1713 E. Walnut, Enid, Oklahoma 73701-3637
Oh what a beautiful day it was, October 5, 1996. We had our 13th
annual show at the Garfield County Fairgrounds under a clear sky
and the sun shining bright. We are wondering how long this long
string of good weather shows is going to last because it seems
there is something about the first Saturday of October having
beautiful weather. Now watch; next year will be a wet and cold,
dreary day because I wrote this.
This year we had a great showing of exhibitors from the local
area and from far away. All totaled there were 30 farm tractors,
113 small engines of many different makes, 15 cars, eight Cushman
scooters, one 1909 Cretors popcorn machine brought by Dallas and
Carol Morris of Enid, Oklahoma, and six trucks. Among the large
engines was a Fairbanks-Morse of 5-7 HP with a date of manufacture
of 1900 as near as can be determined. This engine was brought by
Ryan Koehn from Ringwood, Oklahoma. Ryan restored this engine for
the Major County Historical Society and took the time to show it
off at this show. A first time tractor exhibitor was Keith
Winchester from Douglas, Oklahoma, with his recent find of a 1946
Oliver 70 Standard tractor. A one of a kind for around this part of
the country, it is believed. A good share of the cars were from the
Model T club who normally exhibit along with us every year. We
appreciate this participation from the Model T Club.
One of the areas of popularity seen at the shows of recent years
is the ever growing sight of homemade vehicles of smaller scale,
primarily tractors. Just like the many manufacturers of farm
tractors of the early part of the century, there are many ideas
when it comes to building small tractors from whatever parts can be
acquired for the job. At this show we had a good example of the
many varied ideas some people have. Some are the result of a lot of
thought and careful design and others are simple machines with just
an engine replaced. Whatever the thought that is being put into
these tractors, they are all interesting. Some will be described
here.
Norman Wood of Norman, Oklahoma, has a very unusual tractor
under construction. His tractor will have a gas turbine engine from
an aircraft APU (auxiliary power unit) unit for power. His next big
problem is linking the output of the turbine engine to the drive
axle. Hydraulics may be the answer here. Should be one pulling
tractor.
Lloyd Williamson of Luther, Oklahoma, made his tractor from an
old tractor frame he found in a junk yard. The tractor did not have
any wheels but had a mower deck which he didn’t need. The
engine is a 1936 Fairbanks-Morse Model Z Style C. It took Lloyd two
years to get all the parts required for the restoration of the
engine. The magneto was locked up breaking the large gear inside
the crankcase.
Gary Phipps of Enid, Oklahoma, has an interesting little tractor
with a Maytag 92 engine. This tractor was built by ‘Smokey’
Bowles. Smokey passed on a few years ago and Gary rescued the
little tractor at his estate auction last spring. Thusly, the
little tractor stayed among the Enid area exhibitors. Thank you,
Gary! This tractor was built after the Rumely design with the
exhaust into an enclosure at the front and I think I saw it blow
smoke rings. It has a lawn mower three speed transmission and a
small seat for a small child to ride.
James Vorder land where from Kingfisher, Oklahoma, is a young
fellow coming up into the world of antique farm equipment. James
has built a little row crop style tractor painted up with J. I.
Case colors because he is into Case equipment to some extent. This
tractor has a Briggs 6k Stratton Model 5S engine and a lawn mower
transmission. The frame is fabricated from structural steel with
fenders being made of material from 55 gallon barrels.
Dennis Myers of Enid, Oklahoma, was a newcomer to our show this
year with his Volkswagen tractor. This tractor is a well built
piece of machinery using a 1600cc Volkswagen engine. The
transmission is geared down by using a chain and sprocket gear
reduction and it is, equipped with a category O three-point lift.
He has spent a lot of time working on this tractor and has some to
go on it to get all the bugs out.
We had an unscheduled attraction during the afternoon hours of
the show. By coincidence, a garden tractor pull was set up with the
fairgrounds for the same day as our show. This tractor pull drew a
few more people and our show stayed a little longer than usual this
year. This event was right next to ours and some thought it was our
show that set this up. Worked out great.
We had our usual bean dinner served primarily by the female
members of the group. This is a hit of the show. They can sure cook
up a good pot of beans or should I say several pots made by
different cooks.
Our ‘King of Old Iron’ award this year went to R. D.
Corley. R. D. has been an active sponsor of Enid Antique Power
since its inception. He has been involved in antique equipment to
some extent for the past 20 or more years. The wife of the
exhibitor or promoter is recognized too. In this case, Esther
Corley has worked with R. D. all along with his contribution to the
old iron hobby. The wives of the old iron men are recognized for
either their active participation which many door the fact that the
wife allows the husband to spend so much time and money on such a
hobby. Either way, the wife is commended for her understanding.
There are also a few cases where the wife is more active than the
husband.
In the afternoon we had a meeting of the members that hadn’t
already left; headed up by Harold Cooper. A drawing of the
registered exhibitors was held for several prizes collected from
area retailers.
The sponsors of the show extend a hearty appreciation for all
who attended the show, and look forward to your return next year.
The 1997 show will be held October 4, see you all then!
