630 Bouldercrest Drive, S.W. Marietta, Georgia 30064
I was born April 12,1926 in rural Cobb County, Georgia. Ours was
a small 40-acre farm with none of the modern conveniences that we
have today. Ours was a large family of mother, father and ten
children. Everyone (kids and all) worked in the fields from
daylight to dark.
In 1936, my father built a small service station and store to
supplement our income. There was no electricity, so we had to
resort to a generator and 6-volt light bulbs for illumination of
the store.
One of my favorite memories was when Dad bought a used gasoline
engine to power the generator. I believe it was a Fairbanks-Morse
Type Z with dishpan flywheels. I was fascinated to watch it run. In
1952, my father had to sell the farm because of air rights for
Dobbins Air Force Base. The engine was probably sold for scrap iron
at that time.
For many years I have reminisced about that engine and wanted to
buy one for myself.
In October 1994, I was at a show at Walnut Grove, Georgia, and
found the John Deere Series ‘E’ as shown in the photograph.
It was for sale, and ran good, so I bought it. It was mounted on
skids, so I ordered a set of John Deere trucks from Bob Campbell in
Eagle Grove, Iowa. Then I repainted every thing and mounted it on
the trucks. It looks very nice and runs perfect. I am very proud of
it, and it brings back great memories.
My son ‘Butch,’ who is a 40-year old certified
machinist, is fascinated with it and would like to build a model
engine like it. My engine will be passed on to him, and I know he
will always keep and cherish it as long as he lives.
