JOHN ‘JACK’ EDWARD VERSTEEG, JR. passed away January 5,
2000, in Bend, Oregon, after a short illness. Born October 20, 1934
and raised in Salem, Oregon, he had lived in Bend since 1996.
Survivors include his wife Barbara, son Steve, daughter Connie
Smith, and three grandchildren. He owned and operated the Salem
Tire Service Store for over 20 years. He was a veteran, having
served in the United States Air Force. He also served as a fireman
and member of the Board of Directors with the Cloverdale Fire
District. He owned and operated an antique store in Salem and was
widely known for his collections and restoration of toys.
Jack was a charter member of Branch 15, at Brooks, Oregon, and
Branch 9, at Grants Pass, Oregon. He served in Branch Officer
positions for six years. He was President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Western Antique Power, Incorporated, Great Oregon
Steam-Up, for five years and also served on the Board of Directors
for an additional three years.
Jack was elected President of the Early Day Gas Engine and
Tractor Association, Incorporated, in 1976, a position he held,
except for one year, until February 1998. Jack worked to build a
creditable organization from one that was in serious decline. Under
his guidance the number of Branches rose to 98 with nearly 10,000
members nationwide. The members, and their families, of the Early
Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association will forever be indebted to
him for his dedication and hard work in building an organization
that has enriched so many lives.
This tribute to jack was written by Ruth Warnock, and was
posted on the EDGE&TA website (www.ave.net/~edgeta/). It is
reprinted here with permission.
Last Monday night (January 3, 2000), Jim Triechler called to
tell me that Asa Burton Sr. had died. I met Asa, a life member and
chief engineer, at the New York Steam Engine Association in
Canandaigua, New York. Asa, after 31 years’ service, retired
from the Lehigh Valley Railroad, had worked around steam engines
and steam powered equipment, as well as been foreman of a track
crew.
Tuesday night, Jim called to tell me about the funeral
arrangements that included a request by the family to have a Lehigh
Valley steam whistle blowing the signal for crossing and the signal
for stop at the end of the burial service. Jim agreed to make it
happen. I was to be the fireman; another friend picked up the
whistle from a collector in the western part of the state.
Wednesday, Jim and I unwinterized his 20 HP rated vertical
(teakettle boiler). Thursday, Jim fired the boiler to check for
leaks, and friend Tom Gannon arrived with the whistle and polished
it.
Friday, Jim and I left Bath, New York, at about 9:15 a.m. for
Honeoye Falls, the boiler on its trailer, a small fire to keep it
warm, firewood in the pickup. At about 11:00 a.m. we arrived at the
American Legion that was directly across the road from the
cemetery, and set up behind the building. The local fire company
pumper driver arrived minutes later to check if we needed water,
lent us a radio in case we needed anything, and left. At noon Jim
put on his suit jacket to attend the funeral service and I stayed
with the boiler. At 1:30 Jim returned: I had 75 lb. pressure, we
were ready for the tribute. At 1:45 a restored antique fire engine
bearing Asa Burton, Sr., a life member of the Honeoye Falls Fire
Department, escorted by marching firemen in formal dress uniform
and led by a modern fire engine, arrived at the cemetery. The
timing of the whistle signals was relayed to Jim via radio by a
fireman at the grave, to a fireman at our location. A perfectly
timed whistle signaled the end of the burial service.
Much time was spent for a tribute that only lasted about a
minute, a tribute to Asa Burton Sr., who died January 3, 2000 at
the age of 90. Really, the tribute started on Tuesday and ended
with the whistle blowing.
Submitted by Henry P. Offerman, 7685 County Rd. 13, Bath,
New York 14810.
HANS HOFFMAN, age 87, died suddenly at his home in Pitt Meadows,
a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia, on December 22, 1999. He
was born in Grandview, Manitoba, and as a young boy he moved with
his parents to British Columbia. Hans was a skilled machinist,
mechanic, welder, and radio repairman. His father and he operated a
repair shop since 1934 in Pitt Meadows, where it still exists.
However, shortly prior to his death he donated this wooded property
and shop to the Pitt Meadows Heritage Society. Inside is the
original machine shop and about 62 engines of all makes and sizes
that Hans has restored over the years. He also did considerable
engine work for the B.C. Agricultural and Farm Machinery Museum in
Fort Langley across the Fraser River from Pitt Meadows, most
notably magnetos and fuel mixers. One of his outstanding
restorations was a 5 HP Manitoba (Monitor) engine, where he had to
make a missing crankshaft and weld up a hopelessly frost damaged
ball hopper. Other accomplishments were two hot air engines which
he built and were displayed at every engine show. Another of his
shop products was a rotary bucket trencher, which were widely used
to reclaim low lying lands along the Pitt River. He also built a
farm tractor using a 1928 Plymouth engine which still runs well
today. Old radios and electrical appliances were his basement
hobbies. Last summer, ‘The Citizen of the Year Award’ was
bestowed on Hans by the town council. He organized the
community’s first fire department and converted a Model T truck
to a fire engine. He also became the first fire chief. With his
help I restored four gas engines but sadly Hans’s help will no
longer be available to me for the restoration of the remaining two.
In the past year he was in failing health but still managed to keep
up his usual pace. He is survived by his elder sister Freda and
some kin in Germany. He will be sorely missed by all collectors in
the Fraser Valley area.
Submitted by his friend, Ted Miller, 24909 112th Avenue,
R.R. 1, Maple Ridge, BC Canada V2W 1J4.
On December 8, 1999, BRAD DADO, a thirty-five year old
electrician, Local 176, Joliet, Illinois, passed away due to an
accident at a Com Ed facility in Romeoville, Illinois.
Brad began as a young lad going to engine shows with his mom and
dad. He had just purchased a 5 HP Lister upright and planned
showing it at future shows. He went to many engine shows in the
course of a year, at times entertaining the crowds with his dog,
Sam.
It is not often for a father to write a memoriam for his son,
companion and engine buddy. He will be greatly missed by all who
knew him.
He is survived by his wife Pamela, parents Betty and Bert, and
three sisters.
Submitted by his dad, Bert Dado, 33 Village Woods Drive,
Crete, Illinois 60417-4341.
GUY LESTER CRAW, 101, died Friday, January 14, at his home in
Red-lands, California, of complications of a brain tumor. Born
January 13, 1899, in Newcastle, Colorado, he was a 26-year resident
of Redlands.
He worked as a heavy machine and cable-way operator and a
foreman for the Morrison-Knudson Construction Company for more than
35 years, building railways, dams and bridges all over the world,
including Brazil, Tripoli, Libya, and Portugal, as well as in many
U.S. locations.
He married Catherine Johanna Yoggerst in El Dorado, Kansas, in
1921.
In his retirement, he was an active community volunteer for the
Redlands YMCA’s Great Y Circus; he provided the flying trapeze
practice site in his backyard, assisted with lighting and rigging,
and was a recipient of the circus’ Purple Heart Award when he
broke his arm while working on some equipment.
He was a charter member of the California Early Day Gas Engine
Tractor Association Inc. of Vista, and the Moose Lodge in
Leadville, Colorado.
His granddaughter, in a graveside eulogy, said of him,
‘You’ve been a gentleman and a scholar. Not a
university-type scholar, no. You earned your education by living
it. You could look at any piece of equipment or machine and figure
out how to make it work. You would see a situation that needed
fixing, and you’d come up with an idea that handled it…then
you’d regale us with a delightful story about the whole
thing.’
Survivors include a son, James L. Craw; three grandchildren and
six great-grandchildren.
Submitted by James and Larita Craw, 540 Alvarado St.,
Redlands, California 92373.
RAY SAGER passed away December 8, 1999 at his home in Burley,
Idaho, following a courageous battle with cancer. He lived life to
the fullest up to the end.
He was a building contractor for 45 years and left behind a lot
of memories. When he retired, he and Hazel, his wife, spent many
days and hours in antique shops.
He loved showing his collection of tools to friends, and old gas
engines he found and restored, 85 at last count. He dearly loved to
show them to his good friends and, as a matter of fact, to
anyone.
With his passing, he will be missed a lot by his wife, family
and friends.
Submitted by his wife, Hazel Sager, 11 Granada, Burley,
Idaho 83318.
