COUNTY FAIR

just how much they had changed over the years. Hokie-Pokie taffy
was certainly going to be more like fifty cents a cake. . .
assuming that filling remover was still in existence. But, really
aren’t they still ‘business as usual?’

The 134th annual Allegany County Fair in Angelica, New York
coincided nicely with my travel plans and it had two features about
it to specially recommend it to me. First, it was not only an
agricultural fair but a steam show of some consequence as well.
Also, Angelica is still home to some of my family. Thus it was that
my wife and I found a delightful campground on Almond Lake to park
our ‘home away from home’ while attending the fair.

We dropped down off the Southern Tier Expressway at the Angelica
exit and drove into town. It is a beautiful western New York state
village with a central park around which the main street passes in
a circle and from which many of the village streets radiate. The
white wooden bandstand done in ‘Carpenter Renaissance’ was
still there. But, more significantly, the old croquet courts had
been replaced with a well-kept lawn.

Many, many years ago, Angelica had been the county seat and as
such had attained a certain eminence but one of the things that I
remember from the period circa 1928 was the ardent croquet
enthusiasts arriving at the courts with their mallets neatly
wrapped in a meal sack ready for their part in the action. Croquet
was every man’s game then as tennis has become today. Faith
Gielow has captured the essence of this period in her sketch
‘The Croquet Player’ for the Heritage Days programan
obviously important citizen replete with bowler hat, pince-nez
glasses held by their safety cord around the neck taking careful
aim at the next wicket.

In this same period, Angelica was a division point on the now
defunct Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad. We used to call
it the Pretty, Slow & Noisy just to tease my uncle who was
claim agent for the road. The tracks are gone now, but the yellow
brick depot is still there and is in use as a feed warehouse.
Otherwise everything seemed about the same.

The fair grounds are on a bluff overlooking the village. As we
drove in we were greeted by a security guard with a big grin. When
asked, ‘How much?’, he replied, ‘It’s usually a
dollar and a half per person, but today I’ll let the two of you
in for an even $3.00’. And so it went. The one in the parking
lot wanted to help me select the correct yellow filter for my
camera to bring out the beautiful cloud formations that day. Did
you ever notice how the very tone of the event is set by how you
are greeted? I knew that it was going to be a great day, and it
was.

One could divide the fair into several sections. There is the
stock and produce judging, the midway, the grand stand events. . .
some of the finest trotters can be seen… and the antique and
modern machinery display. The latter activity is the thing that had
attracted me but one must not overlook the other activities which
are managed in a commendable manner by a Board of Dirctors with
John Cronk as president.

Recognizing the importance of combining the more conventional
activities of a fair with those of a steam and gas engine
collector, Merle Case and the late William Wakefield began the
permanent collection of machinery some 11 years ago. Later, Loren
Weir, Carrol Burdick, Richard Ball and Robert Barron added their
support. Today there is a very sizeable and interesting collection
of steam and gas engines together with a good cross section of
machinery. Some of it is housed in a building where there is enough
space for not only the permanent exhibits but space for exhibitors
at fair time as well. They have provided a steam supply for the
stationary engines from a 1931 Farr and Treft locomotive type
boiler known in that part of the country as an ‘oil field
boiler.’ Angelica is not far from the Pennsylvania oil fields
from which we still get some of the finest paraffinic crude oil.
Those are shallow wells and traditionally were drilled with the
older type cable tool rigs. Struthers-Wells made a horizontal
engine for these rigs and there is one now on permanent
exhibit.

Some of the smaller exhibits such as a model of a Westinghouse
1880 traction engine powering a 1/8′ scale 1897 thresher are
supplied with compressed air. These models, with a tremendous
amount of detail, were built by Burdick and Paul Bliss about 1968.
They are operated for the enjoyment of those that can appreciate
fine workmanship. For emphasis, across the aisle there are several
early steam engines of moderate horsepower. All are quietly
chuffing away anointing the audience with a bit of steam cylinder
oil and reminding us that the reciprocating steam engine played a
very important role on both land and sea.

Neil Backer of Bradford, Pennsylvania has restored a water ram
to operating condition. His original was built in Senaca Falls, New
York around 1904. This one was the final straw to sparking my
curiosity into inquiring about rams. In the last several shows that
I have attended there have been exhibits of rams. I had taken it
for granted that these hydraulic pumping engines were currently
only of interest to collectors. I could remember seeing one in my
boyhood back in Massies Mill, Virginia which pumped water from a
branch up to a tank in an orchard.

I contacted Neil and he sent me some information that was
absolutely startling. These pumping devices are still being
manufactured and of all things, the largest manufacturer, Rife
Hydraulic Engine Manufacturing Company, have their plant in
Andover, New Jersey, not 20 miles from where I live! I have talked
with these people and find that this is a conglomorate of several
earlier manufacturers with the surviving corporate name being that
of Rife which was originally built in Waynes-boro, Virginia. There
are about 300 units produced each year and the business is growing
as a result of the energy situation.

Perhaps you will recall that this type of water pump operates
somewhat like the injector on a steam boiler in that the flowing
water from a spring or dam is the actuating power for pumping a
smaller quantity of water to a higher elevation than the flowing
source. Let’s take a typical example for a Davey ram which
years ago was sold by Montgomery Ward stores under the tradename
WARLO. Neil’s ram looks very much like the Davey model.
Let’s suppose that we have a spring or brook that is flowing at
the rate of 8 gallons per minute and we can locate the ram
downstream perhaps 50 feet away but more importantly 4 feet lower
elevation. And let’s say that the discharge is to be 28 feet
above the ram’s elevation. Then we could expect the ram to
deliver about 32 gallons per hour. Not a large quantity but larger
units will deliver proportionately larger amounts when the flowing
source is larger. These machines will operate for days on end
without attention and deliver a useful quantity of water free of
charges for electricity or fuel.

Old steam engines be they traction or railroad have a great
attraction for me. I kept coming back time and again to watch Dan
Redmond’s 50 horsepower J. I. Case engine. This engine has an
interesting background and its restoration and operation at shows
is the fulfillment of a life long dream for this resident of
Greenwood, New York.

The engine was originally sold to the town of Cortland, New York
in 1915 for use in road building. When it was retired by the entry
of internal combustion tractors it was stored inside and remained
there until Lester Norris of Marcellus, New York purchased it from
the town in 1958. Thus began a restoration under the guidance of
Malvin Fellows who is a retired J. I. Case service man. Dan helped
from time to time in this work and then was the operator until 1968
when he became the owner as well. This engine has been shown in
operation for many years at the Pageant of Steam in Canandaigua,
New York. Dan remembers well the occasion when Rev. Ritzman visited
the Pageant and talked steam engines with him. It has been chuffing
away belted to ensilage cutters or threshers or perhaps a Baker fan
for the past 10 Allegany County fairs for young and old alike to
enjoy. It was interesting to sit quietly near the engine and
eavesdrop on the conversational questions put to Dan. Some boys
were very curious about how he fired it and a middle aged man
inquired about its original use. Looking at the sign on the smoke
box that announced that it was rated at 50 horsepower someone in
the crowd asked me, ‘Is that horsepower the horsepower as we
know it?’ I begged the question of boiler horsepower or
‘from and at’ steam or indicated horsepower and simply
said, ‘Yes, you could say that it is.’ I hope that the
experts will forgive me.

J. I. Case 50 horsepower traction engine owned by Dan Redmond.
This engine was originally used in road construction around
Cortland, New York.

In the July 1978 issue of Gas Engine Magazine there is an
excellent article on the Wonderful Ottawa Drag Saw by Maury Moses.
We see and hear so much about this fine machine that I tend to take
it for granted that it is the only one of its kind. And, for
attaching to a vertical tree, perhaps it is. However, there are
others. In fact, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Bulletin
#1907 even talks of building one from home materials in a 1942
publication.

Carrol Burdick has restored a cross cut drag saw originally made
by the Ireland Manufacturing Company of Norwich, New York around
1900. His has an interesting carriage attachment for feeding the
logs to the saw. The log to be cut is mounted on a carriage which
is run on a track. The operator can apply power to advance the
carriage as needed. At the show it was being used to cut a very
large log as a demonstration.

For the Ottawa saw the same manufacturer made both the saw and
the engine. This Ireland saw was powered by a Rumsey engine made by
the Rumsey Engine and Machinery Company of Friendship, New York.
This fine engine has two very interesting aspects. First, the
company only made a couple of hundred and there are those that
claim that no two were alike. Thus they are a real collector’s
item. The part that interested me, though, was the manner in which
the engine was built. It is a hopper cooled hit and miss design.
But the unique thing about it is that the hopper, the base, the
cylinder AND the cylinder head are all one single casting! A flat
face is then machined on the side to receive another casting making
up the carburetor and valve assembly. But, aside from that, it is
one single piece. Having worked in a pattern shop one summer I can
appreciate the problem of making that single casting. Anyway, when
it is fired up and banging away that Ireland drag saw goes through
a log like a hot knife through butter!

Most of the old time items at the show are either being operated
or could be if there was someone to look after them. One such
interesting portable steam engine is owned by Merle Case of
Angelica. Merle is a director of the Allegany County Agricultural
Society who operate the fair and is Superintendent of Utilities. As
a result he doesn’t have much time to operate his portable
steam engine during the fair. When I first saw the engine I thought
that it was an original and the name on the steam chest of the
double cylinder center crank engine read, ‘Soule Steam Feed
Works, Meridian, Mississippi.’ Now the English language can
throw you a curve once in a while. I assumed that feed meant
something cattle ate. Then Merle told me the story of the
outfit.

It seems that the engine itself originally came from a saw mill
of considerable size and was the engine that ran the carriage. .
.the ‘feed’ engine! He had salvaged it and mounted it on a
boiler that originally had powered a road roller. All of this is
carried on steel wagon wheels. The front axle is equipped with a
tongue and a team of horses could move it about. It is in beautiful
condition and a real show engine. Too bad it could not have been
powering one of the threshing machines then standing idle in the
show yard.

The fair has been in operation for a long time and in that
period, a number of permanent buildings have been constructed which
get used throughout the year for a variety of community events. One
of the larger buildings houses the 4-H Club activities. One could
spend quite a bit of time studying the various exhibits and perhaps
talking to the young exhibitors. I had such an opportunity,
however, down at the stock barns and judging arena. The Johannes
brothers of Almond were showing their prize Jerseys. Ralph, a
teenager, could rightfully be proud of his Grand Champion Jersey
cow. But no more so than his 10 year old brother, Mark, who had a
blue ribbon winning Jersel calf. They were willing to pose for the
camera and since the pictures turned out good I have sent them
copies with a covering note, ‘Isn’t it nice to be a winner?
It makes the hard work all seem worthwhile.’ Having two boys of
my own now old enough to present me with grandchildren convinces me
that if we can keep the younger generation busy with hobbies and
school work then we will have made our future secure. My
compliments to those that work with the 4-H youths.

I enjoyed my visit to the fair. They haven’t changed all
that much in the intervening years. Some of the exhibitors seem
younger and the machinery seems older but then so am I. A day at
the fair and perhaps an evening watching the trotters is
entertainment difficult to surpass. This is an interesting area of
our country, to me at least, and one I wanted to visit again. The
Genessee River Valley is a historic place with many legends and
incidents, many of which are centered around the Genesee Valley
Canal.

This portable engine was assembled by Merle Case from a road
roller and a saw mill, but looks as if it had just been
‘out-shopped’ by a manufacturer.

Belfast is a canal town named after that distraught city in
Ireland. It is a quiet village that still remembers its six weeks
of notoriety in 1889 as the training camp of the boxer John L.
Sullivan (1858-1918). In January of that year the great John L. had
signed to fight Jake Kilrain in the following summer. Immediately
following the signing he went on a momentous drinking and riotous
living campaign until six weeks before the scheduled fight the
promoters became alarmed at his ability to even enter the ring let
alone put up a fight. So they arranged with the ‘Iron
Duke’, John Muldoon, to sober him up and get him in condition.
The transformation took the full six weeks at Muldoon’s home
town of Belfast. But the treatment put Sullivan in the peak of
condition. On July 8,1889 the fight took place in Richburg,
Mississippi. It took 75 rounds of bare knuckle fighting until
Sullivan won the last of the bare knuckle prize fights. My father
tells the story of a local character in town who at the slightest
show of interest would regale an unwilling captive audience with
legendary stories of the period ending the dissertation with,
‘Now shake the hand that shook the hand of John L.
Sullivan.’

The canal is somewhat unique in that it had 106 masonary block
locks in its 124 mile span from Rochester where it joined the Erie
Canal and the Allegany River near Olean, New York. Construction of
this illfated venture was started in 1836, temporarily held up in
1841 for financing and completed in 1856 at a total cost estimated
at $5.8 million. It never was a paying proposition due to the
coming of the railroads. By 1878 the year it was closed, it had
grossed a total of $852,000 in tolls, hardly an economic venture.
It was sold to the Genesee Valley Railroad who immediately used the
tow path as the grade for their railroad which eventually became a
part of the Pennsylvania Railroad and it too has now passed into
history with only the cinder ballasted grade to remind us of its
past. Now one can stand at one of the old locks and look into the
vaulted sky overhead and perhaps see a thin white contrail that
marks the passing of a Boeing 747 in whose cavernous cabins and
holds one can carry more passengers and cargo than a dozen little
packet boats. Truely, we have lived in an era of marvels.

Oh yes, I could go on with stories of those river towns; Oramel,
Houghton Creek where the Weslyian Methodist College is located and
Filmore a town with a certain poignancy for me. I have an antique
but very utilitarian chair in my office with a note on the bottom
in my father’s flowing Spenciarian hand to the effect that it
belonged to his grandfather, Abraham Lapham, the founder of Filmore
in 1830, who named it after President Millard Filmore. It was a
chair used on an early packet boat on that section of the canal
where great-grandfather was superintendent.

But, we came to see the fair and to enjoy the atmosphere of the
area. There is so much to see and do that attending the annual
Allegany County Fair is but one of many things for those who would
enjoy a bit of yesterday along with a goodly portion of today.