The Historical Engine Society's 23RD SHOW

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34540 Sherwood DriveSolon, Ohio 44139

On July 30, 31, August 1, 1993, the Historical Engine Society held its twenty-third annual show at the Geauga County Historical Society Century Village, in Burton, Ohio. The weather was a little bit of everything. On the Thursday before the show, a storm which was later coined the worst in 40 years, fringed the grounds with little damage. Some of our members were not so luckya number of members had fields flattened and several did not have power for more than a week afterwards. With the bad weather out of the way, the rest of the weekend was not bad. Sunday was absolutely beautiful!

The Society was formed in 1970 by area engine buffs. We have over 200 members with all kinds of interests, ranging from steam traction to Maytag gas powered washing machines. Our members run from 8 to almost 100 years of age, like most clubs, and the membership shows its best when the club has a problem to solve or somebody needs a helping hand.

As with some clubs, our steam contingent has dropped off. Fortunately the Malz's of Andover, Ohio, bring their 1910 18 HP Aultman-Taylor, 25 HP Huber and one of the rarest engines a 1916 16 HP 20th Century, which was owned by Rev. Elmer Ritzman. Jim Malz has had over 20 engines over the years. It all started in 1955 with an 18 HP Greyhound. His wife Marilyn is an excellent engineer in her own right and runs the Aultman-Taylor while he's using the Huber. Along with the full size steamers, scale model steamers are also here. Chester Scheffel brings his scale Frick, along with the shingle mill, which he built from scratch. Walter Payne has an exact scale of a Case steamer with a water wagon.

In recent years steam railroad locomotives have gained popularity at these shows. We are very lucky to have one of the few remaining operating Cagney locomotives. The most remarkable feature of this engine is that it was buried in mud for over 35 years at Sandy Beach Amusement Park near Akron, Ohio. It's one of our most popular exhibits and it runs all three days of the show. The Cagney is owned and operated by life member Howard Murphy of Warren, Ohio. The subject of popular exhibits brings me to our most recent exhibit, a 1920 Model B Erie steam crane recently restored after a forced boiler retirement of 20 years. The crane was donated to the Geauga County Historical Society by Harlow Whiting, who has also donated the funds for its restoration. He is wanting to convert it to a shovel and is searching for a dipper bucket, so if you have one lying around, just drop a note in care of the club.