3390 S. Co. Road 250 W North Vernon, Indiana 47265
On behalf of the officers, directors and members of the Pioneer
Engineers’ Club, I want to thank the members of the Rumely
Collector’s organization for having their first annual meeting
at Rushville, and for helping to make our 45th reunion one of the
very best.
The Rumely Collectors had a total of fifty exhibits, ranging
from a huge model ‘E’ Oil Pull to a tiny Rumely Do All. A
wonderfully restored five bottom Rumely engine gang plow, a Rumely
silo filler, and a group of Rumely-Olds gas engines rounded out the
display. Two vast Aultman-Taylor 30-60 tractors, never before seen
at Rushville, dwarfed nearly everything else.
Many club members also brought equipment by Rumely, Advance,
Gaar, Gaar-Scott, and Advance-Rumely. Four Advance steam engines,
two 12 HP and two 16 HP, proudly carried the sign of the Banner
Boy. Two A Gaar portable engines, built in 1842 and 1864, easily
passed the relentless test of time. Two M. Rumely engines, a 12 HP
single and a 20 HP double, showed the company’s skill at
building steam engines. The sign of the leaping tiger highlighted
both of the 18 HP double Gaar-Scott engines. Two late model 20 HP
Advance-Rumely engines proved the company maintained quality and
care to the very end of steam. And a very rare Rumely Gas Pull
tractor gave visitors a chance to see a little-known part of the
Rumely line.
Otto Heffelmire greatly added to the show by bringing in a
portable sawmill. Set up in the tractor area, the portable mill
gave visitors a chance to see both Oil Pulls and tractors sawing,
while steam engines sawed with the club’s mill at the other end
of the grounds. All told, the show had 36 steam engines (including
models), 86 gas engines, 244 tractors, and 28 other exhibits.
In 1994, at the 46th reunion, the show will feature Bill
Stahl’s 1864 Gaar portable steam engine, George Ritzi’s 6
HP Famous gas engine, and a 1926 Farmall Regular with a 1931
mounted corn picker owned by Maurice Brown and Denis Schrank. The
show will highlight International Harvester tractors and equipment.
IHC has sold under names like Titan, Mogul, Famous and Farmall. Its
root companies, McCormick, Deering, Osborn, Keystone, and others,
span almost the whole history of U.S. agriculture.
Also for the sake of doing something different, the show will
include threshing with a straw burning engine, using straw for
fuel. Many threshing crews used straw burners out west, but very
few Indiana rigs burned anything besides wood and coal. So make a
point of stopping by Rushville on August 5, 6, and 7, 1994, and
visiting the 46th annual Reunion of the Pioneer Engineers’ Club
of Indiana.
For more information contact: Dan Spalding, 5241 S. Columbus
Road, Shelbyville, Indiana 46176; Tracy Porter, R. 6, Rushville,
Indiana 46173; or Pat Schrank, 21097 Hickory Road, Batesville,
Indiana 47006.
