Kouj*h And Tumble Fngineers
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KINZERS (Lancaster Co.)
Members of the Rough and Tum
ble (R&T) Engineers Historical
Association are busy finalizing
plans for their 2003 Fall Harvest
Days, October 10 and 11, at their
grounds and museum along the
Lincoln Highway, U.S. Route 30,
12 miles east of Lancaster.
The gates will open early, 7
a.m., for visitors to stroll the
grounds and look over the many
old tractors, equipment and
steam engines. Saturday morning
at 7, there will be an apple butter
making demonstration. About 9
a.m. each day, quite a sight to see
will be the members firing up
their steam engines.
Popular to visitors on the
grounds are the large and small
railroads. The Shay Rail Road
provides rides around the exten
sive Rough and Tumbie grounds
and “Little Toot Rail Road” with
a miniature steam engine pro
vides rides for the children.
Throughout the two days,
there will be com husking, shred
ding and shelter demonstrations,
using different types of equip
ment.
The schedule and the activities
are subject to the weather and
also the availability of volunteers
to help with demonstrations. Last
year’s Time of Harvest was
marred by damp weather which
affected the attendance.
Widely know for their “Thre
sherman’s Reunion,” the R&T
association started a harvest time
event years ago for a last chance
“to fire up their boilers and have
some fun before draining them
and putting them away for the
winter months.” They also have
found that the public likes to
watch their “fun.”
Louis Frantz, association presi-
For the little folks, the RAT has the “Little Toot RR,”
which is a miniature steam engine pulling open top cars.
Big folks can ride too.
Lancaster Faij^mg
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Visitors line up to watch a hand cranked sheller dem
onstration during a past harvest day event at the Rough
and Tumbie Engineers on the Lincoln Highway, U.S. Route
30, in Kinzers, 12 miles East of Lancaster.
dent, said that this year’s event
will have more opportunities for
children. They have planned chil
dren’s corn husking, shelling and
grinding events, plus a small
pumpkin decorating contest
using magic markers.
The R&T’s web site at
www.roughandtumble.org is a
source for extensive information
and many photos of the group’s
antique farm equipment and
steam engines. For more inform
ation on the R&T’s 2003 Time of
Harvest, call (717) 755-4797.
A•’§ • J .
Dave Adams is shown
taking some visitors a ride
on his 1895 Frick tractor at
the October 2002 Time of
Harvest.
Photos courtesy
of Routh and Tumble
At the Rough and Tum
ble Engineers Association’s
harvest days a few years
ago, a youngster is pic
tured in R&T’s 1929 Lynn
Halftrack Model 25D.
A self-described baseball buff all his life, Leonard Noll
buys and sells sports cards.
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
MORGANTOWN (Berks Co.)
“It’s fun to look. It’s fun to
buy. But it’s not fun to sell,” said
Leonard Noll as he shuffled
through hundreds of baseball
cards.
But he does sell.
Noll said, “I must. My wife
said my hobby is taking over the
house. I have thousands of cards
in my own collection. Cards are
under the bed and everywhere.”
A self-described baseball buff,
Noll buys and sells cards at a
booth inside The Mill Property
Antiques, 2910 Main St., Rt. 23,
Morgantown.
“The better items are older
items,” Noll said of determining
value of cards. “A card of an out
standing player, a Hall of Famer,
especially a rookie card of a play
er who goes on to become suc
cessful are most valuable.”
Value is also determined by
the age and condition of the card.
Square comers, no ceases or
smudges mean everything when
it comes to assigning value.
“I have a card that would be
worth $4OO, but it drops to $5O
because someone pinned the card
to a bulletin board and the pin
holes remain,” Noll said.
A 1952 Topp’s Company card
of Mickey Mantle lists for thou
sands of dollars, Noll said. He
knows of one card in mint condi
tion that sold for $15,000.
Noll is proud of a Phillies’
player Richie Ashbum card he
has that is worth $225. It isn’t the
price that causes Noll to treasure
the card it’s the sentimental
value attached to it.
He said, “I was a serious fan of
his. I remember seeing him play.
When he died about four years
ago, the value of his card in
creased even more.“
Noll also has a collection of
“tobacco cards,” which were
sports cards placed in packs of
tobacco during the early 1900 s.
New cards are only valuable if
you wait and the player becomes
famous. Sometimes collectors will
hold onto cards they expect will
increase in value, but it doesn’t
always work that way. Noll said
he was certain Ken Griffey Jr.
would make it to Baseball’s Hall
of Fame, which would result in a
dramatic rise in the demand of
his card. Instead, Griffey was in-
jured. The chances of him mak
ing it to the Hall of Fame are dis
mal, and price values for
Griffey’s card have dropped.
Serious collectors often seek to
recreate sets of cards from a par
ticular year and of whole teams.
Be careful not to reprint cards,
Noll warns.
Finding good cards is often a
matter of luck for Noll. He fre
quents flea markets, auctions,
and other shops. Sometimes he
buys whole collections from other
collectors.
Noll places each of his cards in
plastic cases. He said children
who collect cards often mishan
dle them, which hinder their
monetary value.
“But that’s what cards are for
for kids to trade and admire.
What fun would it be if they
couldn’t do that?” Noll asks.
Because he maintains a soft
spot in his heart for kids, Noll
sells 100 cards to kids for $l. He
guarantees there are no dupli
cates, and while the kids might
not find any of great value at this
point, who knows? A player
might go on to become famous
and increase the card’s value.
Also of interest to collectors
are baseball bats, balls, gloves,
and other items with the name of
a famous baseball player. A
Mickey Mantle autographed ball
is worth $3OO. If marked with the
name of an average player, the
item has no value.
Collectors are always sports
buffs like himself, Noll said.
“You need to be, so you know
which players are most collecti
ble. I read the sports lineups and
hits everyday.”
Noll considers baseball selling
more of a hobby than a business.
He said, “My card prices are the
lowest you’re going to find.”
The Mill Property Antiques is
located on a tract of land along
the Conestoga Creek in Morgan
town. Stephen Mast had erected
a mill on the land in 1882. More
than 100 years later, stone ruins
of the mill, its bam, and the dam
still exist. The property and an
tique co-op are owned and oper
ated by the Kurtz family, direct
descendants of the Masts.
Mill Property Antiques is open
seven days a week from 10 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. For more informa
tion, call (610) 286-8854 or (610)
286-7711.