Take Your Engine To School

By Staff
Published on August 1, 1999
article image
Freeburg Tribune
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE FREEBURG TRIBUNE.

405 E. Mill Street Freeburg, Illinois 62243

In mid-March I was spending a quiet evening at home coping with
cabin fever as we were getting some early warm days, when the
telephone rang. It was my granddaughter, who is in the seventh
grade at Carl L. Barton Elementary School in Freeburg,
Illinois.

‘Do me a favor?’ she asked. (Sound familiar?)

‘What do you want?’ I replied. She asked me to bring my
Mogul engine to school for science class.

‘Why?’ I asked. She said that on the little model
hit-and-miss engine they have at school the students can’t see
the parts and how they function. She told her science teacher, Mr.
Gaby, that her grandpa had the real thing at home. After talking
with her awhile I told her I would take her to school in the
morning and talk with Mr. Gaby.

Then I started to think about it. Even though I am a
dyed-in-the-wool International collector (my 1915 1 HP Mogul engine
is my pride and joy), I realized that with my 1924 3 HP Model FW
Jaeger hit-and-miss open crankcase engine, the students could see
and I could explain all the working parts. The only problem I had
was finding somewhere to setup the engine in case of inclement
weather. The solution was to use the school bus garage. Now to make
arrangements with Mr. Gaby. We decided on the following Monday. It
would be an all-day experience, since there are four classes of
seventh grade science.

After setting up, the first class came. I explained the four
different strokes of the engine, and because of the open crankcase,
the students could see everything. Then I opened the garage doors,
started the engine and explained carburetion and how it was
governed by the hit-and-miss method. The only mistake I made was
not looking at the science book prior to my visit. The terminology
the students were familiar with and the terms I used sometimes
differed, causing some confusion. An example was they learned
‘intake stroke,’ and I was talking about ‘suction
stroke.’

After teaching the four classes of seventh graders (and due to
the interest shown, the eighth grade science classes were
included), I had a different outlook on our children. The same ones
I have seen walking the streets with their baseball caps on
backwards and wearing baggy pants, turned out to be well-mannered
and inquisitive children. As seen in the picture taken by The
Freeburg Tribune, what a way to promote a hobby! I plugged three of
our nearby shows for this summer, and asked the children to attend
and visit with me. To cap off a wonderful day, the science
department asked me to return next year. So if you get the chance,
take your engine to school.

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