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LETTER FROM SAN FRANCISCOThe Peterson Sure Shot Hog Oiler And Water In The Blue For Fish And SwimmingContinued from last weekFat Crow’s Drug StoreI recall Pat Crow’s Irug Store, of course, but I did most of my trading for malteds, etc., from Felton. Pat, the one time I decided to give him a try, endeavored to build me an extra-special malted, with the idea, I believe, of weaning (an appropriate word in the context) me away from Felton. He doped it up with a flock of nutmeg. Not being accustomed to nutmeg in my malteds, it was all I could do to get it down. When Pat asked me —hopefully—if it was good, I lied and told him “yes/* But I never bought another from him.Peterson Sure Shot Hog OilerThe Peterson Sure Shot HogOiler was among the (but notTHE) first of Polk's manufacturing industries. The first was, I think, a yeast cake factory situated in the same area where Charlie's dray horse got its leg cut— behind the Progress office and just to the south of the Sack Lumber Co. Who stared this factory and why it went out of business X never learned. It stood there for some years abandoned with a large stock of yeast cakes wrapped in red paper. Several kids, among whom I must number the undersigned, got into it and, helping ourselves to the “stock,” threw the cakes all around town—just a bunch of vandals, I guess. However, we were not the first to “break in” to the place—the mice had been ahead of us by quite some time and the smell of the yeast, mixed^with the musty odor of *the small rodent's casual housekeeping habits, is with me yet,some 50-odd years later. But, to return to the hog oiler: the factory was located in a shed back of the house where Mrs. S. J. Har less now lives. I investigated the operation, of course, and our cousin, the above-mentioned Harvey, worked there for a while. What eventually happened to the ingenious business, I don’t know, but, as the feller said, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” The contrivance involved a small pump hooked up with a reservoir of oil —I'm not sure, but it is my impression that drained crankcase oil was used. The weight of the hog, as it stepped on a hinged board placed in the entrance to the hog house, actuated the pump and gave the hog a shot of oil on its back. It was fool (or hog) proof—if you wanted oily swine.When There Was Water And Fish In The BlueAs for the water and fish in andthe swimming potential of theBlue south of Polk, these are matters inextricably interwoven with my earliest memories of Polk. The water in and the fishing and swimming potentialities of the little stream were, of course, limited. The fish were your mentioned bullheads and an occasional carp —both of immature size. The “swimming” amounted to little more than mud-crawling, but one could get wet—many of the current “bathing suits” seem more designed for displaying than for moistening the epidermus . . . not that I intend to write my Congressman about it! Also, though you didn't mention it, one could do a certain amount of ice-skating there in the wintertime if, that is,Continued On Page 8
Newspaper Details
Polk Progress
Polk, Nebraska, US
Thu, Mar 02, 1967
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Beth H.
USA 26 Apr 2023
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