CELEBRATING A Legacy

When Louie McHaffie died in 2020, his passing marked the end of an era at the Ozark Steam Engine Assn.’s Steam-O-Rama in Republic, Missouri. Louie was the last living charter member of the Ozarks Steam Engine Assn. His Peerless engine has long been the oldest steam traction engine displayed at the club’s annual shows. It continued that run at the 2021 event.

Built by Geiser Mfg. Co., Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, the 4057 Model R Peerless is thought to date to 1882. In the late 1870s, Peter Geiser, who built his first thresher in 1848, began to sense the need for a Geiser-built steam engine to pair with his threshing rigs.

While attending the U.S. Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, Geiser was impressed by a steam engine on display there, produced by the Best Foundry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Brothers Frank and Abe Landis played key roles in development of the Best, and Geiser was eager to make their acquaintance.

Once he did, Geiser persuaded the brothers to work for him and develop a Geiser steam engine. By 1881, the new engine made its debut. A year later, the Peerless engine that would eventually be part of Louie McHaffie’s collection