Wondrous machines at CAMA festival

KENT — An enthusiastic crowd turned out for the Connecticut Antique Machinery Association (CAMA) fall festival last weekend, Sept. 24 to 26.

And it was a multigenerational crowd, with everyone thoroughly enjoying seeing the fine antique steam engines, tractors, diesel motors and machines of all kinds in the fields adjacent to the CAMA museum just north of the center of town.

Edwin Kenneth Blaisdell and his son, Ken, traveled four-and-a-half hours from North Haverhill, N.H., on Sunday to see the antique equipment.

“Other events like this one don’t compare,†Ken said. “It’s the best. It’s well worth the drive.â€

Exhibitor Sandy Jago brought her toy tractors all the way from Bridport, Vt., to tempt the many collectors who attend the festival. She had J.D. Precision Toy Tractors, as well as many minerals, some of them still in their raw form, others made into jewelry.

Jim Witkowski of Marion, Conn., was at the festival with his 1939 Toro Bullet tractor for the fourth year in a row. His nephew, Joseph Witkowski, 10, of Prospect, said he was glad to be there with his uncle. But when asked if he wanted to ride the steam train, he said that he would rather ride a tractor.

A unique Rider Ericsson hot air engine was a major attraction at the festival. It was part of the large exhibit of James Boice of Salt Point, N.Y., and clearly his pride and joy. His engine dates to 1880; the heyday of the engines was 1880 to 1900, he said.

The hot air engines, which are external combustion engines, were used to pump water on large estates.

“I found it in a swamp west of Poughkeepsie,†Boice said, “after an elderly gentleman, a Mr. Hill, had let me know it had been there for years. It’s a Stirling engine, and the design goes back to 1816. People are revisiting the idea of it now, as they’re looking at alternative energy sources.â€

Boice keeps his engine going as a coal-fired system. “This is one of only three engines of this type and size still in operation in the world today,†he said.

In the Industrial Hall, the large steam engines always draw large crowds to take in the drama of large wheels powered by steam.

Chief Engineer Conrad Milster, a fixture at the exhibit who comes up from Brooklyn, N.Y., keeps the engines running and answers any and all questions visitors might have. Milster has a broad knowledge of the history of the engines which, as he points out, is also intertwined with the nation’s history. It’s all part of a changing social context, too, he said, which included a 56-hour work week. Times have changed, but that doesn’t mean the past should be forgotten.

For more information on CAMA, call 860-927-0050, or go online to ctamachinery.com.

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