‘The rich can afford to restore old autos, ‘says Robert
Dobson, 1225 South Airport, Waterford Township. ‘My hobby is
restoring old gas engines.’
Dobson, retired three years ago from General Motors, dresses in
overalls, a checked shirt, bandana kerchief and straw hat when he
shows off his engines.
The particular one he showed us operates a wheat grinder. Most
people who have grinders grind corn, says Dobson. But he decided on
wheat.
As a member of the Central Michigan Antique Tractor and Engine
Club and the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association, Dobson
frequently attends their shows. They usually are held in the
Midwest, but he has gone as far as Yorkton, Saskatchewan and
Sarasota, Fla.
The engine, which took 76 hours of work to restore, came from
Morley, a small community near Grand Rapids. Dobson found the
engine rusted solid and half buried in mud. The owner of a local
antique store told him about it when Dobson inquired–as he usually
does–about old engines in the area.
It took three trips to buy and transport the engine which
originally had been purchased in 1913 from Sears Roebuck Co. Dobson
thinks he got it from the original owner.
The grinder mill came from Indiana. He heard about it while
attending a show.. Coupled with the antique engine, it can ground
flour or a coarser product which Dobson calls his
‘serial.’
Only six of Dobson’s 23 gas engines are in working order.
These, he takes to shows. He does not take the mill to shows,
preferring to spend time seeing the other exhibits and trading
parts. Dobson machines all his own parts and exchanges any extras
he has.
‘If you have two, the second is of no value and we usually
make an even exchange unless the part is large.’
‘We (the antique gas engine buffs) get along pretty good,
but when it comes to trading, we’re all old horse traders. You
meet wonderful people at shows, but if you’re going to trade an
engine with them, you’d better watch out!’
Dobson gets mail from all over the country, inquiring about his
engines and any parts he might have to trade.
‘It’s a wonderful hobby,’ he says. ‘It’s
always an excuse to go gadding. Whenever you hear about an engine,
you gotta go look at it. It might be something you want or
need.’
Robert and Mary Dobson are members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints and practicing Mormons. Following old custom,
they store ample supplies of food. But because they go south in the
winter, they keep only about 200 pounds of wheat on hand. The
average Mormon household stores about 200 pounds per year for each
member of the family.
This is an old threshing outfit I restored in 1970-71. It took a
lot of work getting it reconditioned, after standing for nearly 35
years. It really ran and worked nice at Witkow’s Reunion where
I showed it. I had taken several of my grandchildren along. They
were in the grain wagon boxes looking at the grain coming out. They
came running to me–‘Look, Grandpa, your machine threshes the
cleanest grain.’ They had me go with them to show me. Sure
enough I had my old Aultman-Taylor set just right. It was saving
the grain and cleaning it real well. The 61 year old machine was
living up to its trademark ‘The Starving Chicken’– that
Aultman-Taylor had on their machines for many years.
The rig is a 1923 Watelinghers, an ITC 27-44 tractor and a 1910
32 x 52 Aultman Taylor thresher. That’s me standing there.
Martin Martinson is pitching bundles into the machine.
We asked whether Dobson raises his own wheat because his house
is surrounded with vacant land. But he’s far too busy with his
hobby to grow wheat. He buys it all washed from a family-run mill
in Argentine, the Wolcott Argentine Mill Co. Argentine is ‘just
a wide place in the road’ in the Fenton-Durand area.
When stored properly, wheat keeps for years. Dobson ground some
that had been stored for 12 years. It’s dried and sealed in
large tins, each holding about 25 pounds. Several pieces of dry ice
(carbon dioxide) are put into a baby food jar with holes punched in
the lid.
My 8-16 International Tractor belted to Allis Chalmers Forage
Blower.
This is put in with the wheat to keep it free from insects.
Dobson will take his mill and antique engine to the annual
Mormon Pioneer bazaar Nov. 5 and 6 at the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, 425 Woodward, Bloomfield Hills.
Two years ago, he ground and sold 500 pounds of wheat; last
year, 750 and this year, he hopes to sell half a ton of wheat
ground into flour or ‘serial.’ This wheat has not been
stored. Fifty cents will buy three pounds, while a big can goes for
$3.
Some of Dobson’s wheat probably will be made into bread the
women of the church sell at the bazaar. At bazaar time, all
churchwomen turn into bread bakers. Last year, a woman drove up the
day of the bazaar and opened the trunk of her car. It was
completely filled with freshly baked bread.
Men of the church have been making bazaar items too. This is the
first year they have joined the women in sponsoring the event.
They’re contributing things like homemade cider, wooden games
and toys and children’s furniture.
Bazaar hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday.
