Power October 2022 140th Anniversary Supplement - 47

MARMADUKE AND MARNIE
POWER Icons:
The Adventures of Marmaduke
and Marnie Surfaceblow
Long-time POWER readers may remember Marmaduke Surfaceblow, a fictional character
whose engineering escapades were brilliantly portrayed in hundreds of stories published
within POWER magazine's pages over more than 30 years beginning in 1948. Today, the
story continues through Marmy's granddaughter, Marnie, who is an engineering wiz in
her own right.
Aaron Larson and
Darrell Proctor
every POWER magazine issue.
Marmaduke was a machine engineer
M
armaduke Surfaceblow was a
crusty character, who provided
POWER magazine readers
with imaginative tales of entertaining
engineering feats. He was basically a
MacGyver, before there was a MacGyver.
At one time his name was
even used to identify one of POWER
magazine's most-coveted awards-
the Marmaduke award-which recognized
projects for exceptional ingenuity
and innovation.
Stephen M. Elonka was Marmaduke's
creator. He fashioned the man
as a 6-foot-4, steelbrush mustached,
marine engineer with a foghorn voice,
who smoked acrid cigars, drank gin,
and wore size 16 " canal boat " shoes.
Elonka said the name was a combination
of the Scottish name Marmaduke,
and Surfaceblow, a method of removing
dissolved solids from a steam boiler. He
said the character was " a composite of
all the tough, hard-working, hard-playing,
but capable and ingenious stationary
and marine engineers " with whom
he had worked and sailed with aboard
21 merchant ships and two navy vessels
during World War II.
Elonka used his experience to write
elaborate stories incorporating clever,
yet practical, repairs to keep energy
systems operating using mostly common
sense. The stories often included
unusual and humorous incidents, and
readers grew to cherish the character
and his exploits. Some subscribers reported
it was the first thing they read in
October 2022 | POWER Supplement
by trade, with great knowledge of the
inner workings of machinery. Marmy's
office was set above O'Houlihan's Machine
Shop in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood
of New York
City.
Elonka's
stories often began there, with a gathering
of engineers, talking about various
aspects of their jobs. Marmaduke
would then take the topic and run with
it, regaling his listeners with a tale of
how he arrived at a solution to the problem
(Figure 1). Many, if not all, of the
stories were inspired by actual events,
and some readers would write to Elonka
with tales of their own to use as a
basis for future Marmaduke adventures.
Marmaduke had an affinity for smoking
Ringelmann #5 cigars. The Ringelmann
scale, developed by a French
professor in 1888, measures the apparent
density of smoke, from 0 (white)
to 5 (all black). It was written that Mar2.
The drawing shown here was featured in
the article " Marmy's killi-wiggles. " The title
was a play on words as the setting of the story
was the fishing port of Killybegs, Ireland,
and the problem encountered was a seized
locknut on a turbine drive shaft. Marmaduke
learned of the trouble while at the Sand Bar
smoking a cigar and drinking Sandpiper Gin.
Source: POWER
maduke's #5 cigars would often leave
others teary-eyed. He was also famous
for his love of Sandpiper Gin (Figure 2).
In some of Elonka's stories, he placed
Marmaduke " on the beach without a
berth, " a phrase that meant he needed
money. In such a situation, Marmaduke
might offer to solve another engineer's
problem, saying he only required
a " consulting fee, " which could mean
money or-and sometimes in addition
to-a bottle of his favorite drink.
As Elonka wrote, Marmaduke would
solve the problem, and " ballast his double-bottoms
with Sandpiper Gin. "
Marmaduke's knowledge of machin1.
The drawing shown here accompanied
the article " Marmy's free air. " The story was
written as " A TV play in three acts, " which
was a style Elonka used in a few of his articles.
The story never actually appeared on
TV. Source: POWER
www.powermag.com
ery came from his hands-on experience
with the operation of steam power
plants. However, in 1971, Elonka decided
to expand the knowledge base for
his articles. It was then that he introduced
Marmy's long-lost son, Guy Newcomen
Surfaceblow, to the storyline.
Unlike Marmaduke, Guy was a " book
engineer " working toward his PhD in
PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE 47
http://www.powermag.com
Power October 2022 140th Anniversary Supplement

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Power October 2022 140th Anniversary Supplement
