Hyattstown, Box 144-D,R. F. D., Ijamsville, Maryland 21 754
Torque Power,hive Steam Models
By the time most of you receive this issue it will be Christmas.
I certainly hope that all of you are able to spend this time with
your loved ones.
I attended the Shenandoah Valley Steam and Gas Engine
Association Show and the Eastern Shore Threshermen’s and
Collector’s Association Show.
At the Shenandoah Steam Show, I operated my old time foundry
with the help of Steven Love, one of our young people. Steven’s
father, Mr. Robert Love, was there operating a gas engine which he
and Steven has restored this past Spring. I would like to thank Mr.
Bill Hall for hauling my foundry equipment to the show. The men
like Bill Hall, who provide the use of their trucks for hauling
engines and machinery, deserve a great deal of credit for their
efforts. Without their help in hauling engines, no club could put
on much of a show. The men and women who put on this show did an
excellent job of it. Everyone missed our regular announcer, Mr.
Charles Hope, who was unable to attend the show. A good announcer
can make a show much more interesting to the people who attend.
To be a good announcer you must have a good voice and some
knowledge about the relics on display. To many of the older
engineers it is boring to hear the announcer repeat so many times
the history of these relics, but this is intended for the visitors
which makes it more interesting to them. I would like to see some
younger people take an interest in announcing at these shows.
While at this show I met another young engineer, Robe Lefever of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Robe owns one steam traction engine, 12
gas tractors and 55 gas engines. He has been collecting for five
years and is a credit to any show.
At the show our regular blacksmith was unable to make it; so, at
the last minute, a replacement was called in, Mr. Louis Gillinger
of Martinsburg, West Virginia. He had never blacksmithed at a show
before but was the best I have ever seen. He was given a pile of
old tools to re-work and when finished they all looked like new.
Mr. Gillinger was assisted by his teenage grandson who was learning
about the art. This is something I like to see as our young people
are the only hope we have to preserve the old arts.
I am a great believer and supporter of what our shows are doing
today. They are, for a few days each year, going back in time and
preserving the ways of life of the steam era. These steam engines
and other relics were the tools of the ‘Iron Men’ that
built a nation out of a wilderness. The many shows across the
country (more than 100 listed in this magazine each year) are
preserving not only the relics of the past but the ways of life
that they represent. To preserve only the relics of the past is a
poor second best to actually reliving the past, even if only for a
few days each year. This is the ultimate in historical
preservation. The ways of the past, the arts, the skills, the
machines and tools are all being preserved at the same time. This
is a task that requires thousands of people all across the country
working together to preserve a part of the past. It also requires
that we look to our younger people in order to continue. It is said
that the hand that rocks the cradle can rule the world. If we are
really interested in preserving this part of American History,
then, we must devote some of our time to our young people. The
Eastern Shore Steam Show is a fine example of a show that is youth
oriented.
This year I and several other young engineers ran the engines. I
would like to thank Jim Layton for allowing me to operate his Frick
engine. At this show the young people help in restoring the engines
and in doing so learn something about the skills that were required
to build them. In order to keep these engines running for future
generations, it will be necessary to rebuild them from time to time
which will no longer make the engine original. But, how many
engines are original down to every last nut and bolt? Many engines
were altered at the factory to suit the owner’s needs or by the
owner himself. They were often re-boilered and re-built many times
during their own age. It seems to be a tradition among steam
engineers to keep their engines going year after year. To keep
these engines going for future generations is in keeping with the
original tradition of the machine and the men who operated them
which is the most important thing to do. The young people at the
Eastern Shore Show will keep alive this and many other
traditions.
We had a large crowd attend the show with some people from as
far away as New York, Connecticut, North Carolina and Florida. My
friends, John Ellingsen and Floyd Farmer, were there operating
traction engines. John is attending Marine Engineering School now
and I certainly wish him the best in his studies. We had ten steam
traction engines on display along with the gas tractors, gas
engines, stationary steam engines, and one freelance job called
Tom’s Tinker Toy which was very nice. New additions to the show
were a teter-totter and electric lighting of the show grounds.
There was a 10 hp. stationary engine owned by a young engineer,
whose name has slipped my memory, that was very nice to see in
operation.
The Eastern Shore Threshermen are always adding to and improving
their show. If you can, make sure that you attend next year’s
show as you could never find a more friendly show to visit.
I was glad to meet many of my readers and supporters of the
Young People’s Page at these two shows. I only wish I could
have attended more shows than I did, but that’s the way it goes
sometimes. I hope that many of the shows across the country will
make plans this winter to include as many young people as they can
in the operation of next summer’s shows. This is the best
investment in the future of the hobby that you can make.
Well, that’s all for now.
