Home (What´s New?)   Search this site   About this site   About R & T   Overview   History   Membership   The Whistle   Photo Albums   Reg. Events   Special   Articles   Visitors Info   2008 Schedule     Tractor Pulls   Regulations   Register form   Exhibitor Info   Gift Shop   Organization   Officers&Dir's   Committees   Volunteer Corner   What is it?   Contacting Us     October 2, 2000		The History of Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association, Inc. 1948 - 1988 as told by Marie Bongiavonni Page 2 of 3   During World War II., when scrap drives and donations for the war effort were popular, some folks labelled Art Young "unpatriotic" and reported his rusting collection to the government. When federal officials visited Young to encourage him to contribute his relics for war production, "rather than getting mad, he took them for a walk." While touring his property, Art Young described how parts of old engines were recycled for defense production. He also showed how machines that were classified as scrap were used to supply parts to keep wartime engines running. "During the war, you couldn´t buy new parts, and had to make do with what you had." C. Everett Young said. Instead of pressuring Young, authorities awarded an honorary citation for his efforts in conservation and recycling old machinery to help the war effort. Many folks believe that by preserving machines which contributed to our American heritage, Arthur S. Young may have done far more for future generations than several tons of scrap metal might have contributed during WWII. During his lifetime, Young was also an active civic and religious leader as well as the first president of Rough and Tumble, a position he held from his election at the steam threshermen´s second annual reunion in 1950 until his death in 1955. At the November 1950 board of directors´ meeting, Art Young´s first item of business was selection of a name for the group. He recommended "Rough and Tumble Engineers´ Historical Association," inspired by the original edition of Maggard´s following text. "Mr. Young admitted that the name came from this book," said Brubaker. "It´s a practical book. It helped me many times and gave me good advice about keeping engines in trim ... in good repair." Supposedly, Rough and Tumble engineers earned their title by operating sawmills, threshers, road rollers, and other machinery in rough, raw backwoods and fields, making their own repairs, and occasionally dropping through a rotted wooden bridge. After the name was unanimously approved at the board meeting, members adopted an association logo based upon an advertisement for Maggard´s book that appeared in an early issue of Thresher World magazine. In 1951, Rough and Tumble began to develop a national reputation through promotion in a serial production entitled The Iron Men Album. The publisher, Elmer Ritzman, was interested in the preservation of old equipment and had encouraged Art Young to host the first threshermen´s reunion. "In the early 1950s, Ritzman was working up a healthy magazine circulation, and attracted Rough and Tumble members from as far away as California and Ontario, Canada," said Herr. Membership grew steadily as word spread about an organization to collect, preserve, restore, interpret, and exhibit tools and artifacts that commemorated agricultural and rural society. Since then, a primary objective has been to perpetuate early farming machines, methods, and lifestyles through an annual reunion. "When we first started, the reunion was peppered with Amish," said A. D. Mast, a self-proclaimed "dyed-in-the-wool" Rough and Tumbler. "The first year or two it was free, and women of the fire company and local churches would come and help prepare food." Though women´s roles within the organization have expanded considerably since that time, members´ wives in ladies auxiliary and men and women involved with Kinzer Fire Company still serve regional specialties at special events. Rich, deep aromas of freshly brewed coffee, homebaked pies, and sizzling sausage tempt visitors during Spring SteamUps, Annual Reunions, and Fall Show festivities. These activities complement each other throughout the year, with reunions typically held when grain is available for the historical pageant of threshing which captures the attention of men, women, and children of all ages. "We started out as a 100 percent steam show, but as gas engines became antiques, we broadened our collection and developed a well-rounded program," said C. Everett Young. And as attendance increased, reunions evolved from informal gatherings into scheduled, structured activities. Since its inception, an enduring aspect of Rough and Tumble has been the degree of dedication - members´ commitment in terms of time, sweat, and equity. In the mid-50s, contributors´ generosity established a fund that allowed the organization to purchase its own land on the north side of Route 30 - across from Art Young´s property. Nine acres were initially purchased, and along with later acquisitions, Rough and Tumble now owns 33 acres and 15 buildings. In 1957, three members accepted the tremendous task of moving an Allis-Chalmers Corliss Stationary Engine from a knitting mill in Lititz, PA. Through a combination of hard work and diverse mechanical, technical, and artistic talents, they dismantled, rebuilt, and repainted the complex engine. Within four months, the restored engine was installed at its present location in the museum building. Since installation in 1958, this engine has been running every year at the annual reunion. In 1961, in the same cooperative spirit of fun and hard work, another group of Rough and Tumblers dismantled a massive steam-powered ammonia compressor with 80-ton refrigeration capacity donated by Kunzler´s Meat Packing Company. "We had to get it out of Kunzler´s place of business, and that was a dirty, greasy job that took about a week," Titus Brubaker described. "We had to take it all apart to get it out. We had the flywheel in two pieces and had to take it out one piece at a time. The same way with the head and crankshaft. We didn´t have room enough to get the whole thing out in one piece. "Some just worked for a couple hours, and others worked for days. We were all greased-up one evening, and we didn´t go home for supper at the usual time. We wanted to finish that night and we stayed.... Then, when it was time to go home, one fellow said ´you´d better insure your life cause I was home and got an awful lambasting about the grease that I brought in," he laughed heartily. "Well, we had a good time about it anyhow. Yes, we had fun. You bet. We have to have a little fun in life anyhow."   Go to Page 3 of 3.   © Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association, Kinzer, PA The above history is reprinted from the book "Rough and Tumble Engineering", which is itself a reprint of James H. Maggard´s "Book of Instructions for Operators of Farm and Traction Engines". The reprint was originally published in 1988 in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association. This book is available from the Rough and Tumble Gift Shop.
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