Summary: The annual Holmes County Steam & Engine Association Summer Show August 4-6 showcased a wide variety of engines and tractors owned by area collectors. The schedule of activities included tractor races, machinery demonstrations, a horse pull, tractor pull, spark show and parade.
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The rhythmic chugging of engines, hissing of steam and occasional whistle blasts greeted visitors to the 19th annual Holmes County Steam & Engine Association (HCSEA) Summer Show at the Mt. Hope Auction Grounds August 4-6. Among the featured activities were tractor pulls, races, machinery demonstrations, a spark show and parade.
The event showcased beautifully restored engines and tractors of all shapes and sizes, from tiny Maytag Washer engines to huge, smoke-belching steam tractors. Many area collectors took part in the three-day show.
Exhibiting some of the largest engines was Ervin Hershberger of Mt. Hope, who bought his 1926 23-90 A.D. Baker steam engine at an auction in Middlefield. I had wanted one for many years, he said. When I was five or six years old, we threshed wheat and oats with one on my Dads farm. I always knew I was going to own oneI just didnt know when.
The tractors require a steady supply of fuel to keep running, and fires are typically started with chunks of wood, then switched over to coal. People think it must be terribly hot stoking the fire. Its really not too bad, he said.
Hershberger went on to add several other A.D. Baker engines to his collection. As far as I know, Im the only person in the country to own all three sizes all made the same year, he said. Hershberger attends three or four shows a year with his engines and also puts them to practical use filling silos.
Another local HCSEA member, Mahlon Troyer, has also been fascinated with engines since childhood. Ever since I was a kid, I liked to see those flywheels, he said. Troyer displayed a pair of 12-horsepower International Harvester engines at this years show. These were used as a power unit to run things like drill presses and lathes, he said. You could hitch them to a team of horses and take them from one shop to the next.
Troyer specializes in collecting and restoring International Harvester engines. I really enjoy restoring them, he said. I dont buy restored enginesI buy ones that need a lot of work done.
Engines are a serious hobby for another Holmes County resident, Jonas Mast, who has been collecting them for 22 years. I have a lot of unique enginesthere is always a real good market for them, he said. His engines range in vintage from about 1905 to the 1930s. On display at this years show were a 1908 screen-cooled vertical engine designed to run farm machinery such as feed grinders and corn shellers, and a tiny engine called the Titan Jr., which powered cream separators and butter churns.
Mast said he has always loved tractors and engines, and enjoys taking things apart to see if he can get them running. Like Troyer, he is partial to International Harvester engines. I call my shop the IHC [International Harvester Company] Flywheelers Shed, he said with a grin. Mast teaches some engine and tractor classes at his shop in conjunction with the Holmes County Education Foundation.
Another small-engine collector, Mose Miller of Sugarcreek, started off collecting two-cylinder John Deere tractors, but has phased those out and gone with smaller engines in recent years. The tractors took up a lot of space, he said. The 15-horsepower Reid oil-field engine he brought to this years show was originally used to pump oil. It was patented in 1898-1901 and runs on LP gas.
While he has enjoyed attending steam shows for years, Miller said he only displays his engines at a couple of local shows. Its a lot of steel to move around too far! he said.
The HCSEA has over 400 members and is dedicated to the preservation of antique farm machinery. For more information, visit their website at www.hcsea.com.
