A barn full of "hit and miss" gas engines tells the stories of farm life in the Midwest before World War II thanks to Steve Jordan.
The restored engines fill the barn of Jordan, a Pea Ridge native and history aficionado, who can tell of his ancestors on both his mother's and father's side as far back as his fourth great-grandfather in the Pea Ridge area.
It's a family love affair with his father and son Jeremy helping on the engines. They go to many old engine shows and have made new friends through pursuit of the hobby.
"My dad, he made all this," he said, pointing to one machine. He explained that his father worked in maintenance at Burger Motor Company, Rogers Marina, Daisy, Emerson.
"He's my right hand. He makes little stuff. Some of this, you can't get. He had really helped me a lot."
The old gas engines, discarded in favor of electric motors, are old, temperamental and noisy. They pop and then coast, suck up fuel through "mixer" and ignite.
"I went to Springfield, to Steam O'Rama in 1991 -- that's when it all started," Steve Jordan said, explaining his fascination with old engines. "I drove my Model A Ford up there. I'd never been to that and I seen all these engines and tractors ... I got bit by the bug!"
Referring to his hobby as an addiction and a challenge, he said it can be more difficult to find old engines now than when he began.
"Most are in the hands of collectors now," he said. "So finding a engine in the wild is almost impossible these days, but once in awhile you get lucky and find one tucked away in a barn or a junk pile saved by someone."
Original source can be found here.
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