[SEL] Re: SEL Digest, Vol 17, Issue 18

Richard Backus rbackus at ogdenpubs.com
Thu Aug 18 06:47:32 PDT 2005


Keith, what an amazing story about Berry. Now the next step: We need to get
photos of Berry Clarke and his engine in GEM! Better yet, how about the full
story on the restoration as well! (GEM regulars might remember that Keith
wrote an excellent article on the history of Clarke Gas Engine Company in
the March 2002 issue of GEM)

Opportunities like this are once in a life time, and it really would be
something to have the chance to add to the literature of the history of
engines and share it with everyone else in the hobby.

The bad part for me is, for the first time since becoming editor of GEM, I
won't be in Portland! Probably a relief for some, but it's not making me
happy. Since I won't be able to take photos or notes, Keith, can you or
anyone else take notes, get photos and otherwise fill in the blanks so we
can share this with the rest of the old-iron community?
-- 
Richard S. Backus
Editor-in-Chief/Farm Collectibles
Farm Collector, Farm Collector Show Directory, Gas Engine Magazine and Steam
Traction
1503 SW 42nd St.
Topeka, KS 66609-1265
Phone: 785-274-4383
Fax: 785-274-4305
http://www.ogdenpubs.com
http://www.farmcollector.com


> From: <sel-request at lists.stationary-engine.com>
> Reply-To: <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
> Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 06:00:09 -0400
> To: <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
> Subject: SEL Digest, Vol 17, Issue 18
> 
> Message: 19
> Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 23:03:07 -0500
> From: Keith Kinney <kkinney at herculesengines.com>
> Subject: [SEL] Special Treat for Portland
> To: The SEL email discussion list <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
> Cc: stationary-engine at oldengine.org
> Message-ID:
> <6.2.1.2.0.20050817213019.020490d8 at mail.herculesengines.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
> 
> In 1898 two brothers opened a gas engine factory in Evansville, Indiana,
> the Clarke Gas Engine Company.   They made mostly marine engines until the
> mid-1930.  It is estimated that they only made about 300 engines.  With
> Evansville being my hometown, I have a special interest in the Clarke Gas
> Engines and have 5 of them in our collection.
> 
> In doing research about the history of the company I found the son of one
> of the founders still living, Berry Clarke.  He currently lives in Fort
> Wayne, Indiana which is about an hour north of Portland.  I contacted him
> several years ago and during a visit with him got a lot of good information
> about the company.  He had a 4 HP Clarke engine that we just finished
> restoring for him.  With the engine now complete I called to see if he
> would be interested in coming to Portland to pick up the engine.  His
> comment was something like this... "Since I'm 82 years old and you have
> done all the work to restore the engine, and since you have such a nice web
> page about the Clarke engines, why don't you just keep it".  He even mailed
> me an original Schebler carburetor left over from the Clarke factory.  As
> you can imagine I was thrilled.  To date we've only been able to locate
> about a dozen or so Clarke engines.
> 
> Here's where the special treat for Portland comes in. He indicated that
> he'd like to visit Evansville sometime and see the engine.  I told him we
> could do better than that and  I have invited him to come to the Portland
> show to see the engine.  He is excited to do so and I have also invited him
> to be our guest at the Thursday evening dinner at the Back 40
> Junction.  (Dave, put me down for about 6 for the dinner.)
> 
> There are not many people remaining who grew up and worked around the
> factories that built the engines we collect. This will be an excellent
> opportunity to get to meet and talk to someone who lived that
> experience.  Please make a point to introduce yourselves and fill free to
> ask him any questions you might have about life around an early 1900's gas
> engine factory.
> 
> To learn more about the company and engines here is a link to my web page
> about them:
> http://www.herculesengines.com/clarke/index.htm
> 
> Thanks.
> Keith





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