[SEL] Lake Portland

Arnie Fero fero_ah at city-net.com
Mon Aug 30 18:10:09 PDT 2004


Hi Luke,

Man you hit the ol' nail on the head with this post!  Portland IS the
people!!  Once again I managed to spend a week there and not get to see
much of the ENGINE show.  But I had a ball!!  And the ones who weren't
there this year were greatly missed.

One of the highlights for me was watching one of Neville Beaty's engine
mates (Craig Morrison) experience Portland for the first time.  Craig is
from Scotland and has a really nice engine collection.  I think it's fair
to say he was like the little kid in the candy store.  He also got on
really well with the list folk so I'm guessing that we'll see him on-list
soon.

As to Lake Portland, the SEL mob dealt with it really well.  I think
Lincoln, Brooky, and that other big kid Susan had the most fun of all.  I
also noticed that the SEL engines were running all through the downpour!

This year I was on the receiving end of another "Portland SEL tradition",
namely getting a new found engine running.  I had gotten a 2 hp Bessemer
from Steve Royster that he delivered to Portland.  As with many a new
engine, no one knows how long it had been since it had run last.  That
meant a fair amount of work to do.  And then comes the point where you try
to get a chuff.  And THAT is where the list folks really shine.  Loads of
advice, encouragement, friendly abuse, loan of parts, extra hands, etc.
We finally hit the right combination of factors, and CHUFF!  Off she
went!  Ran the rest of the day and all of the next.  Even in the HEAVY
rain.  What a GREAT feeling.  Thanks to EVERYONE who helped and heckled.
It was great fun!!

Another highlight for me was meeting Sweet Thang (aka Carol Ann).  Damn
what a charming gal!!  Steve?  She's a KEEPER!!  And the best part was
watching her asking folks if they'd seen Steve's brother Mike.  She said
she had a present for him.  And I never knew that Mike even played
baseball let alone that he needed a new bat.  8-))))

I even had fun on Sunday getting my trailer out of the mud bog.  That was
the first time that I'd needed a FATG to tow the Jeep and trailer out.
But at least it was a RED tractor and he looked like he was having fun
too.  All in all a GREAT week and I can't wait till 2005!!

See ya,  Arnie

PS - Have folks noticed how many SEL folks are in that nifty
Portland calandar?  KEWL!!  And what a great idea; a calandar that runs
from August to August!!!!

Arnie Fero
Pittsburgh, PA
fero_ah at city-net.com

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004, Luke Tonneberger wrote:

> Yes Leroy it certainly is the greatest!!  We loaded up after the ankle deep
> water drained off a little bit. We finished loading when it was raining
> again. Loved every minute of it and wouldn't have wanted to change it.  I
> will remember this one for a looooong time.  That's why we go, for the
> "Portland Experience".  Didn't get a chance to chat with you Leroy, but want
> to thank you very much for roping off the camping area. I really appreciate
> it.  Also thanks to Dave for organizing the dinner and roping off the
> display area.  Thanks to Glenn for doing the auction.  Thanks to everyone
> else that took part in making Portland what it is.  It's not just the show
> that makes it great it is the people from the SEL that make it the best
> show.  Shirley and Brooky had a wonderful time too.  It was great seeing all
> of my SEL friends. Can't wait until next year!!  They just seem to get
> better and better.




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