RALPH C. HEITZ, born November 27, 1935, passed away March 25,
1991.
A resident of Fort Jennings, Ohio, he was a member of the Old
Fashioned Farmers Association of Rockford, Ohio and attended many
shows and antique tractor pulls in Ohio and Michigan.
Mr. Heitz was an avid collector of Allis Chalmers tractors,
having owned a 1937 A, 1929 U, 1935 WC and 1938 B. He farmed with
AC machinery all his life.
He is survived by three brothers and four sisters.
Submitted by Richard C. Heitz, 22123 W. State Rd., Delphos, Ohio
45833.
CARL EDWARD ALBURTIS, 89, 300 Jones St., died March 15, 1991. He
was born July 23, 1901, near Macon, Missouri, the son of Edward W.
and Martha A. Burton Alburtis.
Carl lived in the Warrensburg, Missouri, area for 62 years. He
worked as an electronics engineer for Missouri Public Service until
his retirement in 1965.
He was a member of Masonic Lodge No. 265, the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the First Baptist Church of
Warrensburg.
He was an active engine collector for many years. He also built
a scaled down steam traction engine. Carl and his wife, Agnes,
ground wheat flour at engine shows and they served pancakes for
breakfast. Carl was always helpful in assisting other engine
buffs.
He married Agnes Hlavacek in 1926 and she survives. Other
survivors include a son, Lawrence E. Alburtis, Oklahoma City; three
grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Submitted by Robert D. Seeley, RR 3, Box 176, Warrensburg,
Missouri 64093.
Long time member of Arizona Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor
Assoc, and antique engine collector, GILBERT PABIAN, 63, of
Phoenix, passed away November 23, 1990. He is survived by his wife,
one son, and one brother.
Gilbert grew up on a farm in Prague, Nebraska and served in the
Army Corps of Engineers in the south Pacific during World War II.
After the war, he attended a trade school in Milford, Nebraska
where he developed skills as a machinist. Moving to Phoenix in
1963, he worked as a machinist and welder.
Gilbert loved the challenge of restoring ‘lost causes’,
and could build a trip ignitor or weld a cracked head with as much
ease as changing a spark plug. Growing up on a farm, he was very
knowledgeable in what we now call antiques, and was always willing
to share his experience and knowledge with others.
Gil helped a great many people over the years, and will be
missed by all who knew him.
Submitted by his son, David Pabian.
HARRY A. KIEHL, of Pond, Missouri, in St. Louis County, passed
away suddenly on March 5, 1991. He would have been 80 in April.
He was a charter member and organizer of the Ill-Mo Tractor and
Engine Club. He was a collector of many gas engines, etc., and many
engines in the Ill-Mo Club were once owned by him. Harry was a very
active member of the club in his younger years. He also was
auctioneer at the club’s annual fund raiser several times. Life
was a lot of fun for Harry.
Harry leaves his wife, Delia, and three married children and
their families. He will be missed by all the club members as well
as his family.
Submitted by Ray Hartge, 9208 Meadowbrook, St. Louis, Missouri
63114.
ROBERT W. BRESSLER was born February 2, 1943. He spent most of
his life in Bird City, Kansas, which is home of the Tri-State
Antique Engine and Threshers Show. Robert’s love of flying led
to his death on November 18, 1990 while recovering from an
aerobatic maneuver. He was involved in his church and community,
holding many leadership positions throughout the years. Robert was
an aviator, farmer and mechanic, having an FAA Airframe and
Powerplant Mechanics License. He was in charge of the Antique
Tractor Pull held annually in Bird City, and helped with other
steam show related projects. He was an avid model airplane
enthusiast, and held an excellent knowledge of World War II and
aviation history.
Robert is survived by his wife of 26 years, Marianne; two
children, Philip and Janet; and his mother, Hope. His father, the
late Ernest Bressler, was also active in our local steam show.
We remember Robert with a smile on his face, ready to assist
anyone who wanted some help. Bird City has honored him by renaming
the main street in town ‘Bressler Street.’
Submitted by Jim Leach, HC 1, Box 35, Bird City, Kansas
67731.
CECIL B. RINEHART of Davisville, West Virginia died January 2,
1991 at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife Mary, son Thomas,
three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Born in 1907, he lived during the working years of the engines
he loved to restore. Farmer, carpenter, and mechanic, he used hit
and miss engines to run machinery on the farm. When the locks and
dam were built at Leach-town on the Little Kanawha River,
Cecil’s first paying job as a teenager was keeping the air
compressor engines running. He also used hit and miss engines on
the family oil lease at Schultz, W.V.
He was a charter member of the Historical and Preservation
Society of Wood County, much interested in Mountwood Park’s
Volcano Days, and contributed to the Oil and Gas Museum in
Parkersburg. He exhibited his engines at all local shows until he
was physically unable to work them, and then exhibited his show
plaques and helped Mary with her exhibit of ‘Granny’s Lil
Putt Putt’ (Maytag). Last summer he restored (with Mary and
Tom’s help), a Grey Marine engine. He is sadly missed by his
family (attending that first engine show without him will be rough)
and his many, many friends.
Submitted by his daughter-in-law, Eleanor Rinehart, Rt #1, Box
182, Walker, West Virginia 26180.
WILMER ESHLEMAN, 77, a genealogist and Lancaster County, Pa.
historian, died March 19, 1991 at Brethren Village, Lancaster,
where he had lived since 1984.
He was employed by the former Frick Company of Waynesboro for 22
years, as a salesman selling sawmill systems and farm equipment. In
earlier years, he had been an inspector for the Pa. Department of
Agriculture.
His first work was on a farm at an early age. ‘I remember,
when I was 10 years old, my father took me out with two horses and
a plow, and he said, ‘I’ll see you at dinner time’, and
I plowed the field,’ Eshleman said.
He was a member of Lancaster Leiderkranz, the Lancaster
Historical Society, and was a 50-year member of Strasburg Lodge 361
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Eshleman also was an announcer for the Rough and Tumble
Engineers Association in Kinzers and a member of Lamberton Lodge
476 of the Free and Accepted Masons. He served in the U.S. Army
during World War II.
Born in Strasburg Township, he was the son of the late V. Ray
and Christy Weaver Eshleman.
Surviving are a son, J. Lawrence, a stepson, Walter S.
Mellinger, a step-daughter, Cora Ellett, eight grandchildren, nine
great-grandchildren, and one sister, Esther.
FRANK ORRELL, 59, of Rogers, Arkansas passed away unexpectedly
March 11, 1991. He was a collector of Oliver and Hart-Parr
tractors, and was a member of the Oliver-Hart-Parr Club.
He will be missed by many good friends at tractor shows he
attended, and also at the Waukee Swap Meet.
Submitted by his son, Bill Davis, Wichita, Kansas.
