pleasant show, Charlie had his grandson, Jeff Davis, running
the 6 HP Nichols and Shepard. Jeff was 12 years old. This
wasn’t his first year helping Charlie. That year Jeff ran the
engine by himself; of course, always under Charlie’s watchful
eye. Jeff will make a fine engine man. He has a genuine interest in
the engine. It’s a pleasure to see a young man that is all
business and doing such a good job with an engine at this age.

I have a daughter, Beverly Atteberry, who was then 14. She
helped Charlie on the 6 HP Russell. Again, this wasn’t
Beverly’s first steam experience. She started out on Webster
Mooney’s model 20-75 double rear mounted Nichols and Shepard. I
was watching Beverly handle the 6 HP Russell when she and Charlie
were taking it around to the shingle mill and lining it up to put
it in the belt. I was real proud of how well she handled the
engine!

I am seeing more young people doing a good job with the engines.
It’s like learning to handle a gun or drive a car. They need to
be trained right. They need to really know and understand a steam
engine. I am so thankful that I’ve had many an hour of lecture
from men like my Dad, ‘Big Mac’ McMillin, and a lot of
other real steam men who knew their business.

We are all interested in safety. Some kids wouldn’t be safe
to turn an engine loose with! These two young people I am writing
about need close supervision, but both are the type who want to be
and can be trained. I’ve seen several older fellows I
wouldn’t want to turn one of my engines over to.

One of my biggest worries is that an engine will get low on
water. We all know this is the best way to get in real trouble.
I’ve always worried about a water glass having the valves
closed and allowing the engineer to think he has water. I’ve
known this to happen. Around these shows a spectator may turn a
valve off not knowing what he is doing. Learn to be sure and check
that the valves are open. Better yet, blow it down once a day.

CHARLIE’S ENGINE CREW: Left to right, Beverley Atteberry,
Jeff Davis Darin Fricke and Charlie Fricke. Thank you Charlie for
taking time to teach these young engineers!

Also, it is a good idea to know how much water you have over the
crown sheet, when the water is at the bottom of your glass. This
will vary with different engines. Case engines have about three
inches of water over the crown sheet when it is at the bottom of
the glass. Some engines that have high crown sheets may not have
much more than one inch water when at the bottom of the glass.
It’s a good idea to know your engine. If for some reason you
are getting low on water, stop the engine before it is too late. On
an engine that is pulling, the level will drop when you shut the
engine off. So stop in time and you won’t be in any
trouble.

The water gauge or gauge glass should be blown out at least once
each day, to clean the glass and prevent the upper and lower
connections from getting filled with lime or sediment. To blow out
the lower connection, open drain cock and close upper valve. Then
close lower valve and open upper one, which will blow steam through
the upper connection and also the glass thereby cleaning it. On
returning to your engine in the morning or any time, be sure that
no one has closed the valves of the water gauge during your
absence.

Dad and I went up to Turon, Kansas in 1946 to visit some of his
old thresher buddies. We heard of an engine at a service station on
the way up and decided to check it out. We found the man who had
owned the engine. It had been a 32 HP double simple Reeves. It had
blown up, due to low water. The owner showed us his head and said,
‘You can see I have no hair.’ He had been standing by the
driver when she blew. He was badly scalded. His brother-in-law was
the engineer he was on the engine and was killed. The owner told us
that the water column had limed up, shutting off the water. The
engineer did not realize the water was low.

I would like to give a special salute to Rev. Elmer Ritzman for
starting his magazine that really got us all ‘steamed up’,
also all the men who went out and saved the engines that are left
from the junk. These men who collected engines back in the forties
and fifties saved a lot of engines that would have gone to the
junk. I remember Dad and I trying to get a dandy 20 HP Reeves. It
had new flues and the man wanted $100.00 for it, but we
couldn’t raise the $100.00.

Things have changed a lot since those days. Now this is a big
hobby, with shows in a lot of states. The old steam engines and the
men who ran them will always have a warm place in my heart.