09/07/2025
Vermont Gas & Steam Engine Assoc. Our 51st Year!!
September 2025 Newsletter; St Johnsbury show, 27 Sept, Marshfield show, 28 Sept
Greetings Everyone; I will start off with a bit of wisdom from Thomas Jefferson; "That which we elect to surround ourselves with becomes the museum of our souls and the archive of our experiences". Wise words for folks like us!!
The final two shows of the year will be upon us before we know it! St Johnsbury will be here on 27 September, and Marshfield on the very next day! Please, if you know someone that has old engines, tractors, doodlebugs, old tools, etc., please try to get them to come. There are folks out there that just might join us, but sometimes they just need to be asked, poked, and cajoled a little, and sometimes all they need is a nudge! Often, they don’t even know about us, and chance meetings can result in a new and often enthusiastic member! I shall relate a recent experience of this very happening at the bottom after the important business is attended to!
DIRECTIONS TO St JOHNSBURY: From the East on Rt2. Rt 2 becomes Portland St, follow into town to its end, take right at intersection immediately after crossing river, onto Railroad St. This is a 3 way stop, note that Dunkin donuts is straight across. Take next left onto Maple St, follow to 3-way intersection with Main St. Turn right on Main St, take very next left onto Winter St, take right on Summer St. The show site will be immediately on your left, at 481 Summer St. From the West on Rt 2. Rt 2 becomes Western Avenue, follow into town to its intersection with Main St. Go left on Main St, take left on Winter St, (5th left), then take right on Summer St, show will be immediately on your left at 481 Summer St. From the North or South, Exit I91 at exit 20 onto Rt 5N, which becomes Railroad St. Follow to the first stop sign, (3way), go left on Eastern Ave. Follow to its end on Main St. Go right on Main St, take 4th left onto Winter st, then take right on Summer St, the show will be immediately on your left at 481 Summer St.
DIRECTIONS TO MARSHFIELD: From the East, you will come into Marshfield on Rt 2, wind your way through town, and down a small hill, where you will take a left turn on School Street. You will proceed past the turn to the town building (DO NOT TURN IN THERE!) and continue along for a few hundred feet until you see a sign on your right that says Town Garage. Take a right there, go down a hill, and you will see the ball field to the right. There is a turn into the ball field behind and to the left of one of the dugouts. It’s a sharp turn so those with long rigs be aware, however there is plenty of room to make the turn if you plan it right. We will fill the field starting from the right. If you are coming from the west, come into Marshfield, keep your eye out for School Street, it will be on your right.
RECAP OF QUEECHEE SHOW: The Quechee show was a great success! We had our highest attendance since prior to 2022, with 25 members present! This compares with 2022 with 11; 2023 with 18; 2024 with 18. Congratulations to all of you!! For the first time in several years, we did an engine tally, and there were 51 engines there of all types and sizes! Many thanks to Gary Neil for his constant and unvarying support of our show, and for providing an extra outhouse for us in close proximity!
MINUTES OF VGSEA ANNUAL MEMBER’S MEETING:
1. Called to order at 4pm, with John LaRosa in the chair, with 16 members present
2. Election of officers previously Nominated are; J LaRosa, S Stocking, P Amey, for Pres, VP, and Sec/Tres respectively; H Mattoon, D Campbell for director, (3-year terms) All were elected unanimously
3. Minutes of last meeting; Accepted as read
4. Secretary's report; Accepted as read
4. Treasurer’s report; Accepted as read
5. Old business; None
6. New Business; Reports of committees;
a. show setup committee. Elected were Paul Amey Wayne Griffin, John LaRosa, Mark Amey, with focus forward to be on crowd control at Marshfield, and to conduct proper roping off as situation demands.
b. nomination committee. Voted to continue to be comprised of the club officers
c. Voted to create a steam committee. Members elected are Wayne Griffin, Matt Purdy, John LaRosa, Paul Amey, and Aarron Celley. This committee is intended to monitor and oversee any and all aspects of steam engines present at shows, whether club owned or by members.
8. To see if the association will vote to elevate Ted W**d to life membership. So moved and voted unanimously
9. To reaffirm honorary memberships of Even Miner, Shiela Andrews, Krista Berry, Gary Neil, Mary Leahy and
Peggy Pearl; (IAW with Art II, Sec 2, Para © of the bylaws). So moved and voted unanimously
10. Discuss and advise the board as to location and place for next year’s annual meeting. Same place and time
Update the membership on status of club owned equipment (other than those items still listed for sale).
a. Leffel Steam engine with trailer; Fairbanks Morse engine used for operating engine removed, and boiler now installed. No issues with trailer. Now registered with Maine Trailer Registrations inc. for 5 years. Stored at John LaRosa’s residence.
b. Box trailer containing club support equipment. Registered for 5 years, same as above. Currently stored at Steve and Arline Stocking’s residence.
12. Update on remaining shows for 2024, (St Johnsbury, 27 September, and Marshfield, 28 September; Will request permission to set up stakes and ropes on Friday night prior to Sunday’s show.
13. other business which may come before the meeting. Voted to sell the two tents that we seldom if ever use, and buy two 10-foot EZups for purposes of meetings etc. Announced Alton Whipple’s show intended for 20 Sept 25 at his residence, announced Grover Ballou’s show on 11 Oct 25, announced Philip Reed’s Gibson tractor and engines for sale, Announced Gary Warren’s engines for sale. AND!! Many thanks and much appreciation for retiring directors, Bill Thorneloe and Keith Cloutier for their many years of dedicated service to the VGSEA!!
14. Adjourned at 4:42PM
NOTES FOR ST JOHNSBURY: Show hours are 10-4. The area available at St. Johnsbury is tight, and there is no room for large campers or RVs with one previously approved exception, however, with careful placement of displays as was done last year, there was room for everybody who wanted to display. There is no way to put up ropes or barriers because we are on a paved surface, so extra care will be needed by each exhibitor to ensure that nobody gets too close to moving parts. Also, special care needs to be taken to ensure no oil or gasoline gets spilled on the pavement. We do not have a spill kit, so each of exhibitor is responsible to clean up their own messes. There has been no issue in the past, so apparently you are all doing a good job! There is a water hose on site, and the bathroom in the school is available for our use. Don’t forget your fire extinguishers!
NOTES FOR MARSHFIELD: Show hours are 11-4. Exhibitors can leave the St J show site and move directly to the site in Marshfield, and may stay the night with their equipment. There is NO CAMPING on town property, so we do not call it camping by request of the select board, however they are all in on what we are doing. If you didn’t come to the St J show, you may come to Marshfield with your camper or tent and stay the night with your equipment if you wish. There will be a short BOARD MEETING at 10 AM. The setup committee will set up ropes and stakes for the orderly exhibition of our displays ahead of time if at all possible. We plan to have lanes set up for folks to drive into and then park. The plan is to fill the field from right to left. The first exhibitor in each lane will drive to end of the lane and then stop, that way leaving room for others to pull in behind. The Marshfield folks have asked that the first vehicle in a couple of the lanes turn around so that their exhibit faces the crowd at the rest of the festival, instead of the pickup, to enhance visibility. There is plenty of room here, and the town has been going overboard in advertising us, so please make an effort to come if you can. There is a porta potty set up behind the town building, and you need to bring whatever water you need, as there doesn’t appear to be any water available at this site.
A few notes of things either done or in progress: The Fairbanks Morse 3HP Model Z that faithfully ran the Leffel steam Engine has been retired from that job which it did very well. It has been advertised on Market place and hopefully will earn us a bit of money to put towards getting the boiler set up and operating. It’s a nice engine in excellent condition on a good iron wheeled cart and $650 will take it. Some club member or prospective member should buy it!
The compressor that was originally supposed to run the steam engine has been sold!!
We have replenished our Tee shirt inventory. We got them from Affordable Buttons this year for a slightly better price than in the past. Unfortunately, they were not available with pockets, but for those that must have pockets, we still have some that are so equipped. The new ones are light gray to better match the color of grease and dirt, 😊 and are of a light material which should be good for the hot days.
SHOW SAFETY:
Serviceable fire extinguishers are required for running exhibits. Gas or fuel must be in approved gas cans, the public needs to be roped off from display area whenever possible. Riders are not permitted on moving exhibits unless they are equipped with a seat for that purpose. And, a new one, (from the insurance company), no alcoholic beverages allowed during show hours. We have safety cards which can be picked up at the secretary’s desk at the shows. I have a few extra fire extinguishers that I will pass out if anyone forgets, but only a few, so please be sure to bring yours! There will be a very basic First Aid Kit which will be at the secretary’s station if anyone needs it.
OTHER NON-CLUB EVENTS
53rd Annual Dublin Gas Engine Meet: Held at Dublin NH, Sept 5-7, at Cricket Hill Farm, 1716 Main St, (state rt 101).
Alton Whipple’s show: This is a private one-day show to be held at Alton’s residence at 3836 Hinman Settler Rd, Newport VT 05855, on 20 September. Follow the instructions to the Old Stone House as listed in the last newsletter, and continue along on Hinman Settler Road. He will be on the left, and you will see a big machine that looks like a big old engine (it’s not) with flywheels and that’s his place. There will be free coffee, and the Amish are supplying homemade doughnuts!! Good incentive!! Alton’s ankle has healed nicely, and he’s rippin’ and rarein’ to go!!
DUES AND FINANCES; 2025 dues are due and payable. The cost of the dues is $20. Make your check out to VGSEA 463 High Ridge Road, Waterford VT, 05819. At present, we have about $2600 in the checkbook. Expenses are not expected to increase in most areas, though the fitting out of the Leffel boiler project will require additional expense. Our insurance only went up $5 from last year. Trailer registrations, while up this time, will be nil for the next 5 years. There are no anticipated trailer repairs needed at this time that we are aware of.
MEMBERSHIP: We have 48 paid members at present. We are thankful for the support and interest that keeps our little club functioning, and functioning pretty well!!
We still have a few members that have not paid their 2024 dues. Please consider doing so, as dues are the lifeblood of the organization. Where else can you get together with like-minded folks and listen to engines put and hiss, all the time telling stories of the past and making up some? (they don’t have to be true!) We value everyone’s membership, but of course we understand if you feel it is time to go. If you do not wish to continue, please let me know and I will take you off the roster. As mentioned above, dues are only $20, and may be sent to VGSEA, 463 High Ridge Road, Waterford VT, 05819 or paid at one of the shows. Also, on behalf of the board, I should mention that we are even more grateful for those loyal members who for one reason or another are no longer able to bring engines to display, but still maintain their membership. Your loyalty and dedication are very much appreciated. It’s especially good when some of you still come to the shows, just to check in with everyone and visit.
COMMUNICATIONS:
If you know of anyone that has an engine that would be interested in joining us, please put them in contact with me so that I can get them signed up. We are all recruiters after all, and from the comments of some at the Marshfield show, there were many that had never seen an antique engine, and had no idea that they existed.
I have arranged for a radio ad to be read from time to time on WGDR/WGDH, Vermont Community Radio. The page is still very annoying, irritating, and difficult to use, but people do check it out, and the number of followers and interested folks continues to rise, with 178 likes, and 205 followers. The newsletters continue to get published there. I would welcome someone with more tech abilities than I to take over the Face book page, or at least help out with its operation. At one time we had our own website. It was gone when I came along unfortunately.
Newsletters generally are published every other month, Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, and Nov. Should you find that you are not getting the newsletter, during these times, please notify me at 802-748-3881, (you can leave a message), or write to Paul Amey, 463 High Ridge Road, Waterford Vermont, 05819.
We are still looking for engine stories to publish. These seem to go over well according to the feedback I’ve received on them. This month we have no room for any, but I would like to get back to this in the next newsletter. Unfortunately, my sources are drying up, so if you have a story, either send it to me, or we can talk about it and of course I will take notes!! Also, I am attaching posters for you to put the date and time onto, and then post in your towns. It helps!
AND ONE MORE: I had gotten all loaded up for the trip to Quechee on 1 August, and had pulled in front of the White market in St Johnsbury where Sam and I get our groceries. I needed a few things for the weekend, and as I pulled in, I saw this dignified looking gentleman with a bushy white beard pull in to the parking lot. He was craning his neck looking, and waving thumbs up, and as I waved back, I thought, here is another engine fan! So, I went on into the market and got my goodies for the weekend, and came around the corner of one of the aisles, and there was the smiling gentleman with the bushy white beard! We got rapidly acquainted, as it turns out we had met at Taylor’s sugar house in Kirby some years before. We had a real nice visit, and he told me about his engine that he keeps under the bench in his welding shop, and I asked him if he had ever heard of our club, and no, he had not. I asked him if he would like to join us, and he said yes, he would! So, we completed our business in the store, and he met me out by my portable office at my truck, and Lo! Just like that we had a new member!
Welcome to Ted Faris from Barnet Vermont!!
-Paul R Amey, Secretary-
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