2734 Chaffee St. National City, California 92050
Planning the second gas-up was a natural outgrowth of the
success of the first meeting and was planned for November 15th and
16th. The first meeting of this group was held in June this year
(1969) at the Santee Lakes Festival in Santee, California. This was
the organizational meeting and was quite a festive affair, with a
parade nearly two miles long and a large display area set up beside
the lake. Our show-stealer was Rube Nelson’s Russell 25 steam
engine which lumbered along the parade route, huffing and puffing
and mightily blowing it’s whistle to the delight of both young
and old. The engineer was 81 year old Herb Hill of Escondido,
California.
The planning was tremendous, the timing momentous, and by
two’s and three’s and small groups the engine buff’s
began to arrive at L. W. (Jrady’s place in Claremont,
California for the second semi-annual meeting of the Association in
Southern California. How could anyone have guessed that the weather
would provide intermittent rain squalls enough to dampen the
spirits of the most ardent gasser-upper? Such it was, though, and
many hardy souls not only had their spirits dampened, but also got
wet shirts and shorted-out spark plugs. L. W. Grady, who operates
Grady Enterprises in Claremont was our genial host who provided
space and many comforts for those who bravely disregarded looming
clouds to load their engines for a few hours of popping off.
One of the interesting results of the meeting was the
realization that we are growing! Our future plans are growing too
— including looking to the future meet when we will bind and
thresh some oats or barley using the threshing machine newly
acquired and powering it with one of the steamers in the branch. To
do this in a proper fashion will require some skill and equipment
yet to be located but we optimistically hope to overcome all such
obstacles and produce a show to cause any Iowa grandfather to feel
piercing pangs of homesickness.
The smiling gentleman adjusting the kerosene-burning Alamo
engine is Walt Geiser of Lancaster, California.
This pumping outfit was set up by Mike Ashbeck, of Villa Park,
California and it really throws a stream! The engine is a Fuller
& Johnson 2% hp. and the pump is a Barnes 4 inch.
This is a father and son operation in which Jim Bove is
supervising his son feeding the hopper of the Improved Hocking
Valley corn shelter. It is pulled by a Domestic engine.
Our host at the fall gas-up of the Southern California chapter
of the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association. He is L. W.
Grady, Claremont, California.
Some of the nice things happening at this meeting were these
memory-joggers: Jim Hove of Los Angeles has his Domestic belted to
a Letz corn grinder and busily ground enough corn to feed a
henhouse full of chickens. L. W. Grady (our happy host) teamed up
with Bill May (our Branch President) to apply John Deere power to a
rock crusher and crushed a cement mixer or two of rock. Mike
Ashbeck, of Villa Park, set his Fuller and Johnson 2? hp. to
circulating water in sizable quantities pulling a gear-driven
Barnes 4 inch pump.
Several unusual machines showed up at the meet also, and among
them was noted Dick I lamp’s 8 cycle Aermotor, which chuffed
away quite prettily, and brought a proud gleam to Dick’s eye as
many gathered around taking pictures and inquiring about the
unusual little engine. Another was Walt Geiser’s miniature
Rumely Oil Pull, popping softly on it’s display stand, as Walt
modestly pretended to be absorbed in adjusting his Alamo.
Saturday evening many of us hied ourselves to a nearby
restaurant for a buffet which was remarkable for the delicious
chicken and nine salad dishes served on an ‘all you can
eat’ basis. After dinner, and not a few well-chosen (?) jokes,
puns, witticisms, etc., Bill May and L. W. Grady showed a number of
very good slides which showed the best part of all of us — our
Gas-Up enthusiasm, as displayed at the Santee Lakes Festival and
the later Northern California meeting.
See ya at the next Gas-up of Branch 9 ! ! !
