Westover’s Frank Morton -determined hobbiest in battle

He is also engaged in a hot-and-cold war with his neighbors and
the Town of Westover and he shows equal determination in this
pursuit.

His front yard, basement and house are filled with old gasoline
and steam engines and the parts, bits and pieces used to repair and
rebuild them.

To a visitor, who is interested in ancient machinery,
Morton’s yard is rather fascinating.

To his neighbors, it is an eyesore and nuisance.

Morton was fined $14.60 Thursday night for the alleged nuisance
his machinery is creating.

Westover Mayor John C. McKinney levied the- fine against him in
mayor’s court after a warrant had been filed by Mrs. Raymond
Pierce, a neighbor.

Morton pleaded not guilty to the charge and now intends to
appeal the decision in the next term of the county circuit court in
early October. He contends that the Westover city ordinance which
holds operation of such a machine as illegal, is
unconstitutional.

One of the things that really troubles the neighbors about the
‘junk’ in Morton’s yard is that he is an expert at
rebuilding the old equipment and most of the old engines actually
run. Since most of the motors are over 50 years old, they also make
a good bit of noise when they get going.

A key piece of equipment is a nicely painted, operative steam
jenny that he often uses to clean other equipment. In a petition to
the town board, his neighbors maintained that the jenny makes
noises and also emits unpleasant odors.

One of the problems with Morton and the neighbors is that he is
a man who is accustomed to solving problems in his own way. One of
the complaints leveled against his property was that a large amount
of unused lumber is stacked in the yard.

Despite the bitterness of the long running quarrel, Morton
conceded that the lumber was unattractive. ‘Anyway, it was
warped and not much good.’ He found a lady needing kindling and
immediately hooked up one of his 50-year-old Hercules gasoline
engines to a- saw and began sawing up wood.

The neighbors, he says, then called the police, claiming he was
again running his steam jenny. ‘The police came up and asked me
if I was running the jenny,’ says Morton. ‘I told them sure
I was, and they said they’d have to get a warrant and arrest
me. I told them I’d keep the machine running till they got
back. They never came back.’

He then adds, ‘Of course, I wasn’t running the jenny,
but they wouldn’t know a steam jenny from an egg beater.’
This reporter wouldn’t have either until he visited
Morton’s house.

The house , itself, is part of the story. Morton began work on
it in 1941 and has built it himself. It is not really finished yet.
When Morton started work on it there were very few other houses in
the area and the area was not part of Westover.

Morton definitely feels that-he was there first and that both
his new neighbors and the town are trying to interfere with a way
of life he had established as operator of a small electrical and
machine shop, before he retired and devoted full time to his
hobby.

The annexation dispute was evidently the beginning of
Morton’s complaints with Westover and at 65 his memory is still
vivid. ‘I was running an electrical shop,’ he says,
‘and the town hurt my business badly with their
interference.’ Evidently there were disputes over signs put up
by Morton and other actions that he feels hurt his business.

One of his chief sidelines now is taking his various engines,
both gasoline and steam, around to shows for old steam engines. He
and his son, Gail, 12, mounted a much-praised show of the old
engines at the Monongalia County Fair last year and he feels that
much of his trouble with his neighbors stems from that show.

‘The newspaper gave coverage to the show and right after
that my neighbors really started complaining.’ The complaints
led to a Westover ordinance against the keeping of junk on property
and understandably Morton feels that the ordinance was aimed
specifically at. him.

Though not financially equipped for a court battle, Morton has
been in contact with a lawyer and feels that he definitely has a
case. In the meantime, he intends to stand his ground.

Morton’s wife, Freda, works as an assistant dietician at a
local restaurant, and Morton himself still works on’ machinery
for various people particularly if the machinery is old enough.
They have enough income to run the house and care for Gail and his
younger sister, but legal fees would be difficult.

Morton devotes much of his time to his hobby and notes that many
of the old engines that he rebuilds are valuable. ‘This
engine,’ he remarks, referring to a huge steam engine that he
is rebuilding, ‘will be worth $4,500 when I am through with
it.’

He also winds armatures and does other odds and ends work
including fixing power lawnmowers. He currently has a table saw in
his living room as he continues work on the house he has labored on
for 29 years. Currently, he is rebuilding a staircase.

He makes precise wooden patterns for his old engines and has
them cast in metal at a foundry in Worthington. ‘I am the only
one around here, who can make Datterns for these engines. He
notes.

When, he gets the castings back, he machines them and fits them
on the lathes and drill presses in his crammed basement shop.

The crafts he practices were learned ‘the hard way’ by
apprenticeship many years ago. His father was a railroad engineer
and Morton came by his love of steam engines early. During his
early years, he worked on the railroad as a fireman.

Later he learned the electrician’s trade by working at the
old Riverside Electric Company here. ‘I walked miles back and
forth to work each day and worked for $2 a day for five years, just
to learn the trade,’ he proudly comments.

He then spent several years as a master electrician in local
mines before going into business for himself.

His skills, as he says were learned the hard way through hard
work and determination and he is just as determined as ever to
continue doing the work he loves.