To me, there was no one object on the farm that represented the heartbeat of the farm, pumping water through the undergrown veins of the farm where it was needed. In a steady breeze, it would pump water until the demands were met, then it would be turned off. No wind was paramount to no water, unless you wanted to expend the energy to lift water out of the ground with the hand pump. I loved the windmill, and still love to photograph it till this day.
The windmill the most fascinating piece of equipment to me as a child. The wind turned the blades, which turned an shaft, which converted rotary motion to linear motion, transferring the lifting power via an assorted collection of patched sticks that ran from the top of the mill to the pump. As the wind powered the pump, the lifting action would ‘lift’ with water out of the ground via a buried cylinder and into the pipe / hose network.
I am uncertain of the brand, but so many windmills in the area were Aermotor brand, manufactured in Chicago IL.
Part of my job on the farm was to carry water to the house. The water at the windmill, despite being next to the barnyard, was the best water on the farm. The well next to the house, whose water was used for drinking, was hard and didn’t have the quenching taste of the windmill water. It was the water of choice when we made Kool-Aid during a hot summer day. Lots of sugar, quenching our thrist as were drank for our shiny painted aluminum cups. Ahhh, the life.
The windmill pumped water to the barn to supply the cow tanks. The cow tanks, when they were not leaking, supplied water to the drinking cups located at every two cow stations in the barn. Cows learned how to share water as well, but they did occasionally resort to a head butt to get a little extra water. The water was gravity fed from the tanks to the drinking cups.
The water was also directed to the cow tanks outside. These were handmade tanks of water encased in years of concrete patching. Located on the east end of the barnyard, they always had a water supply of water for the cattle when they were outside. A herd of cattle could drop the water level several inches in a few minutes. In the winter, when the cattle spent most of the time inside the barn, they would be let out briefly to make it easier to clean up inside. But before letting them out, one had to break the ice in the tank so the cows could get to the water.
LIFE LESSONS: Do your job when others are counting on you.
SCIENCE LESSONS. There is incredible power with the wind. When I tipped the scales at 50lbs, I loved to hold onto the stick that ran from the moving blades to the top of the pump. A light breeze would have no trouble picking me up and gently setting back down. Wind had incredible power. As summer storms would start to boil and brew, it was job one to turn off the windmill, effectively locking it in place as to prevent it from turning. If left running, the blades would be a blur, like the old fashioned oscillating fan we had on the farm. Except these blades were six feet in diameter, and not meant to handle those kind of g-forces.
I also learned about how sound travels with the windmill. The tail of the assembly made for excellent target practice. I well placed .22 caliber bullet would hit the tail, adding one more hole to the assembly. What was cool was the time delay between the pulling of the trigger, and the sound of the bullet hitting the target. About one second in duration.