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POWER TALK
LETTERS
Well, Of Course It Is
The photo submitted by Linda Brannen in the January 2009 issue (page 35, “Focus on Texas”) is a spring-tooth harrow. This piece of farm equipment was used to break up clods of dirt in a plowed field and to smooth out the surface.
Charles Foster Sr.
Jackson Electric Cooperative
Editor’s note: A gratifying number of readers wrote or called us to explain the use of the spring-tooth harrow. Thanks for taking the time.
Industrial-Age Threshing
Elise Westfall’s photo on page 35 of the January 2009 issue is of a (steam) traction engine, probably about 80 years old. These were used for heavy hauling and as a stationary power source. I worked on farms in England in the 1940s, and these engines were used to power threshing machines, prior to the advent of combine harvesters, with a long, wide belt going from the flywheel to the threshing machine. This one appears to be wood-fired, while in England coal was used. My son-in-law owned one until recently—they are highly valued by collectors.
Don Stevenson
Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Pass It Forward
I enjoyed the story in your January 2009 issue (“Memory’s Sweet Scent”) about a cedar chest. I have some of the same memories of my childhood as did your writer. We had few means. Sometimes we used an old apple box or an old suitcase, but the point is to pass some of the little things we are proud of onto our descendants.
I have four granddaughters and one great-granddaughter, and I have built two chests and have two more almost done. I have also built a smaller box for my great-granddaughter to keep some of her first possessions safe. I have enclosed a photo of the last chest I made. This is what I like to do as I slip into retirement.
Joe Sudderth
Fannin County Electric Cooperative
Family Feud Over Magazine
I wanted to let everyone know this is a great magazine. My husband and I fight over reading it every month. I always enjoy the articles, calendar of events and the theme pictures in the back each month. Keep up the good work.
Laura Landes
Howe
We want to hear from our readers. Send letters to: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, 1122 Colorado, 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701, or e-mail us at letters@texas-ec.org. Please include the name of your town and electric co-op. Letters may be edited for clarity and length and will be printed as space allows. Read additional letters at www.texascooppower.com.
LET THE GRASS GROW OVER YOU
There’s an old saying about not letting the grass grow under your feet. To do so is to lack initiative. But on the roof—that’s something else. The Waco Chamber of Commerce has the city’s first “living roof” on its new energy-efficient structure at 101 S. Third St. The 1,750- square-foot roof is planted with a variety of sedum. Such green roofs reduce the urban heat island—a metropolitan area that is warmer than surrounding rural areas because vegetation is replaced by heat-absorbing asphalt, concrete and buildings. Roof plants also collect airborne pollutants and add an extra layer of insulation, reducing heating and cooling costs. Rainwater irrigates the low-maintenance plants, and excess water is retained in a cistern. Then a solar-powered pump returns water to the roof during dry periods.
SEE A WEB? CAULK A HOLE.
House spiders are nature’s own energy auditors. They instinctively build their webs near air currents to draw insects into their gossamer dinner tables. So the next time you spot a spiderweb in the house, check nearby for air leaks.
HAPPENINGS
Ever wanted to chase and capture a wild hog, shove it in a burlap sack and cross the finish line with the fastest time? Well, here’s your chance at the 18th annual Wild Hog Festival, set for March 28-29 in Sabinal.
Two-person teams will compete for belt buckles outlined with hog hoofprints as they chase hogs through a corral on the 50-yard line at Yellowjacket Stadium.
But don’t worry, contestants—when it comes to the hogs, it’s not one size fits all. There’s even a spot for the little ones in the pen: Children aged 3 to 9 will scamper after 5-pound piglets, trying to grab one and hand it to an official. Every contestant receives a blue ribbon.
All other activities will be held at Sabinal’s Live Oak Park. The festivities feature arts and crafts and food booths, rides, a children’s train, a barbecue, live entertainment and mechanical bull riding.
For more information, call (830) 988-2709, between 3 and 9 p.m.
COLORADO BEND STATE PARK
At the top of the Highland Lakes chain north of Lake Buchanan is relatively undeveloped Colorado Bend State Park. On weekends, there are guided tours of the 65-foot Gorman Falls (photo, right). Participants scramble down from the rocky bluffs above the Colorado River to a beautiful river canyon and then back up again for a 1.5-mile hike. Or, take along good hiking shoes, drinking water and a light source for a 3-mile round trip to Gorman Cave, which is open by permit only. Undeveloped campgrounds offer water taps, picnic tables, fire rings and composting toilets. A boat ramp offers access to the Colorado River, which feeds into Lake Buchanan. The lake teems with white bass between February and April. For more information, go to the park’s site at www.tpwd.state.tx.us.
GROWING GAS BY THE TANKFUL
A tiny organism might soon play a large role in filling the world’s fuel supply. With concerns in some corners about biofuels made from food crops, the idea of algae as a fuel source has blossomed. The algaes that produce fuel are not the same that you’d find floating in a pond, but rather they are genetically modified versions that have proved capable of producing high-octane gasoline and airplane fuel.
Fuel algae, which can be grown with wastewater in locations inhospitable to food crops or near coal-fired electricity plants, which could supply carbon dioxide as plant food, could one day supplant petroleum as a fuel source, boosters hope.
The industry is still young, although investment is growing. Researchers at the University of Texas have the largest collection of algae specimens in the world and are competing for a piece of a U.S. Defense Department research grant. One company, Russell Industries, has proposed building an algae biodiesel plant near the Houston Ship Channel.
WHO KNEW?
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is an enduring cult film, but in fact it was based on two grisly murders committed in Wisconsin. Two years later, another low-budget movie related a crime saga that was true—and truly Texan.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown relays the story of the 1946 “Texarkana Moonlight Murders,” five unsolved shootings. The director? A Texarkana advertising executive, Charles Pierce—who also cast himself as a small-town cop.
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