I know I have not posted in the last two weeks. But we lost a member of the Schwanke family and I wanted to pay my respects to the family.
We only have two weeks left here at the museum and I wanted to show you a little bit around the gift shop.
Everything we have in the gift shop is for sale so stop by and check things out. Just to name a few items we have here at the museum gift shop: Pedal tractors, Pedal cars, toy tractors, toy cars, a vast array of John Deere knick knacks, Harley Davidson tin signs, prints and much much more.

Here are a few photos I took of the gift shop.

Pedal Airplane

John Deere bird house

Match or Tooth pick holders

Pedal police car, Chev Pedal car and 1/8 scale John Deere tractor

just a few of the collectible toy tractors

16'' John Deere boys bike we also have girls bikes

just a few of the many books we have that feature tractors

walls of collectable tin signs 

collectable gas globes, toy cars and tractors 

signed farm prints

collectable toy tractors and trucks

signed Farmall M Pedal tractor

Car collector books

this is just a small helping of what we have for sale at Schwanke Museum. So check us out

I have also decided that I am only going to write one article a month till we open again in the spring.

so have a good winter and keep stopping in to the blog for updateds.

In Memory of Mike Schwanke

On Monday October 3rd we lost a Beloved Family Member and Friend; Mike Schwanke.

Mike Schwanke is the son of Virgil and Agnes Schwanke.

I had the pleasure of working with Mike at the Schwanke Truck and Tractor Shop and at the Schwanke Museum for the last 2 years. Every afternoon Mike would park one of the 3 8N tractors he had rebuilt out in front of the Museum for display. Mike was a great mechanic, if a part was needed and could not be bought he would manufacture the part himself. Mike worked around the shop where he worked on tractors, changed tires, and general maintenance around the shop and museum.

Mike was a quite man, but when you got him talking he was a joy to listen too. I enjoyed his many fishing story or the stories of his youth. Mike also restore many of the vehicles that are on display at the museum. So in Memory of Mike Schwanke, I am going to post the Three 8N Ford here on the Schwanke Museum blog.

1949 8N 60 hp French Built Engine

 The Three 8N's  

1949 V12 Ford 8N 120 hp



1949 V12 Ford 8N 120 hp

Thank You Mike Schwanke you will be missed.

1916 Eagle F 12-22

1916 Eagle F 12-22 right side view

The Eagle Manufacturing Company of Appleton, Wisconsin

Like many companies that built tractors, Eagle Manufacturing Company was no different. They started as the Eagle Fork Company in 1881, in Appleton, Wisconsin, along the Fox River. The company would be the brain child of three men, Richard Miller who would head up the management with John Kanouse and William Polifka. In the beginning they would employ 6 people and the products they would produce were hay tools, horse powers and saw mill frames.

The Eagle Fork company was growing and the owners decided they needed to incorporate so in December of 1888 they changed their name to the Eagle Manufacturing Company and became incorporated. The reason the company incorporated was so they could manufacture products plus they could buy, sell, repairing and deal in farm implements and hardware. They would also employ 11 more employees  and by doing this they would be able to increase production.

As the company progressed they would see several share buy outs take place. Richard Miller decided he wanted to move on and he would sell all of his shares to the Sailberlich brothers, Edward, Frank, and Oscar in January, 1894. The Sailberlich brothers decided the company needed to go in a different direction so they began by manufacturing silage cutters and their new design would include interchangeable cutter plates and this new venture proved to be a success.

Times were changing and the brother decided to once again go in another direction. So In 1899, they would enter into what was the new rage and began experimenting with gasoline engines. They would soon outgrow their Fox River facility and decided to build a new and more modern plant so in 1904 they move to their new plant. With work progressing on their gasoline engines and production of their other products going well they would introduce a new line of silage cutter/filler and began experimenting with a gasoline tractor. They would come out with their first tractor in early 1905, it would use two of their 16 hp. engine blocks mounted on an opposed configuration crankcase. That tractor would be the only model that would use the opposed set-up. The tractor was rated at 20-32 hp, and it weighed in at 12,000 lbs. The two side shaft engines used the hit and miss governor. It had a 9.5 in. bore and 13 in. stroke. They did not build many of these models and after 1906 the model was virtually nonexistent.

The Eagle Manufacturing Company was becoming a true diversified company and they were manufacturing many different products. In their 1908 sales catalog they talked about their extensive line of equipment which included their single cylinder gas engines, engine/saw combinations, silage cutter/blowers, sweep type horse-powers, power jacks, saw rigs, burr mills and grain grinders.

From 1910-1916 Eagle Manufacturing Company would come out with their 4 cylinder series. They built the 16-30 tractor, 25-45 tractor, and 40-60 tractor. The 40-60 models weighed in at 19,000 lbs., rear wheels were 72 in. in diameter. The larger tractor would sell fairly well and it was used mainly in the wheat growing areas of the US.

The company was feeling growing pains in 1913, with production of their gasoline engines and the new line of tractors and the other line of new equipment they had been producing the need for more operating capital was needed.

With the production of the Model D, which was in production from 1913 to 1916, they decided to build it also in three sizes, 8-16, 12-22, and 16-30. The tractor featured a 2 cylinder headless engine with removable valve cages, both pistons would go forward at the same time this gave the tractor a very distinctive sound. They would keep this configuration with the 2 cylinder tractors till they ended this series. The grease cups would provide lubrication to the engine bearings.

1916 Eagle F 12-22 left side view

1916 Eagle F 12-22

 They would produce the Model F from 1916 to 1922 and they only built two sizes, 12-22, and 16-30. The large shroud that was around the radiator on their earlier tractors was done away with. The engine on this tractor would feature an in house built governor and they would use the Madison Kipp oiler and it would provide lube to all the pistons.

World War I began to put a strain on the company like so many other US manufacturing companies. So the board of directors decided that they needed to authorize an increase in capital stock. This would give them enough money to build a new facility and would allow them to take advantage of the wartime growth. Of course with new growth there would also need to bring on new personnel into the company. A decision was made in 1918, by two of the three brothers, Oscar and Frank Sailberlichs they would sell off their share of the holdings then would go on to founded the Fox River Tractor Co. in Appleton, Wisconsin. Their new tractors did not do as well as they expected, but the Fox forage harvesters did better than expected and had a long life and they went on to produce exceptional silage making equipment.

Eagle Manufacturing Company would put all their efforts into building tractors throughout the 20's and 30's. The first tractors to roll off the assembly line from 1922-1928 was the Model H, this tractor was built in four sizes the 13-25, 16-30, 20-40, and 22-45. The early “transitional” models would still use the old style flywheel governor and chain steering, then later models would use the Pickering governor and this would feature an automotive type steering.

The Model E was only built one year 1928-1929 they only made one size, the 20-35. It would feature a Madison Kipp oiler which would lubricated all regions inside the engine, the radiator would set at the conventional position, the transmission would be enclosed, and it was said that this tractor was the ultimate Eagle two cylinder tractor.

These 2 cylinder tractors that the Eagle Manufacturing Company made would become famous for was the "Eagle Beat" and they ended production in 1930. The tractors were built for 17 years and had very few changes during production.

The 1930 would see a change in production with the move to a 6 cylinder tractor. Instead of building components in house they would use mostly out sourced components. This was done in a last ditch effort to keep up with the competition. The first tractor they would build using out sourced components was the Model 6A and it would feature the big Hercules 6 cylinder engine and then again in 1932 they would switch to the Waukesha engine. The Eagle tractors would go from the 2 cylinder engine, to a 6 cylinder starting with this model. One of the options available for this tractor was steel wheels or rubber. This model would be built from 1930 to 1937.

Production of the Model 6B or Universal began in 1936 and would end production in 1938 and this tractor used the Hercules 6 cylinder engine it would also come with Rubber tires as standard equipment. What made this tractor unique was that this little row crop tractor had an adjustable rear tread with a four speed transmission, and could reach speeds up to 13 mph.

But like all small companies the great depression of the 30's made it hard for many small companies, and the Eagle Manufacturing company was no exception. Like so many they were plagued by declining sales and higher operating expenses. They built a good quality 6 cylinder tractor, that could be use as a standard or row crop tractor and 1938 would see the end of production for the company.

The Model 6C or Utility tractor would be the last tractor to roll off the floors and it would shared most of the same specs the 6B had. This little tractor had a very practical design and many considered it a handy little rig. Production of the tractor started in 1937 and ended in 1938.

The company was sold in 1941 to the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company of Clintonville, Wisconsin; they would use many of the parts that Eagle had acquired throughout the years in their production, but it would still end the 50 year run that the Eagle Manufacturing Company enjoyed.

1917 International Cultivator, 1916 International 8-16, 1920 IHC Titan 10-20 and 1916 IHC Mogul 8-16

1917 International Cultivator, 1916 International 8-16, 1920 IHC Titan 10-20 and the 1916 IHC Mogul 8-16

As you are walking down the first Quonset at the Schwanke Museum there is a row of International Harvester tractors toward the end of the line of the tractors you will see a trailer with three mogul engines ( I will write about them later) a 1917 International Cultivator, two 1916 IHC Mogul 8-16 and a 1920 IHC 10-20. The first is the 1917 International Cultivator next to that is the first of the Moguls the International 8-16 four cylinder which has a cover that encloses the engine. Next is the 1920 IHC Titan 10-20, then the 1916 Mogul 8-16. If you haven’t been to the museum or if you walk to fast you will these missed these four tractors and then you will have missed out. All four tractors have been restored to their original state. Like everything I have written about on this blog I will give you the history of the manufacturer. Lately I have been a little long winded so I will give you the history up to the point of the manufacturing of the tractors because the International Harvester Company is still manufacturing tractors still today under the name of Case IH.

International Harvester Company

The roots of International Harvester go back to the 1830s, when inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick from Virginia created his own version of a horse-drawn reaper. He would take his reaper and field-demonstrated throughout 1831. He received a patent for his design in 1834. Together with his brother Leander J. McCormick (1819–1900), they decide on together to move to Chicago in 1847 and there they would start the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. The McCormick reaper sold well, mainly because McCormick developed a marketing and sales technique. The company developed a vast network of trained salesmen who were able to demonstrate how to operate the machines in the field. What also help sales of their products was that the development of railroad and its expansion offered wide distribution to distant market areas. Business was booming as a result of McCormick’s savvy and innovative business practices.

1916 International Mogul 8-16

1920 International Harvester Titan 10-20

McCormick passed away in 1884, and his company was passed to his son, Cyrus McCormick, Jr. The success of the company caught the eye of J.P. Morgan so in 1902, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company, along with three other small agricultural equipment firms (Milwaukee; Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner who were the manufacturers of Champion brand) would merge and this would create the International Harvester Company. Even after the merger of these companies, they pretty much operated as before as separate divisions with competition high between both divisions. One division would work on designing the Mogul while the other worked on the Titan design. The first tractor produced was the friction drive and it was a combination of a chassis designed by the Ohio Manufacturing Company and the International Harvesters horizontal stationary engine. This proved to be a successful which prompted them to continue developing tractors. Many of these tractors were large and cumbersome of course the primary purpose was to break large plots of ground and to power equipment with the tractors belt pulley. By 1910 the company’s management pushed the two divisions to build smaller, cheaper and to make the tractors more efficient. The group that built the Mogul produced the Mogul 12-25 and the 8-16 and the failure prone International 8-16 but it proved to be a revolution in the tractor world.   

1916 Mogul 8-16

The group that worked on the Titan produced the ever reliable 10-20 and their own 12-25. These tractors would spearhead the model lines and dominate the market until the introduction of the Fordson. It was decided in 1917 to move the two divisions together effectively ending the competition between the two staffs. The Fordson was now providing the real competition, so it was time for the designers to come up with either a cheaper tractor or a tractor that was better than the competitions. With the two departments together they would come up with another legendary tractor and it was marketed as a motorized cultivator tractor, but it was expensive to make, so it was back to the drawing board. Only a few hundred of the cultivator tractors were made and were marketed from 1917 to 1918. You can also find this cultivator tractor here at the museum.        

1917 International Cultivator

In 1919, International Harvester purchased the Parlin and Orendorff factory in Canton, Illinois at the time they were one of leading plow manufacturing companies in the industry. After International Harvester purchased the factory they would call it the Canton Works; production there would continue for many decades.
The tractors that the International Harvester Company built would be add to their line agriculture equipment. The Mogul and Titan brands would be sold by McCormick dealers; the first of their many tractors was the Type C Mogul which was little more than a stationary engine on a tractor chassis, fitted with friction drive (one speed forward, one reverse). This first tractor was built between 1911 and 1914, around 862 Moguls were built.  

In 1914 the dealer would see the new International Harvester tractor the 8-16 h. p. single cylinder hopper cooled tractor. They called this tractor a two plow it had a planetary gear it featured a single speed with a single final chain drive with the differential mounted on the back axle. The front wheels were steered by a rack and worm gear. It also featured a Wico oscillating low tension magneto. The belt pulley was mounted on the flywheel and was operated by a hand wheel clutch. Its speed was 400 r. p. m. and weight 5,000 lbs.; it had a sale price of $675, f. o. b. from Chicago. The 8-16 were manufactured from 1914 to 1917.

Single final chain drive with the differential mounted on the back axle.

The many consider the first important tractors to come from International Harvester were the model 10-20 and 15-30. They were introduced in 1915 when the tractors went into production international purposely made them smaller than their predecessors. The tractors primary use was as traction engines to pull 2 bottom plows and they were also used for belt work on threshing machines. Even though the 10-20 and 15-30 were different tractors they had similar qualities to their predecessor the Mogul.

 The 10-20 were a hopper-cooled single cylinder, it also featured a two speed sliding gear transmission, a single chain drive, and just like its predecessor the Moguls, it featured two hand clutches one for the transmission and one for the hand wheel type for the belt pulley.

Both the Mogul and the Titan are truly International tractors several of these tractors were shipped to Europe with many of them going to Great Britain just before the start of World War 1. The average prices for the tractors were 580 pounds sterling or around 2,400 dollars American. These tractors were instrumental as sodbusters in the tough English countryside. They were also instrumental in coal and iron production as work horses. One tractor could do the work of 10 men in one day and this would allow for more men on the battle field during the war. Many of these tractors according to a friend of mine in England are featured pieces in a few museums in England.      

As you walk along the row of Farmall, International Harvester, and McCormick-Deering, toward the back of the museum you will see the 1917 International cultivator and right next to the first of the two Mogul is the revolutionary International 8-16, even thought tractor was prone to problem it was one of the first tractors to feature a 4 cylinder kerosene engine it had a ball bearing crank shaft, effective air filter and sleeved engines the tractor was only produced for two year before it was pulled from the market. Even thought the tractor carries the International name it was built by the Mogul team, next to the International sit the 1920 International Harvester 10-20 Titan and finally the 1916 Mogul 8-16. So you have to stop in and take a look at these revolutionary tractors.   

1918 11-22 Sawyer-Massy

1918 11-22 Sawyer-Massey

Sitting midway through the second building at the Schwanke Museum, right behind the 1924 John Deere Waterloo Boy and just before the 1943 Clark bulldozer sits the 1918 Sawyer-Massey 11-22, No. 4835. Earlier this year we had the pleasure of a visit from Kee W. Groshong of Columbia, MO. Mr. Groshong is rebuilding a 1919 11-22 Sawyer-Massey and want to see what kind of drive system our tractor employed. The Sawyer-Massey 11-22 we have in the museum features the gear drive Sawyer-Massey also used a chain drive system. The 11-22 means that the tractor has 11 hp on the draw bar and 22 hp on the belt. Sawyer-Massey made 4 models with the 11-22 being the smallest. The Sawyer-Massey we have in the museum also features the Kingston Carburetor. The Massey’s group were part owner in the company till 1910, both companies went their own way after the split and I have more about that in the history below.

Sawyer-Massey

THE SAWYER-MASSEY COMPANY
LIMITED, HAMILTON, ONTARIO

The Sawyer-Massey Company like many companies have their founding father and John Fisher was just one of the many fathers. John Fisher moved from New York State and founded a small company in Hamilton in 1835. John Fisher would produce the first threshing machine to be built in Canada he began his production of the threshing machine in 1836. He would soon realizing the possibility for the company but lacked the capital to move forward so he convinced one of his many cousins, Dr. Calvin McQuesten of Lockport, N.Y. to invest in the company and become a partner with him. The firm began to prosper and would ship most of their production to Western Canada. The company at that time was known as the Hamilton Agricultural Works. Hamilton is located on the western edge of Lake Ontario and in the 1840's, supplies of iron ore became short in supply during the winter season. The iron ore had to be ship in from upper New York State and also from Long Point in Ontario. This would make it hard if not difficult to produce equipment in the winter months.

veiw from the front

In the Early 1840's the two nephews of Dr. McQuesren, L.D. Sawyer and his two brothers Payson and Samuel would join the Hamilton Agriculture Works as machinists. The three brothers would gradually become members of the firm and assume control of the business. With the death of founder John Fisher in 1856 the Hamilton Agricultural Works would make a change in the company and become L.D. Sawyer & Co.
The L.D. Sawyer & Co, expanded their product line and by 1869 the company had included in their manufacturing produces like Separators, Tread Mills, Horse Powers, a combination grain drill with clover seeding attachment which they copied from the American made machine the Empire that was produced by their neighbours the Empire Grain Drill Works of Shortsville Ontario County New York, H. L. & C. P. Brown, proprietors. The L.D. Sawyer & Company also sold during this time the Ohio Reaper and Mowers, the Woods Mower, the Dodge Self Rake, the Pitts Threshing Machine, the Rochester Cutting Box along with the Birdsell Clover Huller as part of their product line. The company found the need to build a steam engine so in the early 1880's they began building the return flue portable steam engine. In 1887 they would produce horse drawn road machinery. At the same time they would become agents for British made Aveling and Porter stream road rollers.

side view

veiw of the rear of the Sawyer-Massey

In 1889 the L.D. Sawyer Co was approached by the president of Massey Harris Company of Toronto, Hart A. Massey where upon they would sell 40% interest in the L.D. Sawyer & Company. Hart Massey was elected President of the L.D. Sawyer Co. And he would begin his presidency by re-organization the company; the first of many changes was the name which he changed to Sawyer & Massey Co. Ltd. It was decided by the Massey Harris Company not to have a corporate relationship between the two companies. Things seem to be going good until 1910 when a difference of opinion arose over the future of the company the Hamilton group wanted to increase production of the steam traction engines, while Massey group favoured developing the gas tractor. The differences were so great that the Massey Harris group withdrew all of their interests in the Sawyer & Massey Co. and the Hamilton group re-organized the company thus the new name Sawyer-Massey Co. Ltd, the following year the new two words circular trade mark would begin to appear on all of their machines. In 1912 the two word circular trade mark would be change this time it would appear with bold letters on the smoke box door of the steam traction engine.

steering gear

 L.D. Sawyer & company had been building the LDS portable steam engine during mid 1880's it was decided at the time to name the steam engine after L.D. Sawyer. This engine featured a return flue type with steam dome and a full water front, the engine was mounted at the rear of the short broad boiler and would have the belt wheel on the right hand side, this same unit would later appear as a traction engine. Even though the LDS was a great engine the machine public preferred the locomotive style traction engine. With the mechanical public preferring that design the company would make changes to their design in the mid 1890's.

Kingston Carburetor

 They would begin producing an open bottom locomotive boiler without a steam dome. So the company produced hundreds of this little 13 H.P. single cylinder side mounted engines around the turn of the century. Later they would begin production on the self feeders and straw blowers when added to the separator more power would be needed so they began to produce a 17 H.P. engine and 20 H.P. engines of the same side mounted design, they would add steam domes and straight smoke stack which were changed to slightly tapered one. The new smoke stack would include a Diamond Spark Arrester with its cone top and spark arrester pipe. They would use the double eccentric link reverse gear on all single cylinder engines until 1908. They would later adopt the Woods Patent single eccentric valve gear, the tandem compound engines were all fitted with the Woolf reverse gear. Later the Waters governor would be added to all of their portable engines, traction engines and road rollers.

When it came to rating horse power Sawyer-Massey thought it was better idea to use brake horse power and in 1914 Sawyer-Massey became the only Canadian company to adopt the idea of rating steam traction engines and portable engines by their brake horse power. J.I. Case Threshing Machine Company of Racine, Wisconsin originally pioneered the idea. So now when rated with the brake horse power system the old 17 H.P. became 51 H.P. and the 20 H.P. became 60 H.P. The 22 H.P. simply became 68 H.P. and the 25 H.P. became 76 H.P. The 27 and 30 H.P. tandem compounds became 87 and 100 H.P. respectively. Steam pressure for all engines was now 175 P.S.I.

Sawyer-Massey would begin to produce and manufacture gasoline powered tractor just before the beginning of World War 1. The Sawyer-Massey 22-45 H.P. the chassis was fitted with steam traction engine, with wheels and gearing mounted with a four cylinder. It was slow speed engine that sat lengthwise well to the rear of the tractor and this would drive the pulley and transmission through a bevel gear. The size was intended for use in Western Canada.

side view of Sawyer-Massey

Sawyer-Massey would follow up that tractor with the 30-60 models. This tractor is considered a war time tractor since it was built during World War 1. Sawyer-Massey would continue building tractors after World War 1, the tractors they building were smaller in size like the 11-22 H.P. and the 17-34 H.P.,   gasoline tractors. They would also build a limited number of 17 H.P. and 20 H.P. steam traction engines. Sawyer-Massey would discontinue production of their gasoline tractor by the mid 1920's and became a distributor for the Wallis tractor. They would also discontinue building their steam traction engine at the same time.

With World War 1 over condition were changing and the threshing machinery line began to slow so Sawyer-Massey decided to concentrate their production on road construction equipment. So they began producing steam Road Rollers, Rock Crushers, Rock Screening Equipment, Dump Wagons, Tank Wagons, pull type Road Graders, this would include their light maintainers up to the heavy leaning wheel grader. Sawyer-Massey also built construction plows of all types, Tow type reversible scarifies, Tow type Rollers, Drag Scrapers, and Fresno Scrapers.

Sawyer-Massey was approached by Willys Overland President T.A. Russell about buying interest in the company. It was then that the three brothers it was time to move on so they sold Sawyer-Massey to the new interest. T.A. Russell who was the president of Willys Overland of Canada would take over and become the new president of Sawyer-Massey. As the stock market dropped in 1929 sale also began to slip then into the 1930 sales outlook seem to look poor so the Sawyer Massey Company began building Motor truck bodies and semi-trailers in an effort to stay solvent. Nothing seems to be working, it was then that Sawyer-Massey took on the distributorship for the Austin Western Road Machinery Co. of Aurora, Illinois. They would discontinue the manufacturing of construction machinery and soon the name Sawyer-Massey cease to exist on new equipment.  After World War 2 the company continued to struggle it was then the owners of Sawyer-Massey Company decided to close their doors. The building are now occupied by Stelco and General Steel Wares formerly the Sawyer-Massey buildings on Wellington Street North in Hamilton Ontario.

Sawyer-Massey name plate

Nation Oil Pump & Tank Company

National Oil Pump & Tank Company

Dayton, Ohio
According to Dayton, Ohio City Directories,

1930 #30 Apex clock face fuel dispenser

The National Oil Pump and Tank Company started in 1907. I found in one of my searches for the company that Dayton, Ohio city directories list Joseph N. Boesch as the president and treasurer of the company. The directories also show that in 1924, the company name had been changed to National Recording Pump Company and again in the 1930’s they would change their name one last time to the National Pump Corporation.

The National Pump Corporation would mark their place in history mainly because of their unique designs and their simplicity of their pumps that they produced during the late teens, and throughout the 1920s. The National Oil Pump and Tank Company were able to fend off the financial struggles that many companies were not able too. Thus National survived the depression. Mainly because they were small and were able to keep their assets in check, it also help that National produced a pump that their customer liked. They were simple in design and served their purpose for what they were need for. Many have become famous with collectors such as the Duplex, the Simplex, and the Apex. The National “Visibowls” are considered to be some of the best-looking visible ever made.

#30 Apex clock face

Other than the unique designs and the simplicity of their pumps, the company was just another pump company who made fuel dispensers, grease and oil dispensers and air-compressors. They would apply metering system designed by other companies, and then improving on those designs then apply it to their own pumps. National decided to move their offices too Cincinnati, Ohio in 1936. National would keep their manufacturing operations in Dayton Ohio. National was a small pump manufacturer and when the Tokheim Corporation approached them in 1948, National Pump Corporation would become part of Tokheim. In the years that followed Tokheim would use the National name on some of their pumps, but in the end the name National would be dropped from the companies’ fuel dispenser.  The one thing Tokheim corporation would keep was the national metering system it was of better design than what they were using and you can still find the national metering systems in Tokheim pumps today.

Below are just a few of the pumps that the National pump corporation designed and used. The Simplex, Duplex, Apex, Visibowls, and A series pumps, (A, A-1 and A-38) are highly sought after pumps.

Early pump models would feature the visible pump style, but it was the #70 10 gallon Visibowls was a multisided pump with six sides. That many consider this pump as a fancy pump. It featured a leaf design under the upper casting section that holds the visible in place. Arrows move up and down the inside of the cylinder to show the gallons being dispensed. This pump is a rare pump and highly prized in anyone’s collection. 

The #50 Duplex printer, this pump would print out the sale on a piece of paper it was manufactured in 1921. The pump was made of cast iron and would feature a clock face.

The #51 Duplex was a non printer, it too would feature a clock face and be made from cast iron.  

The # 61 Simplex was manufactured in 1925 and would also feature a cast iron body in the shape of an octagon and it also had a clock face.

The National #30 Apex clock face pump that is featured here at the Schwanke museum was built in 1930’s. It has a six foot gas hose with a banana nozzle and has a universal sight glass so that gas is made visible so the customer can see that the gas they were pumping into their car was clean.

Dirty gas was common in the early twentieth century, this was the reason many gas stations had visible pumps or pumps that feature a cylinder in which the gas could be seen.

 History is being lost every day and companies like the National Pump Corporation is one of the many pump manufacturing company that has been lost to history. Sure I had to dig a little bit to find the information that I have found. But there are so many things we have in the museum that I have not been able to find any information on. One day I going to photograph and post the picture on the blog, then if anyone has any information on any of those items it would make me happy and I will take that information and post it on this blog. Plus if you have any more information about items I have already posted let me know or if I have posted something in error. That way I can correct the information I posted.

The original black and orange Pillips logo

Phillips Petroleum Company

 Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by Frank and L.E. Phillips of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Frank and L.E. Phillips they were considered two of the original experts in gas. They started prospecting for oil in 1903. Like most gas companies of the time Phillips became a supplier of gas, kerosene, fuel oil and refined oil products. The Phillips brother’s wanted their product to be different from their competitors. So they went about trying to improve the quality of their product. As history tells us the brother in 1927 took their newly developed high-octane gasoline and tested it on the mother of all roads Highway 66. While test driving their new formula they were able to reach a cruising speed of 66 mph. this was an achievement that no other company at the time was able to achieve. Inspired by the road signs and the ability to reach 66 mph, Phillips decided to name their new fuel Phillips 66.

I know I could leave it at this point proclaiming that is the history of Phillips 66 but there is so much more than just that.

Excited by their new product the brother decided to expand their business so on November 19, 1927, the Phillips brothers opened their first service station in Wichita, Kansas. The Phillips brother’s new gas was the talk of the county then the state people traveled from around the country to try their new fuel. So in 1929 the Phillips brothers would open their second service station and it would become their first station built in Texas in the city of McLean. Since then both stations have been preserved by local historical societies as historical sites and are visited by thousands of people every year.  

Taking inspiration from the new Highway 66 where they tested their new gasoline the Phillips brothers decided to design their shield log it was created for its link to the highway of the same number. The new logo was introduced in 1930, and it would have a black and orange color scheme and this logo would last for 30 years. In 1959, Phillips introduced a revised version of the shield in red, white and black, a color scheme still used by ConocoPhillips for the brand.

The New Logo used still today

One of the perks for stopping at a Phillips 66 during the late 1930s until the 1960s, Phillips would employ registered nurses as "Highway Hostesses," these nurses would make periodic and random visits to the Phillips 66 stations within their regions and these women would inspect the station restroom facilities to ensure they were well cleaned and stocked. These registered nurses or Highway Hostesses would also serve as ambassadors for the company by directing motorists to suitable dining and lodging facilities. Thus providing tourism for the cities that had a Phillips 66 station.

The Phillips Petroleum Company continue to introduce new products they were among the first oil companies to introduce a multi-grade motor oil, TropArtic, in 1954. These motor oils were designed to be used in automobile engines year-round. Unlike single grades which are recommended to meet variances in weather.

With their market expanding, Phillips Petroleum Company would work out a purchase agreement to add the Utah-based Wasatch Oil Company in 1946; and this would bring the Phillips 66 brand to the northern Rocky Mountain States and would reach as far as the eastern portions of Oregon and Washington. Phillips Petroleum Company would enter into the West Coast market in 1966, by purchasing Tidewater Oil Company's refining and marketing properties. Tidewater Oil company was the owners of the Flying A distributorships and after the buyout they would have to rebrand all of the service stations to Phillips 66. Phillips also had gasoline stations in Canada's western provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan under the name Pacific 66 until the late 1970s.

With their growing market share, Phillips Petroleum Company would become the nation's second oil company, after Texaco, to sell and market gasoline in all 50 states, by opening a Phillips 66 station in Anchorage, Alaska in 1967. However the Phillips' experiment in 50-state marketing was short-lived and the company would withdraw from the gasoline marketing in the northeastern U.S. in 1972. Still they are slowly returning to that market, there are Phillips 66 in Westport, Connecticut and Hadley, Massachusetts. In 1976, the Phillips Petroleum Company would sell their Tidewater properties on the West Coast to another company, the Oil & Shale Corporation (Tosco). Today, Phillips 66 primarily operates out of the Midwest and Southwest.

Still today, Phillips 66 stations are well represented at toll road concession areas in Kansas and Oklahoma.

The Phillips Petroleum Company used many advertising slogan in the mid-1970s , one of the slogans was "The Performance Company," not only promoting the performance of Phillips 66 gasoline and other petroleum products, they were also innovations with asphaltic materials, fertilizers and other non-automotive products. Other slogans through the years have included "Go First-Class — Go Phillips 66", "The Gasoline That Won the West", "Good Things for Cars and the People Who Drive Them" and "At Phillips 66 It's Performance That Counts".

Phillips Petroleum Company would purchase Tosco in 2000, and this would include the Circle K convenience stores and Union 76 gasolines. Phillips Petroleum Company would merge with Conoco to form ConocoPhillips, in 2002. The merged companies would go on to market their gasoline and other products under the Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 brands. ConocoPhillips would also go on to license the Phillips 66 brand to Suncor Energy for its Phillips 66 branded stations in Colorado.

For a small company that was started by two brothers in 1917, with a passion to produce a cleaner more efficient fuel. The Phillips Petroleum Company has come a long way to be one of the great petroleum producers to date.