My dad was a blacksmith.
He taught me how to weld, and to this day, I can still forge weld...Don't have a forge, so sometimes I've had to use my BBQ and have the burner up high...Hopefully I've got a full tank of gas so I can do want I want to do.
In the shop there was a tank of acetylene, and there was two other tanks one, for the carbide, and the other for water to make the acetylene. Dad taught me how to gas weld with those torches. I liked playing with the carbide in those coal miners lights, the miners would wear on their hats. Or make carbide cannons.
The anvils, there was a hand cranked drill press. In the steel rod rack, various sizes of steel rods..I remember beside the forge, all of the different tools he needed to do what ever forging work. I can remember seeing the forge, but I can't remember what kind of bellows it was. The wood work bench, with the wood drawers underneath. The bench was well used.
On one end of the bench, leaning up against the wall was a lever action rifle...I have no idea what make or model, but to me it was big, and I always wanted to handle it, but didn't dare.
It was called the Alexis Blacksmith Shop.
Oh my...brings back memories....Me, a little kid and of course a kid has short legs..My dad taking long strides when he walked, and me trying to keep up with him as we walked to the shop. Sometimes my dog Blackie tagging along.
One of the posters above mentioned the old wringer washing machine and tub. I remember ours was the Maytag. It only had the one cylinder kick start engine, not the two cylinder. Mom had a old well worn "wash stick" to get the hot clothes out of the washing machine, up to the wringer, then over to the rinse water, thru the wringer again, then into the clothes basket. The old clothes pin bag, to hold the clothes pins, and she hung up the clothes, and a pole out there with two nails in the top. The pole was used to put the two nails between the clothes line, to help prop up the sagging clothes line, with the heavy wet clothes. Stiff as a board in the winter.
My dad and I going down to a creek fishing, using cane poles....Down where we'd go were two old steam engines that were used for sawing logs. Only saw them in use one time when we went there.
Our old car..Dad liked Pontiacs...He always, well the times I can remember, buying re-capped tires for it. The Standard Oil gas station with the red and silver gas pumps..Red was regular..Silver was eythel Silver Crown, and Gold Crown. The large white light globe, and the red globe on top of the pumps, that would light up at night.. The pumps you would turn the handle on the side of the pump to re-set it amount. Then watch the numbers "slowly" add up.
And I remember listening to a radio show..."I remember Mama". A radio show about a family of Norwegians who migrated to the U.S.
Yes, you could say I'm old, and still remember some of the old ways and things. Older than dirt???? I don't know, but I sure played a lot in it.
Lets not forget taking the family pictures with the old 110 film Brownie box camera.
WuzzFuzz
