As announced in the last issue of GEM, ownership of the Witte
engine records has now been transferred to Midwest Old Threshers,
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Currently they are in the care and custody of
C.H. Wendel, R.R. 1, Box 28-A, Atkins, IA 52206.
National Oilwell offered the research service free of charge to
Witte owners. Since, however, the costs of postage, envelopes, and
maintaining stocks of reprint instruction manuals must now be
subsidized by other means, Mr. Wendel and Mr. Lennis Moore at
Midwest Old Threshers have agreed that a nominal research fee of
$5.00 will be charged against each search. For the $5.00 we will
search the records, giving you whatever information they contain
regarding your engine and, if at all possible, we will also enclose
an instruction manual for your engine or for a comparable
model.
We are reluctant to impose the $5.00 charge but additional
reprinted manuals will undoubtedly use up the major portion of this
amount, and adding the postage and other costs still make it a
‘labor of love’.
National Oilwell established files on existing engines some
years back, and we intend to maintain these files. Like National
Oilwell, we will continue the practice of asking you to send us
front and side views of the restored engine, as well as welcoming
photographs of the unrestored models if you can supply them. These
help us, and ultimately others, in identifying and cataloging
various models. Also, we will continue the practice of National
Oilwell of placing your name in the Shipping Registers as being the
current owner of the engines you submit for research.
When sending in a query, please include the following:
1. Serial number
2. Horsepower
3. A photograph (if at all possible)
4. Your $5.00 (U.S.) remittance
Send your inquiries to: C.H. Wendel, R.R. 1, Box 28-A, Atkins,
IA 52206 (no phone calls, please).
