The latest from OFES
As the saying goes “time flies when you’re having fun” and
that’s just my thought as we come into August and September; late
summer but as with each year a busy time in my area for the oil
field engine enthusiast.
In my position as secretary/caretaker or whatever it’s called,
of the Oil Field Engine Society (OFES), I always try as best I can
either via this column or the Internet, to promote shows that want
to feature oil field engines. I am happy to report that there
already have been several this year and more yet to come.
• The Wheels of Yesteryear show in Bluffton,
Ind., is Aug. 8-10, featuring lesser known tractors and of course
oil field engines. For information on this show, contact Dave Park,
(260) 824-4743.
• The West Virginia Oil & Gas Festival at
Sistersville, W.Va., will be Sept. 12-13.
• The Northern Indiana Historical Power Association
Antique Equipment Show is Sept. 26-28 and features oil
field engines along with Cockshutt tractors. Visit www.nihpa.org
for info.
Also, the directors of “Northern Indiana Power From the Past”
have already contacted us to have an oil field engine feature at
their show, which will be the third weekend of July 2009. For
information on that show contact Robert Smith, (800) 572-3651.
In other communications received here at the OFES desk is a
letter from the Oil Region Alliance of Oil City, Pa., concerning
its 17-month (August 2008 to December 2009) “Oil 150” program
celebrating the sesquicentennial of the first oil well drilled by
“Colonel” Drake in Titusville in 1859. Purposes of the celebration
include:
• Increasing worldwide awareness of the sesquicentennial of
oil.
• Increasing national public knowledge and understanding of the
significance of the early oil and natural gas industry developments
in Pennsylvania.
• Educating the public on the petroleum industry’s
development.
• Educating the public on the social and economic benefits the
industry has brought to the nation.
• Increasing tourism at oil-related sites.
One of the dates on the “Oil 150” calendar that may be of
interest, is the Drake Well Museum’s “Fall Gas-Up” Sept. 20, 2008,
when the museum invites antique gas engines on the museum grounds,
in cooperation with the Pioneer Steam and Gas Engine Society.
For more information contact the Drake Well Museum, (814)
827-2797 or e-mail drakewell@verizon.net.
For information on the “Oil 150” program visit
www.oil150.com.
And finally, on the subject of oil, I hope the shows will have
good attendance and participation in spite of the high fuel prices
we have been experiencing. It should be an encouragement to the
modelers in our hobby who have a lot less iron in their displays to
haul around. Unfortunately the reality of the times is that we
might see a decrease in the number of very large engines being
transported to shows. It definitely is a factor now when one
decides, “Am I going to take the 6,000-pound 25 HP engine or the
1,500-pound 5 HP engine?” My consolation as I think on the
situation is that it really doesn’t matter what exhibit I may have
with me, if any; what’s more important is the joy and friendship I
get out of seeing my many friends in the engine hobby. So, the most
important thing we bring is ourselves, even if it’s on an 80-mile
per-gallon motor scooter.
Contact The Oil Field Engine Society: 1231 Banta’s Creek
Road, Eaton, OH 45320-9701 • oilengine@earthlink.net • www.oil
fieldengine.com • membership is free