The fourth annual Reunion and Steam Show of the Old Time
Threshers and Sawmill Operators was held on the James Whitbey farm
at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The reunion ran for four days, opening on,
Thursday, August 19th and running through Sunday, August 22,
1954.
There were 16 large steam traction engines on display. Engine
cylinder Frick; Mac Keller, Auburn, Ind., 24 hp. Port Huron and
2380 Baker; John Richard Harper, New Haven, Ind., 12 hp. M. Rumley;
John Harper, of New Haven, Ind., 18 hp. Buffalo-Pitts; Ralph
Lindsay, Los Angeles, California, 1919 50 hp. Case; Harold Gay,
Decatur, Indiana, 24 hp. Greyhound; LeRoy Jinnings, Butler, Ind.,
60 hp. Case; Dick and Edgar Garman, Huntertown, Ind., 18 hp.
Advance Rumley; James Conrad, Ashley, Ind., 65 hp. Case and 22 hp.
Advance Rumley; Eiffiel Plasterer of Huntington, Ind., 16 hp.
Kitten, Wm. Plasterer, Huntington, Ind., 18 hp. Huber; Melvin
Lugten, Hamilton, Mich., 18 hp. Keck-Gonnerman; James Whitbey, Fort
Wayne, Ind., 20 hp. M. Rumley and 6 hp. Leffel upirght; Charles and
Jim Winebrinner, Ligonier, Ind., 16 hp. Advance.
Smaller models were F. W. Bloom, Churubusco, Ind., designer and
the builder of his double cylinder 5 hp. Engine No. 1 and his
working model threshing machine. Ralph Shellbourne designer and
builder of his model Advance 4 hp. engine; Carter Dalton, Ambia,
Ind., 4 hp. Advance models. There were also several smaller
models.
A large sawmill was sawing lumber every day. Two threshing
machines threshed wheat from a large stack. The straw was baled
with Eiffiel Plasterer’s Ann Arbor steam power baler, bales
weighing near 200 pounds. F. W. Bloom also baled with his miniature
baler. Other attractions were David Sullivan with his corn
shredder, the prony brake, the resisting fan, tug-of-war, steam
engine races, parading of engines. Water was pumped with steam.
There were engines on-the-go all the time. We hope to have the
same gang back again next year and loads of fun.
