Saturday, September 24, 2005

Kerosene beyond illumination

In addition to kerosene lanterns, hanging lamps, double-globe lamps, and basic Aladdin-type lamps, with and without shades, there was a kerosene refrigerator on legs and a kerosene engine that ran the pump that took water uphill and into the sheet-metal tank whence it flowed downhill by gravity to the cold-water tap in the kitchen that was so much more convenient for some purposes than the kitchen hand-pump. The engine was fired up once a week or so. Somewhere, lately, I read an article about enthusiasts of old engines, the sort used for miscellaneous purposes, mostly around the farm and ranch. I can't find the article now, but it did inspire me to remember that the engine that ran the pump was a Fairbanks-Morse, one exactly like this in appearance.

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