P.O. Box 25 Sistersville, West Virginia 26175
The 21st Annual West Virginia Oil and Gas Festival in
Sistersville, West Virginia announced that the 1989 Old Gas Engine
Show was a big success even with all the rain, September 14-17
Arthur Shreves and Virgil Webber, co-chairmen for the event (one
of over fifty events held during the four day festival that honors
the oil and gas industry), reported that although many didn’t
like the weather and some left early, ‘We all had a real good
time and plans are already started for an even better show in
1990.’
Reports showed that 1989’s Old Gas Engine Show had 152
exhibitors registered with 293 different exhibits. ‘You name it
and it was here,’ stated Shreves and Webber. There were ten
different states at the show. Most of the engines were from West
Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but some came from as far off as
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland and
Virginia.
Sponsors for last year’s show were Quaker State Corp. of Oil
City, Pennsylvania, and the Wiser Oil Company of Sistersville.
Their kind sponsorship made it possible to provide free admission
to engine owners and their families, free gas and oil for the
engines and a brass plaque for each exhibitor.
Some of the events during the 1989 festival, which were free to
all engine exhibitors, were: daily entertainment, antique auto
show, rod and custom auto show, West Virginia arm wrestling
championships, canoe races, gas hog mud bog, craft sales and demos,
food booths, photo exhibit, arts exhibit, marble shooting,
horseshoe pitching contest, liars contest, tractor pull, amateur
talent contest, commercial booths, outhouse races, children’s
games, Grand Oil and Gas Trophy Parade, and much much more. Many
engine exhibitors and members of their families took home some real
nice trophies after taking part in some of these events.
Plans are underway for the 22nd annual festival on September
13-16, 1990. The Old Gas Engine Show will be held all four days.
Come for one day, all four, or come for all week at the
Sistersville City Park. Wilbert Anderson of New Martinsville will
be taking over chairmanship for this year’s show and he has a
few changes that will permit more engines in the main area. Shreves
and Webber will still be around as members of the Board of
Directors.
Anderson stated, ‘Last year there were forty-three new
exhibitors at our show. Many of the others have been coming for
twelve years or more. We will all have a good time and so will your
family. This is a family event. Sistersville is an historic town,
an oil boom town of the 1890’s, and there is always something
to see, such as the old ferry boat that still crosses the Ohio
River or the demonstrating oil well that pumps real oil only during
the festival. Come and you will have a good time. See you in
September, if not before, at a show in our area.’
