RICHARD HORINEK, 64, Hingham, Montana, passed away July 14,
1997. He had been in failing health the past seven years. He had
done as much work as he could and remained fairly active until the
end.
Dick was born June 9, 1933, and had lived in the Hingham area
all his life. He married Ruth Klemetson in 1956 and they had four
Dick enjoyed traveling around looking for old tractors,
stationary engines and old cars. He also enjoyed visiting with
other collectors, going to auction sales, threshing bees, etc.
He was a farmer all his life and his son Mark now operates the
farm. Dick loved his family and enjoyed his farming operation. He
will be greatly missed by all.
With four sons, none of his collection is for sale.
Submitted by Ruth Horinek, Box 35, Hingham, Montana
59528.
JOHN D. SCHUSTER, age 82, died in his sleep July 10, 1997. He
had been in failing health for four years following a near-fatal
cardiac arrest.
John was a retired oil well shooter, making his own
nitroglycerine at a plant in Oklahoma. His great interests were
airplanes and steam engines. He was a private pilot and A&E
mechanic. John served in the US Army Air Force during World War II
in the Pacific theater. His love of steam engines was shared with
his brother, Frank. They enjoyed going to steam shows together,
sometimes taking me with them.
John is survived by his wife, Margaret, and son, John L.
Schuster, four brothers, three sisters, and many friends. He is
greatly missed.
Submitted by Margaret Schuster, 242 W. 10th, Garnett, Kansas
66032.
LAVERNE (L.S.) CLARKE, of Oxford, Indiana, passed away on
September 30, 1997, at age 87. Born April 16, 1910, the son of
Benjamin and Nettie Saunders Clarke in Swannington, Indiana, L.S.
Clarke was one of the last of the thresher men to have worked with
steam engines during ‘thrashin’ season.’ An uncle sold
Baker engines for Dietz Machinery Company of Bloomington, Illinois.
Since Clarke was, as he put it, ‘always around Bakers,’ he
eventually bought one from Al New in Pendleton, Indiana.
Clarke’s Baker was a 23-90 HP model, serial number 1458. It had
been built as a uni flow but had been returned to the Baker factory
to be changed to a counter flow. Clarke contributed photographs of
his engine to the July/August 1989 and July/August 1991 issues of
IMA.
Clarke enjoyed reminiscing about old-time threshing and often
spoke of his uncle Clayton Clarke, who owned a Port Huron engine.
Uncle Clayton ‘threshed and pulled a sawmill in and around
Ewing, Kentucky,’ Clarke recalled. Around 1927, his uncle
traded his engine on a new 25-45 HP Oil Pull and a new separator.
Clarke helped Uncle Clayton move the outfit from Ewing to south of
Paris, Kentucky, where they threshed during the 1927 season. Clarke
mentioned his uncle’s OilPull in a letter published in the
November/December 1971 issue of the Album.
Having a good sense of humor, Clarke often wrote witty notes in
his copies of the Album. He observed that the caption to a
photograph in the May/June 1973 issue claimed that an engineer was
trying out the whistle on an engine but that was not all that
Clarke observed! His marginal note stated that the engineer was
unlikely to get much sound from the whistle since the steam gauge
showed that the boiler contained no pressure.
In 1994, Clarke retired from his self-employed business of
operating heavy equipment. His first wife, Virginia Steel, and his
second wife, Pearl Fellure, proceeded him in death. He is survived
by good friends, including Glen J. Brutus and Glen’s son, Eric
Brutus, both of Pine Village, Indiana. They and the late John Hess
may be seen in the photograph of Clarke’s Baker shown in the
July/August 1991 Album.
Submitted by Dr. Robert T. Rhode, 4745 Glenway Avenue,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45238-4537.
