On Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, Phillip Pillin of Youngstown, Ohio, oils his 1910 Lauson engine that once was part of a oil drill. After 112 years, it is still running and on display at the Portersville Steam Show’s Fall Fling. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

PORTERSVILLE — Phillip Pillin remembers sitting for hours as a young child watching a Lauson steam engine turn, pushing gears that moved heavy machinery perpetually.

Over the weekend, Pillin replicated that experience for others, as he brought a 1910 Lauson unit he purchased to the Portersville Steam Show Fall Fling, to show others how oil-pushing technology worked in the 20th century.

“As a kid, I think I liked watching the wheels turn and everything operating off of each other,” Pillin said Sunday. “Now I just know how to start it; I can maintain it and everything.”

The Fall Fling is the third and final event each year for the Portersville Steam Show, and in addition to displaying numerous steam engines, the festival features its apple cider pressing machine, which makes cider on-site.

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