Worthless Information You'll Never Need to Know

My husband has an occasional chuckle at my expense! As he says, my brain is filled up with bits of worthless information you'll never need to know. Well, maybe if you're a contestant on Jeopardy it might come in handy!

Last year, as I was digging up some information for my daughter to present on her Cotton Pickin' Days here in quaint little Stevenson, Alabama I traipsed off to the park to look over the old steam engine mounted there. It's just a remnant now, but it once powered the Stevenson Gin Company way back in the day when cotton was ginned here at home. It's a massive structure, with an impressive flywheel that is at least 7' in diameter. I found an embossed name on it - Nagel Corliss.

Off I go on a Google-fest to find out about the Nagel-Corliss Company. It's one of those cases where it was once Nagle, then it merged with Corliss, then it was just Corliss. You get the drift. I can't get close enough to the one that powers the Incline in St. Elmo to know if it's a N-C!! Suffice to say that is where grandson stands, watching through the plexi-glass as that huge engine turns the piston and moves that cable to carry the Incline up Looksout Mountain.

Here's a look at a Nagel-Corliss.   http://www.ctamachinery.com/photo-essays-old-website/a-nagle-corliss-engine-in.html

Anyway, my grandson Brody & I YouTubed steam engines and ran across Jay Leno's Garage. I must have been a grease monkey in my previous life, because this stuff fascinates me!! He has some old steam engines that are just awesome! In watching those I learned the origins of a slang term used now - balls out. Now, don't get all huffed up until you hear what that means. Apparently, when the engine thingy revs up inside, there are these rods with balls on the ends of them that hang down. As steam builds and the engine revs, the arms rise up. At full speed, the rods are fully extended and the balls stand straight out. Balls Out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoBWAE0win0

When doing an article for the Heritage of Lincoln County, Tennessee I wanted to submit a story about an old cotton/grist mill that was in the Warren family. It was the Warren Mill at Oregon (Flintville) TN. I drug Tommy down there one day, to the fish hatchery. It's a fish hatchery now - they hatch off trout and replenish the streams. On the hatchery site are the remains of the Warren Mill. We walked back to the remains of the dam which is partially standing. The mill race led out from the dammed up site along the hillside. This would probably have been lined with rough lumber, so the water didn't absorb back into the earth. It travelled a good way before making a 90 degree angle above where the waterwheel would have stood. This was a very large overshot wheel that turned the cogs to turn the engine which powered the mill. The water would drop through a gate into the buckets of the water wheel to make it turn. This motion then turned the inner workings of the engine.

Historical documents showed the mill employed quite a few people. Back then I would wager some were children. There were no child laws in place and kids were valued for their tiny hands that would fit into the machines to untangle yarn. Many a child was maimed for life in this way. At the hatchery a young man showed me the photos of the dam, waterwheel, etc before it was all razed to expand the hatchery. You can still walk the foundation, the millrace, hear the water rushing underground and see the indentation in the hillside where the beautiful waterwheel once labored.

My imagination is pretty good, but I had to visualize how it works. Again dragging hubby along, we go just up the road on Hwy 64 to Falls Mill at Belvidere, TN. This is a gorgeous old grist mill which has been meticulously restored by John Lovett. www.fallsmill.com is the site. We walked the entire site, asking questions as we go, so I can fully understand the former workings of the Warren Mill. It's a beautiful mill and would make a wonderful day trip. The beautiful stream and waterfall that fuels it is spectacular!

My oldest grandson already has the same curiosity I do about these things. I believe the little one will as well, as he grows. And I hope to be able to take them to these places - to touch, to feel, to question! I want them to ask How Does This Work, so that they too will be full of Worthless Information You'll Never Need to Know!!! Trust me, there's plenty more where this is stored!!