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Home About Contacts Directions Events Exhibits The Ignitor David Denny Around and About April 2007
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Dave Denny photo by Greg Hayden
All text and pictures David Denny. Starting Jan-22. Things are about coming to a close for our January meeting. The remaining “out-of-staters” Pat Mackin and Rich Eckert left Thursday 25th, today was Weavers Day, as is every Thursday. Patrick Myers and Keith Richards are working on the new Weavers Building. Walter Britton and a crew of weavers are putting up drywall on storage room and restroom in the south west corner of the building. Pat and Keith are working on door hardware and locks for the big doors.
February 15, 2007 age 86? 87? Ernie Walker nearly finished
reassembling our Water Tank that he just refurbished.
Ernie Walker has undertaken a project he has wanted to do for a long time. He and Guy Horton removed the water tank from
the Ford Truck, and Ernie is welding numerous rusted holes in the tank. It was getting so bad he could water roads just
by the leaks in the bottom of the tank.
Bob Morley was in today, just for a short time; he had a Flower Field meeting today!
They want to get the equipment there soon as possible! Anticipating a big year, it seems!
Moving right along, the week progresses just as the one previous. Weekend does not present any great surprises,
just drags along. But the weather guys say rain for the LA area. Boy, it would be nice to get a ½ inch or so here.
Monday was just as dry as the previous ones.
Tuesday it looks like some weather might come this way, after all.
Tuesday evening about 7:15 PM it opened up and dumped for several minutes! How much mist prior to this I don’t know.
Stop, start, bang on the aluminum trailer roof, it sounded good. A few flashes of lightning show to the south of us.
By Wednesday morning, 7AM my gauge shows 1.1 inch of rain. We can use it. Just enough to most all soak in.
With any luck this will get the wheat sprouted and up so the crows can have a feast.
Paul Smith’s bed in his toy box
trailer is right up against the roof. He said it was loud! Yes Paul is back with us. He has been under the weather
for some time, and still doesn’t feel too spry. But he felt like driving in yesterday, parking and just doing not
much of anything else. Ernie Walker has all the holes in the water truck tank welded up. Until he turned the tank
on its side, crawled in the fill pipe to remove some stray metal pieces and rust. He said it looked like stars
were shining, due to the pinholes he could see. So, tomorrow it is back to the welding torch. I think that tank
is going to be made up of welding rod metal and rust!
Here it is Friday the start of Bob Morley’s Work Weekend
and some help came in. Guys, this is your Museum! If you do not like the way it is run, you missed a fine chance to say
so at the January members meeting. Come on give it your support when you are called. My apologies to anyone who had a
reason, not to reply when called. As differentiated from an excuse. (As an example: Super Bowl Weekend!)
Bud and Barb Watson were missed; Bud had a variety of serious illnesses including a bad case of food poisoning! In the
illness department, Beverly Jewell has had a flu type virus that put her down and out, for a while. Being the generous
person she is, she shared with Dar, and he is now out with it for a while.
This work weekend saw Guy Horton take on cut - up - tire duty. Why we can not finish the removal of the old tires,
no one knows. They seem to multiply weekly the more we cut, the more they grow!
Gil Stuart and Ken Jewell were
on duty to move the old power poles from the rear areas, so that the Civil War could take place. Bob Morley, Kent Graham,
Myrna Bagge and Paul Smith on the Bucyrus Erie crane undertook the removal of the entire auction ‘left-overs’ from the
display area where the civil war troops camp.
February 17, 2007 Steam Team Honcho Dean Alling,
and Gary Clare, assemble our 1909 Case.
It finally was time to put the phone line to the back area underground. Bob Morley, Rudy Dremely, Ken Jewell, Guy Horton and others dug the trench. They used Bob’s Ditch Witch -- pictured below. That thing digs a good trench, when it digs! However, it can be a most cantankerous, obstinate, piece of -- . But it really does a good job when it decides to! It also backs up in a hurry, too!
February 03, 2007. Bob Morley, left, and crew work on his recalcitrant Ditch Witch.
The phone line will run from Cecil’s work lean-to wing north of the ‘Museum’ building, under ground to the electrical
shed at the back of the Ashbeck building. From there it uses existing conduit to the main electrical building at the end
of the road. From there up the hill to the connections behind Dar Jewell’s place. This round and about way is to get
past a couple of rocks, “big” rocks, we don’t know how big! Sally Morley and Sharon Martin, provided the group with ‘eats’
at noon each day.
We had one visitor Sunday, who thought it was amazing to get ½ dozen volunteers out here on Super Bowl
Sunday! He was an ex educator from the Berkley area who was full of good ideas about ways to get money for the museum.
However we already utilize all he could recommend. All in all he was an interesting person to converse with and one
who restores old equipment, and Norton motorcycles!
Yours Truly has had a tough couple or three or four or six
days due to an intestinal disturbance! No more, thank you! Mike Churchill is taking broken garden tools home with him,
installing new handles and returning them. He found two almost new shovels, with broken handles in the Dumpster and fixed them!
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY! I have been asked to remind everyone that is around when we are digging, lifting,
pushing, pulling, and other chores utilizing our antique equipment caution: many times the operators do not have
good fields of vision. So -- stay back, give the operator directions to line up his equipment if requested, and make
sure the operator can see you, in time to stop! If you can’t see his eyes, he can not see you!
Tuesday February 13, and things are going along, slowly. The Weavers have been having a two-day conclave in the ‘club’
building. In the weaver’s building handrails are up in the approved height. The handicap pipe rails will be added later.
Saturday Board meeting -- pictured below, AND a very good parts exchange. I saw lots of things being moved from one pickup or trailer to
another. Green stuff moved around, also. The best one we have had in quite a long time!
Board of Trustees meeting March 17, 2007. Left to right: Back to camera newly elected trustee and Weavers Honcho Bill Rafnel, newly elected Walter Britton, Paul Schmitt Treasurer, Jake Williams Secretary. Our Director Rod Greonewold, Jeanette Stevens President, I cannot say for sure who is who the four on the right.
After the meeting was over the underground phone line pipe was finished, and the wire was pulled through. Bob Morley used a shop-vac to pull the cord through, then the phone cable followed. Next step is the phone co. to hook it up. Sunday, west of the Weavers building got a good rehabilitation. The deep trench has been filled with a retaining wall, and the low area was started to be filled in. Lots of fill dirt will be required to raise the level to the proper height.
Dar Jewell then Jack Lester spent several hours on the Ferguson loader, hauling load, after load. Bob Morley
then utilized the gray forklift as a wheel road roller, to pack down the dirt. More loads were hauled later by Dar Jewell.
When it gets completed and compacted then topped with #2 road base there will be an almost level concrete ramp poured for
the back entrance to the weavers new home! This may be lined out for a handicapped parking spot. By Sunday February 24 it
was just a very small step into the back sliding door. Still lots of grading and filling to do before paving, but what a change.
Wednesday Feb. 21,2007 the phone lines were hooked to the underground conduit, and I have a phone for the first time here.
My first 4 calls were 2 from AT&T wanting to sell me more service options, and 2 wrong numbers in Spanish!
Flower Field’s are almost upon us. Cecil Morton is feverishly finishing tractors, getting them ready to be taken
over to Carlsbad. Chuck Alee is working on wagons. Fixing bad boards, greasing wheel bearings, and re-painting
where necessary. Myrna Bagge is calling prospective drivers, and filling out driving schedules. Bob Morley will
be the ‘main man’ this year. For the first time the effort will no longer be ‘ram-roded’ by Bud and Barb Watson!
They have retired from this grueling job. They intend to keep the South Of the Border snack shop going at Show Time, however.
In front of Gas Engine Row there has been an improvement. Since it has been built, every rainy season there have
been those who think that is the main road in and out. (Not our members, ‘though! We know better!) Ruts keep getting
deeper, and deeper. Grade them today, and tomorrow they re-appear. Now, through the good auspices of John Fraser
we have acquired four ‘k-rails’-- concrete highway barricades. Bob Morley fork lifted them into the traffic pattern
in front of Gas Engine Row. There is still a walkway and a service cart way through there, but not room for cars or
pickups. This may come as a big surprise to some of the more determined ‘hot-rodders’!
Paul Smith made the acquaintance of a very pleasant gent who is interested in Gas Engines. He came down to see us, and
returned Sunday, we gave him the grand tour. Earl Hammans is his name, and he is a precision machinist by profession
(now retired). A prospective member of the first order! Us Engine people need to stick together. Thursday March 1-
Bob Morley takes another trailer to the Flower Fields, for tomorrow is the grand opening for 2007.
Gary Clare working on our green wagon March 03, 2007
Ernie Walker and Dar Jewell are overhauling the
big green one. Changes were made to the steering end, allowing the tires to turn without hitting the underside of
the deck. Finishing touches and black touch-up paint and it is ready to haul to Carlsbad. The weeds are taking advantage of
what little rain we have had. Not much in inches, but healthy for weed growing.
It is time for Civil War again. The first of the group arrives, and we are almost ready for them. The shades are removed
from over several sections of bleachers, and Dar Jewell and his Moline tractor hauls them to the north end campground, and
aligns them along the far side.
Bob Morley and Richard Green used Richard’s adopted TD 6 I.H. crawler tractor to
move the museum’s I.H. bee keepers’ truck from the encampment area. The ‘Southern’ forces camp in the north and the
Northern forces camp in the south! Several items are in the way beside the road in the spot where the suttlers (merchants)
erect their sales tents. Bob Morley moves the parade ‘cook wagon’ and a tractor.
This leaves Virgil White’s rock crusher.
That thing is heavy. It was dragged once by Dan Jaques and his Diesel 60 Caterpillar. It was almost too much for that good
old machine! Then it was dragged by Paul Smith with a D-8 caterpillar, just at an idle. This was overkill. This time
Paul used his very fine three cylinder 1937 RD 6 caterpillar. This time the crusher put the tractor to work. It pulled
right along with that Cat barking loudly all the way around the corner to the north curve of the main road.
No problems but it was work for that 70 year old machine!
Comes Saturday. The bugles toot. The drums bang, and the sound of rifle fire echoes from the homes to the north of us.
The cavalry races back and forth, pistols at the ready. The cannons boom loudly. Do they ever! Especially when they are
demonstrating cannons for KUSI television out in the front of the assembly building.
I was beside the windmill describing
the virtues of our Museum and it’s tractors to a potential show visitor, when they let loose with a blast. They almost
achieved the goal of warfare of causing great bodily harm to others, (two heart attacks) to myself, and the visitor!
The visitor mentioned ‘his’ war, laughed, and I discovered I could breathe again!
I understand the re-enactment was very
profitable for our Museum, this time.
Several of our members came in to help staff the Snack Shack, and Sally’s Place for the event. Joan and John Hollentich
came down to help, and so did Bud and Barb Watson. Bob Morley convinced them all to help him out in the flower fields
if he gets in a bind for volunteers there. After all, they are experienced! Bud said Bob would have to pay off a
couple of bets he made concerning their ‘return to action’ there!
Ben Eberly donated for Ernie Walker, a very expensive batch of welding rod, some still in the steel case, sealed.
It can be used. The back apron of the Weaver’s building is getting about ready for some concrete. Bob Morley and
Keith Richards have been forming, leveling, putting in forms, and generally getting ready to pour. I understand
maybe before the week is out. The hard area west of there will be designated Handicapped parking.
Our Buffalo Pitts steam road roller, during October show some guys hooked up a steam hose from our 1912 Museum Owned 60HP -- 45kW -- Case and ran the roller forwards and back a few times. Left to right Jake Williams facing camera, Pat Mackins back -- tin hard hat -- Robert Critz, have their heads together. Dan Jaques far right.
Another month has passed, and it is meeting weekend. The word was given out one of our members made a very generous donation
towards the repair of the boiler on the Buffalo Pitts steam road roller! Pictured above. In preparation of the machine’s
move to Long Beach, and The Manley Boiler Repair, 2459 Orange Ave, Signal Hill, CA 90755. Gary Clare forklifted a large,
heavy steam winch from the corner of the steam traction building. The top of which is visible beneath Pat Mackin's feet
in the above picture. It now resides in the equipment storage area of Steam Engine Row.
Saturday afternoon we hosted a group of four very jolly visitors from the cold country of Canada. They seem to make a
yearly trip to warmer climates, seeing the sights, and checking out old machinery and tractors as well. They are collectors
of John Deere, Farmall, Caterpillar and others. At this time of year it is too cold and the snow is too deep to work on them.
Jolly Canadian Visitors
A number of our ‘old beater’ trucks are going away. They have been donated to the Truck Museum at Campo. Motor Transport Museum, 31949 Hwy 94, Campo, CA 91906. Carl Calvert and Co, take good care of them. The first left Monday morning, the old red, White Motors School Bus. It seems to be time to quit for this time, so I Quit!
