By Roger Austin .... From the March - April 2005 newsletter.

Four Benefactors Cross Paths .......

For some, winter is a time for warming up the shop and becoming intimate with a few hundred pounds of cast iron, brass, and steel. Member Ted Utess of 3 Mile Bay. NY is one such person.

An email arrived at my desk. Ted said he needed an engine to work on and wondered if the Museum had any needing some TLC. The answer was immediate and obvious. Last year Bill Pharoh had donated a 3 hp Fairbanks Morse Z. It needed a little help, but none had been found. Unfortunately, Ted thought the engine would be a few-too-many lbs and passed on the opportunity.

However, the January members meeting was soon to come, and I promised to ask those attending if they had something Ted might take on. At that meeting, member Don Sloan stepped up and said he had a 1 1/2 hp Alpha DeLaval engine, probably built by Lauson, he would give the Museum. Don had started to work on it some years ago and had never finished the job. A few days later, Don and Ted got together. Ted drove home with the engine and a box of parts soon after.

Another email hits my desk, this time from Chuck Lowman in Vermont He had finished his all-winter project in December, a Lauson engine. He was looking for another engine to work on. Like Ted, Chuck gets satisfaction from restoration. Collecting is nice, but not important.

Not long after, Chuck and I were loading Bill Pharoah's Z into the back of his van. What followed was a flurry of email correspondence between Ted and Chuck, providing restoration tips and encouragement. In all, it has been a very satisfactory winter.

UPDATE --- The Alpha made its debut at the 15th Old Fashioned Harvest Days in September of 2005.