Happy Saturday! David and I are here at the bar and we’re going to enjoy an adult beverage and discuss something I found quite exciting. Along the way, we’ll see if we can work with Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with ‘ho.’” Find a word that begins with the letters “ho” and use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
I think we can do that.
If we were having a beer, you’d be ready for me.
“So, my young friend, what’s this I hear about you’re giving me a lesson today?”
“Wow, you do read my blog.”
“It was better than the news.”
“Are you referring to the fact that the Pirates took the series from the Red Sox?”
“Among other things. Listen, are you going to at least buy me a drink before boring me to tears?”
“Curley, bring the old man a John Howell’s Special and pour me a Modelo. And toss in a few cherries.”
“Uh oh, this sounds like it’s going to be a long day. Dan, what is it you saw at Old Sturbridge, I mean besides the cows?”
“Here are the drinks. I’ll be close enough to eavesdrop? It’s pretty slow today.”
“Well, gentlemen, as they say, gather ‘round. I saw two things on Saturday I’ve never seen before at OSV.”
“Dan, I’ve been there. The place is big, but it’s not Boston.”
“Have you ever seen the mills in operation?”
“No. You mean actually cutting logs and stuff?”
“Cutting logs and grinding corn. Not at the same mill, but you know.”
“I’m sure you enjoyed watching them cut logs into boards.”
“David, they were cutting a log over two feet in diameter and sixteen feet long at about a foot a minute.”
“Powered by water?”
“Yes. Hundreds of gallons rushing through something like a turbine. That turns a shaft which moves a reciprocating blade up and down. It cuts on the down stroke. Then, on the upstroke the motion moves the log forward for the next cut.”
“That’s pretty amazing, Dan. And they invented that in the nineteenth century?”
“Actually, they, well people in Europe invented it in the twelfth century, but they copied that design in England and then here.”
“So, they cut a board off the edge and then move the log over?”
“They cut all the boards, but not all the way through. When they’re all cut, they break them loose and tee up another log.”
“You must have loved watching that. I don’t guess you were that interested in watching them grind wheat.”
“Corn.”
“Corn, wheat, what’s the difference?”
“Wheat doesn’t grow in Massachusetts.”
“Oh. That would make a difference. I thought you were just being pedantic.”
“That’s your character trait, David. Not mine. Curley, could we have another round?”
“Coming up.”
“In the grist mill, given the size of the waterwheel, you could actually go down in the basement and see how the water power gets to the millstones.”
“That does sound fascinating. I’m sure you have pictures.”
“Pictures and video.”
“So, corn and barley. Did they make corn bread?”
“Yes, and porridge which they used as animal feed.”
“Can’t animals just eat the corn and barley as is?”
“Cows can’t digest corn unless it’s ground.”
“I see. What did people eat? I mean besides the animals they were feeding.”
“They did make corn bread, and rye bread. But they told us that in eighteen thirty, if you had white bread or rolls made from wheat flour, you were dining in high style.”
“How things have changed. I’d much rather have rye bread today.”
“How much did the mill owner charge?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? They ground the grain for free?”
“No, but no money was required. They kept one sixteenth of the ground grain.”
“Seems an odd way of doing business.”
“The Massachusetts Colony adopted the practice from England. Grain was life. They didn’t want anyone to die, or to have their animals die because they couldn’t afford to grind their grain.”
“Ha! And this was the way it was before we became civilized.”
“Indeed, but there’s still hope!”
These links will take you to some short videos (most less than 30 seconds)
- Water driving the Saw Mill
- Cutting a Pine Log at the Saw Mill
- Running the Log Frame back for another cut
- Water driving the Grist Mill at Old Sturbridge Village
- The Grist Mill in operation
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