Any other water motor collectors out there?
I got this water motor pump at an auction a few years ago. It was built by National Regulator Co., Chicago and New York, and patented in 1912. I have seen a few water motors. One was used in the basement of an old house to pump cistern water to the second-floor bathroom. I wonder what other uses they had. Are there any other water motor collectors out there? Also, I would like a source for 4-inch leathers for the pistons.
Bob Farris, Rochelle, Illinois; (815) 384-3715
Anyone recognize this corn sheller?
I found this old corn sheller thrown out beside my neighbor’s barn. I would like to restore it, but unfortunately, there is not enough of the wood left to tell what it originally looked like. If anyone has any information on this sheller, or pictures, I would appreciate copies.
Gerald Rice,
960 Howard Hall Rd., Franklin, KY 42134;
(270) 647-1387;
garice1952@gmail.com
Inspired by an advertisement
I bought this truck in 2008 after seeing an ad in your great magazine. It came from a farm in Ontario, Oregon. I’m always very happy to renew.
Frank A. Haines, (also known as MRZIP)
Eastern Washington Agricultural Museum’s Unique Auction
At Eastern Washington Agricultural Museum (EWAM) shows and events in Pomeroy, Washington, the Treasure Trailer is a popular feature. Donations of old, farm-related items (including yard art) are loaded on a trailer but are not tagged with prices. A potential buyer steps up to the trailer and makes an offer on an item. If the EWAM volunteer manning the trailer smiles, the piece is sold. If the volunteer does not smile, the potential buyer is welcome to make a higher offer. Proceeds support the museum, and unsold items return home with the person who brought them.
… but you might cry over spilled cream
My parents milked a few cows back in the day when I was a “snot-nosed kid”! The barn cats got some in their bowl in the barn, plus some to lick off when they got squirted.
Most was taken to the house (if the cow didn’t step in the bucket) and run through the cream separator. The separated milk was used for the family to drink; beats grocery store milk now days. What we didn’t use at meals, the pigs got.
The cream that Mom didn’t use to make butter was put in the cream can and then taken to town and sold at the creamery.
I vividly remember one trip to town with the full cream can. We lived about 16 miles out. The road was quite rutted and slippery. The old car got in one of those ruts and jerked around and dumped the full cream can over! Not only did it make a mess to clean up, we had no cream to sell, so we turned around and went home and made do with what we had until we went to town the next week or month or whenever!
David Ruark, Pomeroy, Washington
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