Told by Dennis Kornwolf 7133 Michna Rd Racine, Wisconsin
53402
In 1914 the Associated Engine Company of Waterloo, Iowa,
produced a 12 HP gasoline engine #900116. She was a magnificent
machine, mounted on a sturdy steel cart, standing six feet tall and
weighing almost 3 500 lbs. Her shining red paint glistened in the
Iowa sun as she was loaded on a train headed east to a small farm
in Wisconsin. She arrived at Caledonia Station in Racine County.
Her new owners, Joe Peterka and Bob Hoffman, helped to unload her.
She was pulled by two of Joe’s big draft horses to the Peterka
farm. She spent the next decade shredding corn, baling hay, sawing
wood, and providing power to many of the local farmers.
By 1924, tractors were becoming a more popular source of farm
power. It wasn’t long before draft horses, pulling huge engines
from farm to farm, became a thing of the past. Big 12 sat by the
barn unused until her owners decided to trade her in on a silo
filler. Frank Renak, a local blacksmith and John Deere dealer, sold
the Papec silo filler which was distributed by John Deere. Big 12
was pulled the two miles to the blacksmith shop and traded in on a
new silo filler. She was pushed to the rear of the shop where she
sat until the summer of 1928.
Frank Renak’s son, Del, graduated from high school in the
spring of 1927 and joined his father as an apprentice blacksmith.
Del asked his father if he could get Big 12 running again.
Permission was soon granted, and Del began to ‘restore’ the
engine in his spare time. By 1930, the engine was overhauled and
sported a new coat of shiny green paint. Del decided to. put Big 12
to work sawing wood so he purchased a mandrel, bearing boxes, and a
28 inch saw blade, and made a sturdy buck saw with a swinging
table. Big 12 was belted to the saw and for the next 36 years sawed
wood for the blacksmith shop and the homes of the men who worked
there.
In the fall of 1966, Del and his uncle Charlie were sawing wood
when the connecting rod snapped into three pieces shattering the
piston and putting an end to a lifetime of service by Big 12. The
bronze rod had crystallized, weakened, and finally broken while
under power. Del removed all parts that might be damaged by
corrosion, put them in a box and stored them in the barn. He then
coated the engine with heavy grease.
Big 12 sat behind the barn for the next 25 years. Trees grew up
through her cart, thick brush surrounded her and rust destroyed the
box steel that held her to the cart.
I had been collecting and restoring small engines for some time.
My real interest was to acquire a big engine and restore it. We
live on a small farm and, during the trip to the feed mill, a
neighbor told me about Big 12. In 1990 Del and I talked about a
possible sale of Big 12, but Del said NO! He did, however, promise
to keep me in mind. Over the next year we continued to talk about
Big 12 and finally arrived at an agreement. The care of Big 12 was
now in my hands!
My son Mike along with Jim Dan, Orrin Michna and Bob Lorence,
went with me to pick up Big 12. We cut trees and brush, and
we fought heat and mosquitoes. Jim welded two angle irons together
and made a temporary box iron to help keep Big 12 on her cart. This
done, we pulled her out to the waiting trailer. She was loaded, Del
brought the parts, and we began the two mile journey to our farm,
the new home of Big 12.
Restoration took a year of hard work, luck and the help of some
wonderful friends. Jim and I used 6,500 pounds of sand to blast
down to the iron. She then got five coats of paint, clean bearings,
polished and lacquered brass and was assembled. I was fortunate to
find a connecting rod and piston after advertising in GEM. The
piston first went to Joe Sykes to fix a crack and to be flame
sprayed. The rod and piston were then machined and installed.
Richard Soil-man, a local model engine maker, made a replacement
mixer out of stainless steel. It worked just fine.
Big 12 was almost there, but something was missing. Jim Mueller,
an outstanding local artist and friend, offered to detail the
engine. He studied every photo, drawing and piece of advertising
that we could find. His work is the best I have ever seen.
Big 12 was now complete and ready to come out of the shop, and I
was now ready to try and start her. I called Jim Dean for a little
help, and he came over to the farm to see Big 12 run. We connected
the fuel line, gave her a drink of gasoline, and hooked the coil to
the battery and ignitor. then we each grabbed a 500 1b. flywheel
and tried to start her. Nothing happened! We had forgotten to open
the compression relief valve! A few minutes of hard turning and
after 25 years of rest, Big 12 came to life. It was a sunny
September 5th at 1:35, we just stood there and listened to the
greatest sound any engine lover could hear. The next day, I picked
Del up and took him to the farm to hear Big 12. He had been the
steward of the engine since 1928 and hadn’t heard her run in 25
years. He just stood there and listened, remembered and
smiled!!!
Our club, the Southeastern Wisconsin Antique Power and
Collectibles Society, held its annual Fall Harvest Days at the
county fairgrounds. On September 19th, 1992, Big 12 made her first
public appearance. Del was there, along with Bob and Orrin. These
three octogenarians who had spent their lives on the land now sat
next to Big 12 and enjoyed hearing her entertain the people.
Engine collecting is more than finding a rusting old engine,
dragging it home, and getting it to run. Our hobby preserves the
story of this great country. It chronicles the history of
manufacturing, inventors, factory workers and the men and women who
worked the land. The work we do, restoring engines, will always
stand as a tribute to a bygone era.
