1713 E. Walnut Street Enid, Oklahoma 73701-3637
It was October 1, 1994, that the area old iron enthusiasts had
their 10th anniversary gathering of the iron at the Garfield County
Fairgrounds at Enid, Oklahoma. Once more the weather cooperated and
gave us a great day for the show. It has been many years now since
our gathering has had to go to the shelter, but who is
complaining.
Enid Antique Power is an unofficial organization of the area old
iron enthusiasts. We don’t have meetings and we don’t pay
any dues to belong to a club of sorts. We do, however, accept any
donations that come our way. Our mailing list at this time is at
129. We include members of the local Model T Ford club in our show
and have a number of them on our mailing list. Our show isn’t
widely advertised because of the cost involved, but we have a large
number of visitors nonetheless. The members of our unofficial club
are a close knit group and most of the guys and gals know one
another; with this being the last gathering of the year for most of
us, it is treated as a good-bye reunion until next spring. The
traditional beans and cornbread and dessert were served at the noon
hour for the exhibitors. This has been a popular tradition and is
expected to continue even though it is a lot of work for a number
of the exhibitors’ wives who do the serving and preparing. To
everyone’s surprise, John Holden was brought down from
Blackwell, Oklahoma, for the beans and cornbread by a friend of
his, Lewis Clonts of Blackwell. We are looking for his return next
year.
Just like the big three and five day shows, we have a variety of
exhibits. We are short of the steam tractors and the threshing
machine, but we have the small engines, from the Briggs and
Stratton washing machine engines of Jeffrey Blakley to a large
Bessemer oil field engine owned by Marlin and Dean Unruh. A large
number of farm tractors are represented along with the old cars and
trucks, lawn mowers and Cushman motor scooters. A good share of
‘home builts’ show up, like the high wheeler that Ralph and
Lizzie Miller bring in from Wellington, Kansas. A rare and unusual
tractor for this area is a 1923 Fordson with tracks called The
Track-son Full-Crawler owned by Cleo Phil-brick of Enid, Oklahoma.
He purchased this tractor in Arizona and hauled it home for play
and exhibiting at shows. The tractor is in very good condition and
starts and runs with little effort for a Fordson. Next year it is
hoped there will be a newly restored 1924 Fordson agricultural
tractor to sit beside it. In the automobile category there was Phil
Bur-ford and his 1916 Ford Speedster. He drove it up from Waukomis,
Oklahoma, and had the misfortune of having some wiring get a little
hot during the course of the show. With the durability of the old
Ford cars, he just did some switching around and kept on going. Try
doing ‘ that on a modern automobile.
In the afternoon our one annual meeting was held and the drawing
was accomplished for the prizes to be given out. The drawing was
taken from the entry forms. Also during this meeting the King of
Old Iron Award is given out. This year it was given to a
well-deserving fellow from Moore, Oklahoma, Frank King. Due to
health problems, he was unable to make it to the show and the award
plaque was sent to him. Most people in the area old iron
communities know Frank and his Putt-Putt with the John Deere engine
and the air-conditioned cab. He has been very active in past years
going to shows in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. He attended a show at
Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Western Museum of Mining and
Industry called the Pikes Peak Antique Machinery Days in June
1991.
A question that is sometimes heard at the shows across the
country is, ‘Are there enough younger people getting into the
old tractor and engine hobby to keep it alive?’ It seems that a
large share of the people involved with the old iron are in their
50s and above. There are four young fellows involved with the old
stuff that are part of the local buffs. They are Jeffrey Blakely,
Ryan Koehn, Eric Koehn, and James Vorderland-wehr.
Jeffrey Blakley is 15 years of age and in the 9th grade at
Emerson Junior High School in Enid, Oklahoma. Jeffrey has Briggs
and Stratton, Maytag and a 4 HP Cushman to take care of and take to
the shows with his grandpa George Oiler. George Oiler played a
large part in getting Jeffrey started in old iron. George and Mary
Oiler would take him along to as many shows as he could make it to.
Jeffrey started out on an old riding lawn mower that George had
made into a tractor for him to ride around the show grounds, as
soon as he could handle it. Jeffrey is presently looking to be an
engineer of some kind at this time. He isn’t sure what kind of
engineer.
Ryan Koehn and his brother Eric Koehn are from Ringwood,
Oklahoma. Ryan is 18 years of age and attends Ringwood High School
and Eric is 14 and attends Ringwood Junior High School. Ryan and
Eric work together on several engines to keep them running. Two of
their engines are a 1912 10 HP Stover Model Uanda 19181 HP Stover
Model V. They have 11 engines at last count, and all are coming
along for restored status and exhibiting at the local shows. Ryan
says the whole family is pretty much antique oriented. They also
have old tractors in the family. Ryan at the present time has an
interest in the auto body field and prospects of being an oil field
engine mechanic, while Eric is interested in farming or getting
into the junk business. There is big money to be made in the junk
business.
James Vorderlandwehr, a 20 year old in May 1995, is currently
enrolled in the OSU Tech School at Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He is
studying to be a Ford mechanic, now working with the Ford dealer at
Okarchie, Oklahoma, and going to school at Okmulgee. James has
engines such as Clinton, Briggs and Stratton, Maytag, Fairbanks,
and Economy. He has a C Case tractor he is rather proud of and has
hopes of restoring a W-30 McCormick-Deering someday. James also has
pretty much grown up around the old stuff. With his grandparents
Kenneth and Mary Fiegel and his own father Phil, he has been around
the old iron all his life and is very familiar with all aspects of
it.
The leadership of Enid Antique Power is changing once more. R.
D. Corley of Enid, Oklahoma, was one of the original founders of
the show along with George Oiler of Enid. Last year he turned over
his duties to Ron Shulz of Enid. The operation of the show and
those who receive all the complaints are Harold Cooper, Richard
Vogt and now Ron Shulz, all of Enid. These three are by no means
the only ones who take part in the operation of the show. The names
of the helpers who put on the show are too numerous to mention. All
help is greatly appreciated and, if it weren’t for all the
exhibitors, there wouldn’t even be a show.
Another show is planned for October 7, 1995. We will look for
another good weather day and hope everything turns out well for all
who attend.
