28th Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion, 1989-09-06, Page 17THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. 1989. PAGE A-17.
s
I
£
887-6856
to the Pioneer
Belt setting buddies
He sometimes missed Christmas because he was on the boats, but this dedicated
thresher fan never missed the threshing reunion in Blyth where he regularly
displays his Case steam engine. The fan is Ralph Morris (top) of Goderich who is
seen here practicing belt setting with his belt buddy, Ray Hallahan.
FOUR GREAT DAYS IN SEAFORTH
ONTARIO THIS FALL
SEPT. 21-24
bCffil ft
• FALL FAIR - Sept. 21-22 - A true Agricultural Fall Fair.
• OCTOBERFEST - Sept. 23 - At the Community Centre.
• CIDERFEST-Sept. 24-Atthe Historic VanEgmond House, starts at 10 a.m. -
Displays of woodworking, spinning, caning, blacksmithing, cider and sausage
making. Take in the settlers banquet starting in the afternoon.
Put Seaforth’s SANTA CLAUS PARADE on your calendar!
FRIDAY NIGHT DEC. 1. SEE THE FARM TOY, CRAFT, QUILT
AND DOLL SHOW on the same weekend DEC. 3! 150 EXHIBITORS
SIGNED UP ALREADY!
Look to Seaforth for your next investment!
Small town Canada at its best. Great, and still affordable lifestyle,
close to southern Ontario’s biggest cities. Come and have a look.
Excellent investment opportunities.
Contact: Seaforth EDC.,Box610,72 MainStreet,
Seaforth, Ontario. NOK1 WO [519] 527-0160.
Local man works and plays
with the power of steam
BY USA BOONSTOPPEL
There’s a big, visible difference between
a lake freighter and a tractor steam engine.
But for Ralph Morris who had worked in a
boiler room aboard a lake freighter for 36
years, steam was in his blood. So when he
had a chance to buy a tractor steam engine,
he took it.
“I bought it sight unseen from a trapper
in Saskatchewan,” said Mr. Morris who
had sentimental ties to the machine
because it was an identical engine to one
his dad had worked with in Manitoba. He
bought the engine in 1971, got it out of the
bush in 1973, brought it to Ontario in 1974
and got it running in 1976.
After sitting in a bush for many years, the
engine wasn’t in the best condition. Mr.
Morris said the engine had no clutch, no
safety belt, no governors to control the
speed, the boiler had to be retubed, the
smoke stack was in six pieces and the
smoke box door was broken. However, the
main parts of the engine, such as the
chassis (the framework, wheels and ma
chinery of the engine), the drive gears, the
drive train and the boiler, were all in good
condition.
“It wasn’t too much of a problem to fix
up,” said Mr. Morris who got some of his
parts off the boats where he worked. The
grate bars where the fire goes on and the
whistle are from lake freighters. “What we
didn’t have, we made,” he said.
Once the 87-year-old model 20-60 Case
engine was restored, it wasn’t too long
before Mr. Morris was showing the engine
off in parades and steam shows. The first
show the engine was ever seen at was the
Huron Pioneer’s Thresher Reunion in
Blyth. Here, the engine displayed its 60
horsepower that was once used to plow
fields. “It’s a medium size, rear-mount,
western engine,’’ explained Mr. Morris,
“that did a lot of landwork.’’
Mr. Morris's background with lake
freighters has allowed him to get steam
cylinder oil from the steamboats. This he
uses in his own steam engine. “Cylinder
oil is a special oil which mixes with steam
to lubricate the cylinders,’’ said Mr.
Morris. He no longer works in lake
freighters but is now the second class
stationary engineer at the Domtar evapora
ting plant in Goderich.
Some adjustments have been made to
Mr. Morris’s steam engine to make it a
diverse showpiece. Most steam engines
cannot be shown in parades because the
cleats on the steel tires will ruin pavement.
In order to show his engine in parades, Mr.
Morris cut the cleats off the tires and put
belts on the tires.
Like any other person in love with steam
engines, Mr. Morris loves to display his
rejuvenated 1902 steam engine especially
at the Blyth Thresher’s Reunion, a show he
has never missed. “I’ve been away on the
boats for Christmas and New Year’s but
I’ve never missed the Blyth steam show,”
he said.
IV e wish continued success to the annual
Huron Pioneer Thresher & Hobby
Association 28th Reunion
Lyle & Darryl Youngblut
Plumbing and Heating
523-9585 BLYTH 523-9383
Thresher & Hobby
Association on their
28th Reunion
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