OUR LITTLE GEM

By Staff
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Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
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Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
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Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
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Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa
Courtesy of Bill Fogwell, Shellsburg, Iowa

5333 Grove City Rd. Grove City, Ohio 43123

Having just gotten acquainted with Gem, I decided to join in the
fun and send in my resume of my introduction to the fascinating
world of gas engines. It all started when my husband George came
home and announced that he was going to purchase an old gas engine
from a pumping station in southern Ohio. Natcherly, being a female
and not very interested or educated in mechanics, I replied,
‘What for and where are you going to put it?’ I had visions
of a monsterous thing taking up space in our garage which was
already filled with other innumerable goodies. George patiently
explained all about gas engines and their function. He also threw
in a few sound effects of how an engine sounds which was really
very funny. He felt that we should have one as we have several
antiques and an antique engine was a must for gung-ho collectors
like us.

Well, honestly, I still was unenlightened about this thing but
decided to play along with George and besides that word antique did
spark a little interest.

We made plans to acquire ‘our engine’ though a mutual
friend of yours and ours, John Wilcox of Columbus, Ohio. We met
John one Sunday at the Carbon Hill, Ohio, pumping station where our
new toy was awaiting. We had never seen a pumping station before
and we were very fascinated with the whole works. We were early so
we had to wait for John and I wasn’t sure I could stand
anything at home that even made the slightest resemblance to all
that noise. I consoled my nerves by doing a little jig called the
‘gas engine rock.’

John arrived and introduced us to a very dirty greasy 1909, 6
h.p. Waterloo engine which was later to become our pride and joy.
We also met Smitty, the engineer on duty who was a swell person and
really helped us out later. I could tell by George’s expression
that he had the same thoughts as I did, how in the world were two
men going to move a 1500 pound engine down off it’s foundation
onto the floor then up about two feet, over the door sill and up
abut three more feet into our truck.

Impossible to us but not to John as he was very confident, so we
put our faith and trust entirely in his hands.

The men went to get the truck and immediately got stuck in the
mud as is had rained the previous night. Since we had borrowed the
truck this made the situation even more tense to me and I was
beginning to wish I had stayed at home. Good ole Smitty saved us by
getting his jeep truck and hauling us on down the hill.

Rear view of 8 hp. Rockford owned by Guy Myers, North Liberty,
Iowa. The restorer’s names are listed.

Side view of 8 hp. Rockford owned by Guy Myers of North Liberty,
Iowa.

Then we began work in earnest and this is where John’s vast
experience and ingenuity really began to show which bolstered our
enthusiasm with more hope. I watched with true interest while they
maneuvered ‘our little gem’ into the truck along with a 700
pound pump for John. The pump was quite an ordeal too as it was on
another level below us and had to come us stairs. But let me tell
you that John is a genius with a sincere love for gas engines and
George and I feel richer for having had some of his knowledge and
experience rub off on us. We feel we could move just about anything
now-well-almost.

After we got the engine home and established in the garage, we
both relaxed and admired ‘our engine.’ It really was a
beauty with it’s magnificent red fly wheels and other parts
that makes engines so intriguing.

Side view of 8 hp. Rockford gas engine owned by Guy Myers, North
Liberty, Iowa. The little girl on the seat is Jeanie Fogwell. The
small engine is a 1? hp. Sandwich belonging to The Fogwell, Pugh
and Fogwell collection.

The flyball governor, the side shaft, the fuel pump, the contact
for the make and break ignition and the compression release and
part of the throttle. My brother-in-law, Roy Pugh of Walford, Iowa
made parts for the governor.

We started to refinish it which was very slow at first but our
interest and perseverance kept us at it. After much scraping and
wiping, we finally had the cleanest piece of cast iron and metal
that was possible. This is where the rewards came in. We painted
the fly wheels a brilliant grenedier red and polished the rims to a
gleaming natural shine. The bulk of the engine we painted a deep
petroleum green which is almost black but against that red gives a
beautiful contrast, better than black. We polished the brass to a
high sheen which really sets the combination off. Also to our
delight, one of the pulleys was made of lovely pieces of wood which
we left in natural tones. It is marked Limestone Pulley, Maysville,
Ky.

As of this writing we are preparing to run the engine for the
first time and we can hardly wait. Everyone we know goes along with
us when we tell them about the Waterloo but they really don’t
comprehend our enthusiasm until they see it, as it really is a
charmer.

‘Every Job well done is a standing advertisement for the
company that did it.’

  • Published on Jul 1, 1967
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