January 2026 Newsletter
Vermont Gas & Steam Engine Assoc. Our 52nd Year!!
January 2026
Happy New Year to one and all!! As we head on into the new year, it seems as though we’ve all done this before!!
I have made contact with the Cars of Yesterday club, and they are delighted to be in contact with us once more. We are invited to their show, unfortunately it is on our Quechee weekend. They are interested in possibly attending Brownington informally (not an actual show for them), and we will be staying in touch.
We have a new member, Dave Morrison of Waterford VT. Please welcome him when you see him!
THIS JUST IN! It just popped up on my wife’s FB market place! Antique OSWEGO semi-auto paper cutting machine! FREE! Condition listed as GOOD and WORKING! Located in Randolph VT. It would look great belted up to an old engine! The pictures do it justice. It looks like it might have been part of a newspaper operation. Contact Shari Boghell on FB market place, type in antique paper cutter. It’s a big cast iron machine and looks mighty heavy.
DUES AND FINANCES; The new year of course brings in a new dues cycle! Dues are still $20 per family membership, and are payable anytime, either at a show or by mail. You must be paid up in order to vote or exhibit at any of our shows. We are all very grateful for all of your contributions, and the dues are the life blood of our organization. The checkbook stands at xxxxxxx, and all debts are paid.
MEMBERSHIP: At the end of 2025, we had 56 paid members at present. As of 12 January, we have 12. We have 6 life members and 6 honorary members, 4 of which are our show site contacts. We are thankful for the support and interest that keeps our little club functioning, and functioning pretty well!!
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! You do not have to have an engine actually, any old tractors, doodlebugs, Model T’s and A’s, or other old cars of similar vintage, and old tool displays are all welcomed and encouraged!
There will be a board meeting in February, date TBD
COMMUNICATIONS:
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.
The club’s Facebook page is apparently still visible I’m told, however since I lost my own account it is outdated. I have attempted to reach Paul Hubner who was the original admin on that page but have been unsuccessful.
NEW!! We have a website under construction!! Kristin Williams of Upper Valley Web Design has been getting us up and close to running with a brand-new website! We are nearing the completion of it, and thankfully, she is very patient with me!! Our website domain name is VGSEA.com!
SHOW DATES FOR 2026
Brownington: 20-21 June; Rough camping allowed on site, and we are planning a pot luck and music event Saturday evening. There will be a board meeting at 4pm
Quechee Gorge: 1-2 Aug; Rough camping allowed on site, and there is a well-attended flea market that operates on Sunday throughout the day. Our annual members meeting will be held at 4PM on Saturday afternoon.
St Johnsbury Fall Festival show: 26 Sept*: Part of a town wide celebration. Well attended by public, no camping or large campers larger than a pickup truck (with trailer) due to space limitation with one exception. Show area is paved.
Marshfield Fall Festival show; 27 Sept*: Officially there is no camping is allowed, but those with exhibits are allowed to “sleep with your engines”! this show is held in Marshfield’s ball field from 10AM to 4PM, and is hugely attended by the public. There are food concessions on site throughout the day, and there generally is a band along with many other activities throughout the weekend. There will be a board meeting at 10AM, just before the show starts.
(*St Johnsbury and Marshfield show dates are officially unconfirmed, but as our show contacts from both St J and Marshfield told me, the hosting events have always been held at this time, so we went with it!); All have been registered in the Farm Collector directory for 2026. Should there be a change in dates, we will make every effort to let everyone know as early as possible.
OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST AND WORTH ATTENDING:
Alton Whipple Show; This show will be held at 3836 Hinman Settler Road, Newport Vt on 13 June, a one-day show. He has offered to anyone who brings an exhibit to leave their exhibits at his place, and then pick them up before Brownington which is the very next weekend, and just a few miles down the road. There will be a yard sale, and engines to buy or trade, and ‘tis said that there are Amish made doughnuts and coffee available! T
Dublin Gas Engine Meet; This wonderful show takes place at Cricket Hill Farm, 1716 Main St, (Rt 101), Dublin NH, 03444. If you have never been, it is unlike any other, and is a must see. Dates are TBD at this time
North Haverhill Fair; This fair is at the fairgrounds at 1299 Dartmouth College Highway, North Haverhill NH, from 22 July to 26 July. For those who like fairs, this is a good one. They welcome and greatly encourage antique engines and equipment, and any of our folks that come will be co-located with the Two Cylinder club, which features mostly two-cylinder John Deeres, but also engines like ours, as well as old tractors of all description. There is also an ag-museum that you don’t want to miss!
We are still looking for engine stories to publish. These seem to go over well according to the feedback I’ve received on them. I have another story on an engine that I have, but I will save it for the next newsletter. Hopefully some more of you will come forth with some of your stories! They don’t have to be just on engines. Any piece of old equipment that you have that has a story is worth recording!
A bit of history; The world once used the Julian calendar which as its name suggests, was put into place by Julius Ceaser. It worked well enough, but not good enough for the Catholic church, as its drift (having to do with Leap days every four years, caused Easter to fall at an inconvenient time. So, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII switched over to what became known as the Gregorian Calendar which corrected some of the issues. Most predominately Catholic countries switched immediately, the Protestant countries later on, England (and the American colonies) in 1752. Benjamin Franklin in his witty way noted it this way: “It is pleasant for an old man to go to bed on Sept second, and not have to get up until Sept fourteenth”! He was only forty-six at the time, but then, who’s counting?
-Paul R Amey, Secretary-