[bertwert]

Thanks Bert, this thread was on life support and needed a bacon injection.

Activity seemed slow recently, though I'd put something interesting up.

[bertwert]

bag pipe music would have woken me up

Bob would have displeased with that, but between you and me I might have just posted something over in another thread

[Ex Finn.]

Activity seemed slow recently, though I'd put something interesting up

Have any pictures of bacon-bits?

[Racer X 69]

I give you, due to popular demand, a couple of pictures from near the site of the Battle of Radcot Bridge, 1387. I took these this morning on the way to work, about 7:30, so it was dark. One is looking towards Farringdon, at the top of the hill. This is the Farringdon in Oxfordshire, not the London tube station of the same name, and the other is looking from the same place, along the road to Littleworth and Thrupp towards the bridge.

Thanks Tim.

It is fascinating to see places with that kind of history. And today, if it wasn't marked as such a place, who would know?

By the way, there are places here that look just like this. Open, marshy fields. Often with dairy cattle.

[Racer X 69]

When he has the time, I want him to make me a wrist strap for my KP, stamped with PENTAX, not HOCIR. (sorry for the gear talk)

I think when it concerns something like this we could make an exception.

[bertwert]

Maybe I should indulge in posting a few bagpipe videos again?

[rod_grant]

My late father was employed by the State Electricity Commission of Victora (that's the Victoria in Australia) as a ... [drum roll] ... saddler!
He never made a saddle in his life. But he did previously run a boot repair business which meant cutting leather into different shapes (!).
I think the position at the SEC was a legacy one from the olden days when they had lots of horses.
The SEC was the sole supplier of electricity in Victoria until it was broken up and privatised.
So it mined coal (open cut brown coal) built power stations, generated and distributed power all over the State.
It built and owned the town of Yallourn and effectively did all the normal municipal things - rubbish collection, road maint, ran the library & fire brigade, etc etc as well as being the landlord for every house and other building.
When the coal underneith the town became more valuable than the town itself; goodbye Yallourn.
Back to dad's job; He worked at the "municipal depot" (the base for town maint) but all of his work was for SEC instalations themselves - his laid carpet in SEC buildings, he reupholstered office chairs, he made canvas water tanks that fitted into the body of tip trucks (which were used as auxiliary fire trucks when needed).
So, he never made a saddle, but he was employed as a saddler!!

BTW Do I now qualify as a Rupert-story-type-teller?)

[tim60]

My late father was employed by the State Electricity Commission of Victora (that's the Victoria in Australia) as a ... [drum roll] ... saddler!
He never made a saddle in his life. But he did previously run a boot repair business which meant cutting leather into different shapes (!).
I think the position at the SEC was a legacy one from the olden days when they had lots of horses.
The SEC was the sole supplier of electricity in Victoria until it was broken up and privatised.
So it mined coal (open cut brown coal) built power stations, generated and distributed power all over the State.
It built and owned the town of Yallourn and effectively did all the normal municipal things - rubbish collection, road maint, ran the library & fire brigade, etc etc as well as being the landlord for every house and other building.
When the coal underneith the town became more valuable than the town itself; goodbye Yallourn.
Back to dad's job; He worked at the "municipal depot" (the base for town maint) but all of his work was for SEC instalations themselves - his laid carpet in SEC buildings, he reupholstered office chairs, he made canvas water tanks that fitted into the body of tip trucks (which were used as auxiliary fire trucks when needed).
So, he never made a saddle, but he was employed as a saddler!!

BTW Do I now qualify as a Rupert-story-type-teller?)

My first big scale employer was ETSA. Did the same things as SEC, but one state west. Even did the same story with a coal mine and town, where I first worked with them. SEC coal was better quality than ETSA. ETSA coal: if it breaks it is coal, if it doesn't it is rocks. Back during WWII the railways used the coal. It was so bad they had to make mixed coal/oil fired steam engines - the oil was to get the coal to burn.


And your fathers story reminds me of something I saw about a particular NCO role in the army. Basically the blacksmith SgtMaj in a regiment. Originally to do farrier work for the colonel's horse. Now still a recognised title, and in those fancy dress parades this person wears a blacksmith style apron and carries blacksmith tools. The picture I saw was from the Australian army and the incumbent was a veteran of either or both Afghanistan or Iraq - the recent wars there, not the 19th century wars in A or the early 20th century wars in I.

[rod_grant]

ETSA used funny poles!!!
(Two lengths of railway line joined at the top and, maybe, 300mm at the base and the space between filled with concrete)
We Victorians guessed that you had no straight trees in SA, to use as poles.

[ccc_]

My late father was employed by the State Electricity Commission of Victora (that's the Victoria in Australia) as a ... [drum roll] ... saddler!
He never made a saddle in his life. But he did previously run a boot repair business which meant cutting leather into different shapes (!).
I think the position at the SEC was a legacy one from the olden days when they had lots of horses.
The SEC was the sole supplier of electricity in Victoria until it was broken up and privatised.
So it mined coal (open cut brown coal) built power stations, generated and distributed power all over the State.
It built and owned the town of Yallourn and effectively did all the normal municipal things - rubbish collection, road maint, ran the library & fire brigade, etc etc as well as being the landlord for every house and other building.
When the coal underneith the town became more valuable than the town itself; goodbye Yallourn.
Back to dad's job; He worked at the "municipal depot" (the base for town maint) but all of his work was for SEC instalations themselves - his laid carpet in SEC buildings, he reupholstered office chairs, he made canvas water tanks that fitted into the body of tip trucks (which were used as auxiliary fire trucks when needed).
So, he never made a saddle, but he was employed as a saddler!!

BTW Do I now qualify as a Rupert-story-type-teller?)

just before dad retired he changed jobs so a younger guy wouldn't be let go...he became a storekeeper
it was a holdover title from the past...he did a little bit of everything as well

of all the things he might have been a storekeeper wasn't one of them

and yes it seems you may have a knack for extended narrative however others will have to determine if it is up to scratch

---------- Post added 01-09-18 at 01:08 AM ----------

My first big scale employer was ETSA. Did the same things as SEC, but one state west. Even did the same story with a coal mine and town, where I first worked with them. SEC coal was better quality than ETSA. ETSA coal: if it breaks it is coal, if it doesn't it is rocks. Back during WWII the railways used the coal. It was so bad they had to make mixed coal/oil fired steam engines - the oil was to get the coal to burn.


And your fathers story reminds me of something I saw about a particular NCO role in the army. Basically the blacksmith SgtMaj in a regiment. Originally to do farrier work for the colonel's horse. Now still a recognised title, and in those fancy dress parades this person wears a blacksmith style apron and carries blacksmith tools. The picture I saw was from the Australian army and the incumbent was a veteran of either or both Afghanistan or Iraq - the recent wars there, not the 19th century wars in A or the early 20th century wars in I.

we had a job on our bigger line crews...skinner...from muleskinner
he took care of the trucks and trailers

horses and mules are still in use
when I was researching the stitching horse I mentioned above I ran across a current (2000?) manual for the use of horses by our special forces

a coworker's part time job was farrier
he shoed stock for pleasure riders and some farmers who still did it the hard way

it didn't take long to find out that while blacksmith and farrier seemed similar at first blush
they were not the same job or skillset

[aslyfox]

ETSA used funny poles!!!
(Two lengths of railway line joined at the top and, maybe, 300mm at the base and the space between filled with concrete)
We Victorians guessed that you had no straight trees in SA, to use as poles.

The State of Kansas is part of what is called the " Great Plains " Huge treeless grasslands. settlers needed to find an alternative to wood for fencing off fields
It has a area called " Post Rock Country "

" The area known as "Post Rock Country" stretches for approximately 200 miles from the Nebraska border on the north to Dodge City on the south.

The limestone itself is found close to the surface and is usually uniform in thickness. One of its greatest attractions is that it is soft enough to shape when freshly quarried but hardens with exposure to the air. The feather and wedge method is most commonly used to remove the stone. A rather modest set of tools is required, often made by the local blacksmith. A drill, a hammer, a chisel, and a set of feathers and wedges are needed. After the soil is removed, holes are drilled into the limestone about eight inches apart. Feathers and wedges are placed in the holes and the wedge is hit with the hammer to split the rock.

After the rock is quarried it must be moved to the site of the fence. The posts are then set in the ground about 10 steps or more apart. They are then prepared for the wire fence. Several methods can be used but perhaps the most popular is to notch the post's edges to hold the barbed wire after which smooth wire is wrapped around the post to hold the barbed wire in place. . . .

Although the popularity of working with the stone has declined somewhat over the years, the tradition has never stopped. There have always been at least a few post rock cutters in the state who not only do repair work on old structures but also help build an occasional new structure. Recently post rock has become a cultural symbol of central Kansas, representing both the land and the people who settled it. This symbolic use of the post rock has caused a renewed interest in this Kansas folk art. "

Post Rock Cutting - Kansas Folk Art - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society

you can drive down the roads and still find upright limestone fence " poles "

[robtcorl]

you can drive down the roads and still find upright limestone fence " poles "

On our trips to CO it seems a lot fewer of the stone posts are visible from I-70 than in the past.
If it wasn't for wanting get there from here in the least amount time we'd take a blue highway and maybe see more.
Perhaps also stop at the many small town museums along the way.
Going that is, getting home is always a priority coming back.

[ccc_]

The State of Kansas is part of what is called the " Great Plains " Huge treeless grasslands. settlers needed to find an alternative to wood for fencing off fields
It has a area called " Post Rock Country "

" The area known as "Post Rock Country" stretches for approximately 200 miles from the Nebraska border on the north to Dodge City on the south.

The limestone itself is found close to the surface and is usually uniform in thickness. One of its greatest attractions is that it is soft enough to shape when freshly quarried but hardens with exposure to the air. The feather and wedge method is most commonly used to remove the stone. A rather modest set of tools is required, often made by the local blacksmith. A drill, a hammer, a chisel, and a set of feathers and wedges are needed. After the soil is removed, holes are drilled into the limestone about eight inches apart. Feathers and wedges are placed in the holes and the wedge is hit with the hammer to split the rock.

After the rock is quarried it must be moved to the site of the fence. The posts are then set in the ground about 10 steps or more apart. They are then prepared for the wire fence. Several methods can be used but perhaps the most popular is to notch the post's edges to hold the barbed wire after which smooth wire is wrapped around the post to hold the barbed wire in place. . . .

Although the popularity of working with the stone has declined somewhat over the years, the tradition has never stopped. There have always been at least a few post rock cutters in the state who not only do repair work on old structures but also help build an occasional new structure. Recently post rock has become a cultural symbol of central Kansas, representing both the land and the people who settled it. This symbolic use of the post rock has caused a renewed interest in this Kansas folk art. "

Post Rock Cutting - Kansas Folk Art - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society

you can drive down the roads and still find upright limestone fence " poles "

thanks

I never really wondered at the few I've seen...but now I know
I guess I thought they were cast concrete

around here they used hedge or locust posts...we have some that are older than me
does that make them petrified wood?

[robtcorl]

around here they used hedge or locust posts...we have some that are older than me

Lots of Osage orange, aka bois D' arc, aka hedge apple, used for posts in the open/plains area of MO, around here it's eastern red cedar.

[robtcorl]

ccc,
I've tried to figure out your state, thought KS, now thinking OK, or NE?