Early 20th Century Alpha 2 1/2 HP Engine

 This engine was made by the De Laval Cream Separator Company, the same company that would later make the cream separator found in this exhibit. Stuhr's cream separator has a hand crank instead of a belt wheel; however, De Laval made cream separators with belt wheels so that they could be powered with an engine like this one. As with the other engines in this exhibit, a farm family might have used this engine to power not only a cream separator but also a clothes washer, a butter churn, and other machines around the house.
 If you look at the side of this engine, you might see that it has a Wico Electric Company ignition. Originally called the Witherbee Ignition Company (abbreviated WICO), the company may have been renamed the Wico Electric Company sometime in the 1910s. Wico made a wide variety of ignitions, including its EK Magneto, for automobiles and engines throughout the early 20th century. At least three engines here in Stuhr's exhibit have Wico ignitions.