SPENT 15 YEARS
I spent 15 years at running an engine in Southern Minnesota,
threshing corn shelling, sawmilling and any other work an engine
could do. After selling out in the year 1925 I had not touched a
throttle in all those years until one year ago I had a wonderful
opportunity to once again stand on the deck and handle a throttle
for three delightful days due to a man who shipped one of the old
engines to my town and asked me to help him during three parades
which he took part in. I found it was just as natural to pull that
throttle again
after over 30 years as though it were only yesterday since I had
stepped off the deck. There is no thrill like the feel of power
surging through those iron lungs to an old engineer as the old
steam engine obeys the hand of her master.
Am enclosing a picture of my 20-70 Nichols & Shepard engine
just finishing a job of threshing in 1923. What has become of all
the threshers in the state of Minnesota? Seldom see any letters
from any of you. Get out your pencils and drop me a line about what
threshing is like there now. I have been gone for 19 years and
things have changed in that time. Keep the ALBUM coming. I am
looking for the next issue already.
HARRY YATES 3775 Herman Avenue, San Diego 4, California
ONLY 14 YEARS OLD
Although I’m only 14 years old, I have been interested in
steam engines for years. My father and grand-father were both steam
threshermen. My grandfather threshed first with a 16 hp. Nichols
& Shepard, then a 22 hp. Avery Undermounted, then a 22 hp.
Minneapolis compound. My father ran the Minneapolis engine 7 years
until they started threshing with a tractor. My family and I
usually go to a steam engine Reunion every year. We have been going
to the Mississippi Valley Old Time Threshers Reunion for the past
few years.
Enclosed is a picture of a small Jensen engine that I got for
Christmas a couple of years ago belted to a small model of a Baker
Fan that I built from my Erector Set.
MICHAEL ALTHOFF 328 W. Chestnut Street Freeport, Illinois
I’VE JUST COME OF AGE
Since the steam is fast running down, I thought I would write
you a few lines, while shoveling on the coal. I’ve just come of
age in your steam minded group by procuring a real live steamer and
I suspect a lot of grief along with the fun. The boiler is the
worse of the deal, as not only needs reflueing (already have the
old ones out’ shhh I used a cutting torch, split the ends, cut
them in half and pulled the halves out
the upper hand holes), but to build up the lower shell sheet
around the lower hand holes I’ m also going to use my electric
welder and run a bead along all the seams, this may seem sacrilege,
but I’d like to maintain about 150 lbs. as the boiler sits even
with new flues I would be afraid of anything over 85 pounds.
The engine is a typical vertical with no reverse, the latter I
can fast secure by whipping up a 1913 Reeves reverse, which to
make, all you need is (a) a drill press, (b) strap iron, and (c)
bolts, and there you are, a Reeves Reverse.
DALE M. PERRILL 5080 Winkler Mill Road. Rochester, Michigan
WRONG INFORMATION
Please find enclosed two dollars to cover my subscription to
your wonderful little magazine. I have sawed between two and three
hundred thousand feet of lumber this spring and summer with my
Sawyer-Massey traction engine and will have more later on.
In one of your recent issues of the ALBUM you showed a picture
of a Sawyer-Massey engine in New York State and in the article
stated that Sawyer-Massey built their last engine in 1918. I am
afraid that some one gave you some wrong information as I have two
Sawyer-Massey engines and the one that I am using on the sawmill at
present, had the original factory inspection stamp still on the
boiler when I bought it four years ago, and it was dated 1920, so
that my engine was built in 1920 and I know of another boiler an
dengine that was built and sold in 1921, so that it was after that,
that Sawyer-Massey stopped building engines at Hamilton, Ontario. I
have been told that it was around 1924 to 1926.
My older engine was built in November 1913 and sold in 1914 and
rebuilt by the John Goodison Co., of Sarnia, and my father and I
bought from them in 1928 and I ran it till December 1955 and with
some boiler repairs, it would still run.
Hoping that you and your readers will appreciate this
information about Sawyer-Massey engines, as I have owned three
different Sawyer-Massey engines in the past thirty one years.
GEORGE SEARSON Box 134, Watford, Ontario, Canada
