11150 W. Idaho Ave., Lakewood, Colorado 80226
It was a close encounter of another kind September 23 & 24,
1989 when collectors gathered at Hulett, Wyoming near the
Devil’s Tower National Monument where the movie ‘Close
Encounters of the Third Kind’ was filmed some years ago. The
event was the first-ever Northeastern Wyoming Antique Engine and
Tractor Show. All those present experienced a close encounter with
engines, vehicles, and tractors used by grandparents and
great-grandparents.
Effie Jolly showed her 1955 Ford. This was much to the delight
of those individuals who were her students in a one room country
school the year she purchased this car. Many were the stories
students and teacher shared. The car is original and has not been
restored. Young people took part and learned all they could from
those who had used the antique equipment; some even showed items
themselves. Anita Peterson, daughter of Terry Peterson, showed off
a 1951 John Deere Model A with a 2 row corn cultivator. Terry
showed a 1941 Chevrolet 3/4 ton pickup.
John Wolfskill, organizer of the show and the individual who
worked hard to keep the show going, intrigued many with his 1933
Curtis & Co. shingle mill. This mill was built by Perkins &
Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan for Curtis & Company.
Wolfskill purchased the mill in 1939. Ponderosa pine and eastern
cottonwood timber were used for cutting shingles. There are sheds,
barns, and maybe even houses near Devil’s Tower that still
retain some of the shingles cut on this mill.
The tractor powering this shingle mill is a 1928 Farmall
Regular. An interesting note: a lot of paint scraping was done on
this tractor and no gray paint was ever found, so it was repainted
red. Is it possible that some Regulars were never painted gray?
One of the newest machines shown was a portable sawmill owned
and operated by Utah Marshall. This saw is powered by an air-cooled
Volkswagen engine; motor and saw travel instead of the log. The
predominant species of sawlog timber in the area is Black Hills
Ponderosa pine. Utah uses this mill for custom sawing on private
tracts.
The most common words heard, other than ‘ooh’ and
‘aah,’ were: ‘I have an old (engine), (car), (tractor)
at home which I’ll bet I could fix up and show.’ If 50% of
these comments are followed up, next year’s show will be quite
an encounter.