The intriguing story of Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer is the subject of "Tenacity and Brilliance: Kiekhaefer Mercury 1936-1965," Larry Stevenson’s talk at Boothbay Railway Village on Tuesday, June 27 at 7 p.m.

Carl Kiekhaefer was a poor Wisconsin farm boy who loved all things mechanical and wanted to leave the farm to study electrical engineering. His father told him that if he left the farm he could never come back again, so Carl left for good. He got his technical education and talked local investors into buying a bankrupt factory that made Thor outboards for Montgomery Ward, and planned to make magnetic milk separators there. On a cold Wisconsin winter night, while his wife was in the hospital having their first child, Carl went to the factory for the first time. He found hundreds of outboards on the floor, returned from Montgomery Ward with a note that said the motors didn’t run and Montgomery Ward wanted their money back. Carl worked all night to get one of them repaired as an example of what he could do with them, and drove immediately to Chicago to meet the Montgomery Ward buyer. Montgomery Ward agreed to buy motors from Kiekhaefer and Carl went on to make outboard motor history.

"Fire and Dewatering Pumps of WWII Made from Outboard Motors," Larry Stevenson’s talk on Wednesday, June 28, at 7 p.m., tells the story of the development of pumps which have saved countless lives over the years. Designed to fight fires in forests, cities, and on ships, and to pump water out of boats and ships, these pumps were developed early in the 20th century using outboard motors.

The story begins in the 1920s when Pacific Marine of Seattle, Washington developed a 70-pound prototype pump that one person could carry in a backpack. One of their first customers was the U.S. Forest Service, who helped Pacific Marine to further develop the pump to fight fires by pumping water from nearby rivers, streams, ponds or lakes. This portable pump could also be used to fight fires on boats and ships, or to pump water out of sinking ships to keep them afloat. The pumps went on to help the National Park Service, municipal Fire Departments, and U.S. Navy ships in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, where they saved countless ships from fire and sinking. Eventually the pumps were able to pump 500 gallons per minute, a monumental achievement.

After each talk Larry Stevenson will conduct a tour of the newly opened Stevenson Outboard Collection, focusing on the outboard motors discussed in the presentation.

These talks are presented by outboard motor collector and historian Larry Stevenson. Larry is a Navy and Coast Guard Auxiliary veteran and a retired UPS International Industrial Engineering Manager in the international operation with a passion for industrial design, art, history, and sailing.

These talks are hosted by Boothbay Railway Village, 586 Wiscasset Road, Boothbay, Maine.  Admission is free, a suggested donation of $5 is appreciated. Visit the website www.railwayvillage.org or call 207-633-4727 for more information.