When Mr. Ritzman asked me for a few paragraphs to provide a ladies’ view for the new Gas
Engine Magazine, I had a few bad moments. And I still do for that
matter. It will be an entirely new experience for me, and I hope a
successful one.
My contacts with steam and gas engines have come since my
marriages, as I grew up in a family not much interested in
mechanical things, although it was on a farm. My husband, Paul, is
very mechanical, as you undoubtedly will hear more about. Through
him I have become interested, first in the New York Steam Engine
Association, Inc., and then in the Pioneer Gas Engine Association,
Inc. I have found that a woman has one of two choices: either she
stays home alone, or goes along and joins in the activity. I find
it much more interesting to go along. It is a lot of fun to be able
to operate a big oil pull tractor, or steer a steam engine. I
can’t throttle one, although I know several ladies who do.
I have met some very wonderful people through these
organizations. They are plain down-to-earth people. The men live
somewhat in the past, telling tales of their threshing and sawmill
days. Their wives are very friendly and can reminisce over the days
when the threshing crew came to stay and they cooked and baked from
sunup to sundown. The younger people are also interested in these
olden days and the machinery of that era, and are working to
preserve these antiques for their children.
When you read this the holiday season will be over, but as I am
writing, it is just starting. It is a very busy time, especially
when one works. There is just not enough time to do all one would
like to do. I remember my grandmother making mincemeat for the
Christmas pies. Her fruitcake was always made way ahead of time and
the older it was the better it tasted.
Oranges in our Christmas stocking were a big treat, and the few
toys we received were much more appreciated than the big handouts
that the children of today take as a matter of course. Let us all
take time out to count our blessings, and to remember “that it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
May you all have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. You
ladies make a resolution to remember that the old piles of junk
laying out back are really “valuable antiques” and should
command your proper respect.
We also want to wish the new Gas Engine Magazine much success.
Until next time, may you all keep well and happy.