Rick guesses his Kent mixer was produced in the early teens since the Novo engine powering it carries a Hildreth tag. Novo engines were produced under the Hildreth Manufacturing Co. name before the company was re-organized in 1912.

Lost to the Ages

Obscure Kent Cement Mixer Poses More Questions than It Answers

By Scott Hollis

Rick Monk of Brownstown, Mich., loves to collect and display Novo engines – and the equipment they powered. So, when fellow engine buddy Joe Kelly contacted Rick about a Novo-powered continuous-pour cement mixer he had stumbled upon in Bangor, Maine, Rick jumped at the chance to add another piece of equipment to his collection.

But when he displays the odd-looking mixer at engine shows, people scratch their heads, wondering just what this particular Novo is powering. Oddly enough, not one person has recognized it as a cement mixer, and nobody has been able to tell Rick anything about its manufacturer, the Kent Machine Co. of Kent, Ohio.

“Nobody even knows what it is,” Rick says. “I've never met a single person who knows what it is out of the five or six shows I've taken it to. Old-timer concrete guys say they've never seen one. I fully expected to meet someone at the Portland (Ind.) show who knew what it was or something about the company, but I never did.”

Remarkably, Rick's Kent mixer seems to be the only one known to exist, and it's just a matter of luck that Rick ended up owning it. Rick and Joe got to know each other through an old-engine Internet site and from a couple of meetings at the Coolspring Power Museum, Coolspring, Pa., and Joe just happened to think of Rick when he saw the Kent. In October 2002 during a vacation that took him through Canada, Rick drove to Bangor and picked up the mixer, repaying Joe the $700 that Joe spent to buy it from a Bangor engine club.

To learn just exactly how old his mixer is and how many were produced, Rick contacted the local historical society in Kent but received absolutely nothing useful about the firm. In fact, his search for more information about the Kent Manufacturing Co. has stalled completely. “The historical society wasn't able to tell me anything,” Rick sadly admits. “I'm hoping GEM readers will know something about it.”

That's how his mixer stands today. Unable to find any information about his mixer, Rick's stuck with wondering the obscure history and specifications about his Kent mixer. In 2004, however, Rick plans to take his engine to about five or six gas engine shows, so hope still remains that someone will finally recognize the mixer and give Rick some much-needed information about it.

Rick Monk is looking for more information about his Kent cement mixer. If anyone has information, contact him at: 24146 Kraft Place, Brownstown, MI 48174; (313) 378-5759; rgmtruck@aol.com

Novo Mud Pump Always on the prowl for Novo-powered equipment, Rick Monk added a Novo mud pump, produced in the late teens, to his collection in 2000. Purchased from old-engine buddy Alex Stevens at the Coolspring Power Museum in Coolspring, Pa., the pump came with a 3 HP Novo vertical engine – the same model of engine that powers the Kent cement mixer. And just like the mixer, this pump came out of Maine, as well. The Novo pump was essentially in good shape: the only items that needed replacing were the rubber plungers. In fact, the same weekend that Alex sold Rick the pump, Rick had it working at the Apple and Arts Festival in Delmont, Pa. Rick returned to his shop in Dearborn, Mich., with the pump and put the finishing touches on it. All that needed done was to strip it down, prime and paint it. The cart base is an original Novo that came with the pump, but Rick made the wheels. Now, Rick uses the pump for demonstrations – its first time was at the 2003 Hudson Mills Old Power Club Show in Dexter, Mich. Rick says the pump does a great job. In fact, the little mud pump can dump upwards of 5 to 6 gallons per stroke.