LYNN MIX, 83, Hastings, Michigan, passed away March 3, 1993. He
was a journeyman electrician for over 30 years for a local auto
parts supplier. He owned three steam traction engines in his
lifetime and always kept them up in top shape. He will be
remembered for his shingle mill that he and his son operated at
several shows and events, but we think he will be best remembered
as an extremely hard worker and a fair and honest man.
Lynn was a long time member of the Michigan Steam Engine and
Threshers Club, the Kalamazoo Antique Machinery Club, Charlton Park
Steam and Gas Engine Club, and several other antique machinery
clubs. He loved to ride Harley Davidson motorcycles and owned and
operated his own dealership for some years.
He touched many lives and will be sadly missed by all who knew
him.
Submitted by his son, Larry Mix, P.O. Box 89, Freeport,
Michigan 49325 and close friend, David Wachter, Holt,
Michigan.
On March 22,1993, DONALD F. WERTH, retired farmer and antique
enthusiast, passed away in Springfield, Illinois. He was born June
12, 1913, in rural Lincoln, Illinois, the community in which he
resided throughout his life.
He was a founding member of Central States Threshermen’s
Reunion, Pontiac, Illinois; a lifetime member of Monticello &
Sangamon Valley Railway Company, Monticello, Illinois; a member of
International J.I. Case Heritage Foundation; member of Prairieland
Heritage Museum; member of American Threshermen’s Association,
Pinckneyville, Illinois; a founding member of River Valley Antique
Association, Chillicothe, Illinois; and a member of National
Threshers Association. Don loved to follow developments in his
past-time occupation, restoring antique farm related
equipmentnamely, steam engines and windmills.
In 1989, Don received the Melvin Jones Fellowship from the Lions
Club International Foundation, making him one of 20,000 world-wide
recipients. The Mt. Pulaski Lions Club sponsored the Fellowship for
his 25 years of service to the Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival, where he
provided steam for cooking ham and beans with each of the three
steam engines he restored and operated over the span.
In 1965, he received the Dan Zehr Award at the Pontiac Reunion,
for the restoration of his Harrison Jumbo engine. This engine now
resides at Prairieland Heritage Museum, owned by Paul Hall. In
1958, he received an award from the Central States Threshermen for
his 1909 Model-T Ford entry. The two other steam engines which he
restored are an A.D. Baker and a Keck-Gonnerman, and are among a
wide array of other antique farm equipment.
Don is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary, and four sons:
Tom Sr., Fred, Frank, and Mark.
Submitted by Mary Werth, R.R. 3, Box 105, Lincoln, Illinois
62656.
JOE E. RICHARDSON, 86, passed away May 27, 1993. He was the son
of the late Alfred and Mary Hill Richardson and was born January
18, 1907, at Ferdinand, Idaho.
He married Bertha Fehling in 1931. She died in 1974.
For several years he worked at Conservation Corps camps, and
helped build a small lake at Troy, Idaho. He also built several
houses in the Orofino area.
At the start of WWII he worked at the shipyard at Astoria,
Oregon, and he and his wife later went to Farragut, Idaho, where he
helped construct a naval base. In 1943 they returned to Orofino,
where he started the Riverside Lumber Company. The mill was
constructed on Nez Perce Indian land and when the lease was up in
1980 the Tribe refused to renew it, and the mill was dismantled and
Joe retired.
He married Marie Wallace in 1976 and the couple continued to
live in Orofino.
He was an active supporter of Orofino Lumberjack Days, the
county fair and other county functions. He was interested in early
day farming, as he grew up on a farm in the early 1900s. This
interest was reflected in his collection of restored steam engines.
Joe sponsored the yearly Steam Threshing Bee from 1961 to 1985.
He was a member of the J.I. Case Collectors Association, Inc.,
the J.I. Case Heritage Foundation, the Western Steam Friends
Association and the Inland Empire Steam and Gas Buffs.
He is survived by his wife, three sons, three sisters, and five
grandchildren.
Submitted by Melvin Kestler, 712 Chaps Road, S.E., Rio
Rancho, New Mexico 87124.
