Weekend Steam; Beautiful Sights and Sounds at Pinckneyville

Bob Gill and his son Rob are well known among engine collectors.  Rob shot this video last week during the American Thresherman show.



Josh Maschoff, of the family who shows this engine shot the run from a different perspecitve.

Caterpillar 60 Lines Up Instantly!

This guy is amazing! One turn, back up, hook up, pull up, and it's right on! I can tie my shoes and take a shirt off the hanger.  Love the stack talk of the old Cat.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

Take a deep breath before you look at this one.  It is an engraved Red Label shotgun made in 1980, and the collectors are showing their appreciation.  All of the proceeds go to the Light Foundation, and this fine collectible Ruger will sell mid-day, Wednesday, August 20, 2014. Click Here, or on Ruger's photo to go to their GunBroker page.

$4425! wow...

We're Gonna Let 'em Shine!

The 5 HP Falk engine has been part of my life for more than forty-five years, but it has been hidden away in barns for most of that time. I showed it only once, before I went off to college and moved away from Iowa. We collected the Sears 9 HP Economy more than thirty-five years ago, and it was an interrupted restoration that we never finished. We were feeling very guilty about hiding these engines away, and our friend Gary was glad to take them on as personal projects so engine lovers could see them again.

Gary Bahre showed both engines in the rain at the American Thresherman Show this past weekend, and we waded half a mile of mud to see our old engines run again. The big surprise of the day was seeing the Falk die when the Century-Plus ignitor return spring broke. Gary had already wound a new one, and he had it in the coil box. He's a forward looking mechanic. Here are some pics.

 Prune that fork in the tree!

Happy, Happy!

 Put an umbrella over the video cam!

 Can it still make moonshine?  Oh yes, it can! (And cornbread, too.)

 102 years and it broke??!!  See if we can get a settlement!

 Muddin' our way home.

Photo credit: Susan and David

Tuesday Turbo Boost

I do believe that Bill Monroe wore out that mandolin.  He was an entertainer that didn't know how to retire.

Soggy American Thresherman Show

Boy, oh boy did we did we do some slogging Saturday.  We had a good time, but we didn't look at all we normally would have.  Here's a sample of the action that attendees saw.

No New Angles On Monday...

...just Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: Optimism From Ted Lewis

Just Around The Corner is in my personal play list, and evidently it is well liked by other collectors, judging from the number of uploads I see on YouTube of this great song.  We haven't listened to it for many months and it is great for cheering up, so here it is.  Don't be like this guy and put your old records where someone might sit down.  I learned my lesson 45 years ago; evidently this collector has been lucky so far.

Bonus Post For All Of You

This was on the radio as I drove back to Illinois yesterday.  More, Later...

Crankin' It Up; Another Jazzy OKEH Record

Bart, Brat, and I pulled out a great OKEH record from November 1926.  Brat sat out the dance, but did flip his tail.  Bart hung around for cheek rubs.


Plantation Joys; Luis Russell's Heebie Jeebie... by TrueBlueSam