SOOT IN THE FLUES

'I know from working within a school system that competition is supposed to be good. I know farm equipment always has been and always will be competitive. I know Case and Reeves were direct competitors in their heyday. I also know that the J.I. Case Company bought the Emerson-Brantingham Company. Maybe some of you have real reasons for thinking one was better than the other. I think in this day and age, anything in the steam line that has survived deserves dignity. Thanks for letting me say that!

'All steam engines are good even if some are better than others. Enough on that subject.

'I'll look forward to seeing my old friends at Belgrade next August. I'll also look forward to seeing my new friends, should you decide to visit 'our' show!'

BRUCE McCOURTNEY, P. O. Box 121, Syracuse, Nebraska 68446 says: 'Hi to all folks at the Iron-Men Albumwanted to tell you we had a good sale September 7, 1993, at Little Rock, Nebraska. Of all our advertisements, we got the most and the best buyers from our ad in IMA. We thank you a lot for that! We had buyers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and one from Canada.'Wow! You must have had some sale happy for you!

'Enclosed is a picture of one of four grain elevators that we have moved. The first and tallest grain elevator we moved was at Burchard, Nebraska. I pulled it with a Russell 16 HP engine on a set of steel cable blocks when I was 12 years old. One man asked my father if that kid was going to run that engine, and Dad said yes, that he had to do it, as he was too little to carry planks and timbers, so the man quit. That was in the A.M. and the man and others watched all A.M., then at 1:00 P.M. the man told Dad, 'That kid isn't going to kill anybody' and he wanted his job back. Dad said, 'Okay, but that kid will be running that engine that P.M. and again tomorrow.' The man stayed on the job.

'The picture enclosed is of an elevator they moved in Pawnee City, Nebraska, one cold winter in 1921, when Bruce was 14 years old. Says Bruce, 'I put an Aultman-Taylor engine through a bridge that summer. Everything that wasn't bent was broken. We sold $35 worth of parts and junked the rest of it. I'm now about to be 88 years old and still have that big chime whistle off of that old A & T. (Thanks for trying to read this letter. My heart is a lot better than my writing. If my writing gets worse, I think I'll be a doctor, lawyer or if I could afford it, I'd be a banker.)'

(Yes, I want you folks to know, sometimes the letters are a challenge to decipher, BUT you wonderful guys keep writing! I'll keep trying and hope I don't mess the story up too much. I appreciate hearing from youthat's what this magazine is you wonderful oldtimersthe only ones who can really make this Iron-Men Album the great magazine that I think it is). Also Bruce wrote, 'If Bernice and I last until Christmas Day we'll celebrate Christmas two ways as we'll be married 65 years. We both have our hair and teeth, etc. I even have my appendix yet.' Thanks for adding that Bruce, I think that was nice you shared that last paragraph with us AND how wonderful to have had a long good marriage and I sincerely hope you can celebrate more wedding anniversaries).