Engine appreciation

Many years ago, when our world was young, my late husband owned a small hand generator. Work the crank and you produced a smidgen of electricity; work it very hard and you could light a low wattage bulb. It proved a very interesting object lesson for verbal-type folk with a mouthful of back to the land talk. Most had absolutely no knowledge of how hard people had to work in the G.O.D. (Good Old Days.)

Thus I can only applaud modern-day collectors of old engines and other "antiques of the industrial revolution," as one afficienado put it. Another reminded readers that "by the turn of the 20th century, nearly every city big enough to have an iron foundry and machining facilities had someone building engines. Hundreds, if not thousands, of engine manufacturers sprang up all over the civilized world. These engines were a boon to farmers and industrialists alike. The farmer with the purchase of just one small engine could now run his cream separator, wood saw, butter churn, corn sheller, feed grinder, gristmill and pump water. Everything from small shops to factories could be run on engines now." Today, simple wall outlets give the average householder more power than those farmers or industrialists could have dreamed of.

Reason enough that more moderns should attend a show put on by old engine collectors; they might up their appreciation and understanding. Even when the machine in question (above) is a gag incorporating as many gears as possible.

Example: a cement mixer from an earlier day. On display during the antique and classic auto show last summer out at Watson Lake Park.

This 1919 Economy engine was powering a battery charger...

...while the engine above operated a can crusher...

...and the unit above powered a light bulb.

Yet another old machine, lovingly de-rusted and painted to look like new.

Here a poster at the late lamented Young's Farm reminding visitors of the works of John Deere.

Out at the Skull Valley Historical Society Museum, I saw this totally unrestored collection of parts and didn't read the sign while I was there, so no data on whether it came from the railroad, the mines or a ranch.

Another bit of machine beef -- the antique tow truck you might see around town, especially at car shows. This vehicle can still earn its living, according to the owner. If old engines interest you, there's always the Sharlot Hall Museum, with a collection of old mining machinery on display up in the main parking lot. They are powered up once a year during the Territorial Days celebration.

Blog Roaming: I had heard earlier in the day that a big mountain lion had been hit on the highway up near Ashfork. Now I've seen the pictures -- over at Prescott Style, who also has some neat footage of Grapevine Springs, presumably coming off Big Bug Mesa.