n The Boardwalk . . . . - - See Page 18

June 1957

Mueller RecordPublished by

MUELLER CO.5 1 2 West Cerro Gordo Street, Decatur, Ill inois

Acting Editor: JIM M. MILLIGAN

Member Industrial Editors Association of Chicago

and International Council of Industrial Editors

FACTORIES

Decatur, III. Chattanooga, Tenn. Los Angeles, Calif. Sarnia, Ont., Canada

SALES OFFICES

New York San Francisco

The name MUELLER is a registered trademark of Mueller Co.

Recording

Our ThoughtsWell, now that we are back from

a wonderful trip to Atlantic Cityand the 77th Annual AmericanWater Works Association Conven-tion, we can settle back in ourchair and look at the week objec-tively. Since the high-points of theconvention are covered elsewherein this issue, we will confine our-selves to several personal observa-tions.

First and perhaps the most strik-ing feature of the week, was theeasily-observed friendliness of themany hundreds of water workspeople in attendance. We did lots ofcirculating, and found smiles wher-ever we went. It is a "truism"that a good time was had by all!

All of us enjoyed the wonderfulfood offered in Atlantic City's 100-plus restaurants, especially the sea-food centers. Lobster, King Crab,shrimp and clams — all helpedsharpen the appetite.

Convention Hall, home of techni-cal sessions and exhibits, is awonder in itself. Of course, you allknow that it houses, each year, agreat quantity of feminine beauty—during the Miss America Pag-eant. We visited Pageant Heaquar-

The bascule gates are down, aswater rushes over this efficient damin Decatur, Illinois. These churningwaters are due to the excessiveSpring rains experienced over mustof the country. As the run-off intoman-made Lake Decatur eased, thegates were raised bit-by-bit, restor-ing the desired storage capacity ofthe Lake.

Area fishermen certainly had nocomplaints, for the banks wereblack with p e o p l e . Some madepretty good catches, although thespeed of flow was too much formany fish, which were swept ondownstream to be left high and drywhen the "floods" abated.

ters, and sat in on the bustle ofactivity as the staff made ready forthis year's extravaganza. We werealso amazed to learn that many pro-fessional football games have beenplayed inside Convention Hall! Theceiling is so high that any personwho can kick a football to the raft-ers receives one hundred dollars!It has never been done, thoughmany have tried. Convention Hallseats at least 40,000, and as manyas 50,000 for certain types of events.

Several of us took side-trips toMillion Dollar Pier, where eachday at 12:45, local fishermen haulup a gigantic net for the benefit ofthe tourists. We saw the net comeup, filled with thousands of flounder,and a few Blue-fish.

This writer had never been tothe East Coast prior to the Atlan-tic City trip, so three resolutionswere made prior to departure: (1)to swim in the Atlantic Ocean, (2)to ride the roller-coaster on MillionDoller Pier, and (3) to walk theentire length of the Boardwalk.Well, the temperature was only 41degrees when we arrived, but wequickly changed into swimmingtrunks and made like a polar bear.After thawing slightly, we headedfor the Pier and our second aim.Imagine our disappointment whenwe found that there is no roller-coaster in Atlantic City! We settledfor second best—the ferris wheel!And then, the "Great Walk." Yes,we managed the whole length ofthe fabulous Boardwalk, but notwithout a couple of stops on bench-es.

The/ planned activity of the con-vention started Sunday, May 12,with open house at Convention Hall.At 6 P.M., everyone headed for theAmbassador Hotel and the "Board-walk Buffet," which featured foodand fellowship galore. The high-point Monday night was the Awardsceremony and reception for the newAWWA officers, also held at theAmbassador. Although the awardswere too numerous to mention,we offer our sincere congratulationsto all those who devoted themselvesto improvement of water serviceand research, and received thecherished awards for their efforts.

The rest of the week was filledwith a wonderful concert, a Ladies

(Continued on Page 11)

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

CONTENTS

CITY IN TRANSITION PAGE 4

DECATUR PERSONNEL . PAGE 8

CRAWFORD PROMOTED—TINSLEY JOINS MUELLER. PAGE I I

SEEVERS RECEIVES 40-YEAR AWARD. PAGE 1 1

BEATITUDES OF A LEADER .PAGE

STRICTLY OFF THE RECORD! PAGE 12

SALUTING THE NEW A.W.W.A. OFFICERS .....PAGE 17

ON THE BOARDWALK .. . . . . . ....PAGE 18

THE WEEK IN BRIEF .PAGE 20

PANORAMA OF PICTURES PAGE 22

SMILES EVERYWHERE PAGE 24

LOOKING BACKWARD PAGE 26

NEXT MONTH

WHERE ONCE THEBE WAS BUT WATEB: We

journey to Six Lakes, Michigan, 1'or a story on the newunderground storage field of Michigan ConsolidatedGas Company. We will visit the Company's main officesin Detroit, and take a side-trip to Woolfolk Station,just outside Big Bapids, Michigan. Michigan Consoli-dated Gas Company serves approximately 835,000 cus-tomers in 111 Michigan cities, villages and townships.Don't miss this progress report on one of the nation'slargest gas utilities.

WELCOME TO HOSPITALITY HOUSE: Thegigantic building program carried on by utility com-panies across the nation in the past few years has notbeen concentrated solely on erection of operatingfacilities. Utilities have also done a major face-liftingjob in modernizing their business offices. Outstandingamong the gas utilities in this respect is South JerseyGas Co. of Atlantic City. Let's take a trip through"Hospitality House," and see what a great deal offoresight can do.

J U N E 1 9 5 7

Beautiful Lake Decatur, as seen from scenic Lake Shore Drive, is indeed a sight to behold!

Decatur, IllinoisI

City in TransitionWater Oucr the Dam

N 1857, ABRAHAM LINCOLNrode a horse along a judicial cir-cuit, and into Decatur, Illinois,where his name was first men-tioned for the Presidency of theUnited States. Decatur was smallthen, and the surrounding areaswere rich in woodlands. Then, dur-ing the next hundred years, greatthings happened to Decatur, until,in 1957, it is one of the five mostrapidly-growing cities in the entireMiddle West.

Decatur has been called "a cityin transition." Indeed it is. Fordecades, Decatur was surroundedby rich farm land, and was, pri-marily, a farm community. Gradu-ally, though, a change was workedin the economic composition of thearea. Industry discovered that De-catur was a good place to locate.Five major railroads bisect thecity from every direction, and theWabash Railroad located its car

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

and diesel shops in this industrialinfant.

Decatur has another distinctionbesides the "transition" epithet. . . "Soybean Capital of the World."The A. E. Staley Mfg. Company isthe world's largest independent pro-ducer of corn and soybean products.

Now, in 1957, a run-down of in-dustry in the city reminds one ofa roll-call of industrial might, Cat-erpillar Tractor Company, Pitts-burgh Plate Glass Company, West-ern Electric, General Electric, Borg-Warner — all these names meanprosperity for the city named aftera great naval hero—Stephen De-catur.

We mentioned transportation asa major reason for location ofindustry in Decatur. Another greatattraction is water supply. Whilemany Middle West areas have seri-ous water problems, Decatur's sup-ply is relatively abundant. Thisabundance can be traced back to1920, for that is when the cityfaced the serious problem of secur-ing enough water to meet the de-mands of a growing population.

The result of extensive researchand surveys was Lake Decatur.Created in 1922 at a cost of two-and-one-half million dollars, theLake was given birth by construc-tion of an earthen dam with a spill-way of concrete across the Sanga-mon River. Lake Decatur, dividedinto seven separate basins by bridg-es, is thirteen miles long and threequarters of a mile wide at itswidest point. It covers 2800 acresof former timber and farmland. Atthe time of its creation, it was thelargest inland, water - impoundingreservoir built on a Midwest river.Its original capacity was approxi-mately six-and-one-half billion gal-lons of water.

But 1920 doesn't tell us the wholestory. Decatur's public water sys-tem dates from the year 1870, whenwater was supplied by a well. In1879, construction of a woodendam across the river channel wascompleted. In 1910, the woodendam was replaced by one of con-crete, located downstream fromthe 1922 dam.

The present dam is about 1900feet long. It consists of a 540-foot long earth embankment at thenorth end; and an 875-foot earth

embankment at the south end, bothat an elevation of 624, with a 485-foot solid concrete spillway at ele-vation 610 in the middle of the riverchannel. This spillway section is 26-feet, six inches high, and has twosluice gates at its north end. Theaverage daily pumpage of raw wa-ter to be processed for home andfactory use amounts to about 25million gallons, of which about fivemillion gallons are returned to theLake by the Staley company.

All has not been rosy for Deca-tur's water supply, however. Onevery serious situation has been de-veloping throughout the years, notrecognizeable to the thousands ofDecatur residents who use the Lakefor recreational purposes each year.Slowly, but certainly, Lake Deca-tur has been dying of strangulation—strangulation caused by millionsof tons of rich top-soil washed fromfarm lands into the Sangamon Riv-ver, and thence into the lake.

Each year, this silt enters theLake at a rate of 236 acre feet, or600,000 tons. This silt has cut thestorage capacity of the Lake fromsix-and-one-half billion gallons in1922 to less than four billion gal-

lons in 1957. Yet, Decatur's resi-dential and industrial usage of wa-ter has been increasing. Eighty-five percent of the silt drains from575,000 a c r e s of upstream farmland, according to four surveysmade by the State of Illinois. Theproblem is one of serious import,and farmers who own land withinthe watershed have been warnedthat, in addition to losing valuabletop-soil, they are endangering thewater supply of a city that hasrecently been classified as an indus-trial boom-town.

In June, 1952, after a year of re-search, a Citizen's Advisory Com-mittee recommended a ten yearprogram, which included plans forpreserving and expanding the LakeDecatur reservoir. With a three-million-dollar revenue bond issue,and water rates adjusted to retirethe bonds, the city allocated $700,-000, and the A. E. Staley Mfg. Com-pany contributed $250,000, for re-pairing the dam and raising itslevel five feet by the addition ofbascule gates.

Work was soon begun, and inDecember, 1954, bascule gates ar-rived in Decatur from the S. Mor-

The machinery pictured here is the control mechanism which powers thedam gates, and stands immediately above the original sluice gates.

J U N E 1 9 5 7

Filter Building

of Decatur Water W7orks

gan Smith Company in York, Penn-sylvania. A bascule gate is a leaf-type gate hinged at the bottom,which rotates about its bottomhinge. It was recommended by en-gineers because it fulfills the re-quirements of simplicity of jointor individual operation, and can bequickly opened manually in theevent of a power failure. Each sec-tion weighs about 20 tons, and isforty feet long. The two gates overthe Lake Decatur spillway have acombined length of 467 and one-half feet, and are seven and one-half feet high.

Bascule gate construction is sim-ilar to the fabrication of an air-plane wing. A section of gate hasa one-inch steel skin fastened tosteel ribs. The skin forms that sideof the gate that will take the flowof water. Unlike an airplane wing,however, the bascule gate has noskin on the underside of the ribs.

The power which moves the gatesup or down is generated throughhydraulic cylinders or lifters. Thecylinders are placed in recessmentsmade on the face of the dam. Theseeight cylinders are protected fromthe spillway overflow toy sheet steelhousing.

Each gate is 233 feet nine-incheslong, with a one-and-one-half footsteel pier between the two gates.Total length of Decatur's basculegates, the longest ever fabricated, is469 feet. With these gates in opera-tion, the total storage capacity ofLake Decatur would be in the neigh-borhood of eight billion gallons.

Silt still floats into the Lake,however, indicating that othermeasures must be taken to insureadequate water supply in the future.The city has recently constructedtwo deep water wells that are cap-able of producing five million gal-lons per day. These units are lo-cated several miles upstream fromthe city in the pre-glacial MahometRiver Valley, and by the construc-tion of additional wells, this wellfield could produce a net total ofsome 20 million gallons of waterper day. These wells dischargedirectly into the Sangamon Riverupstream from the Lake.

In addition, plans were only re-cently announced, after a great dealof research, to construct a damat the south-east end of Lake De-

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

Decatur is proud of its new officebuilding, located south of the businessdistrict, and close to the filter build-ing1 and pumping station.

Land below the dam went under wa-ter during the recent rainy weather.

No, this isn't flood-plagued Texas!It's just what used to be a naturalboat landing on the south side ofLake Decatur—before the storm!

J U N E 1 9 5 7

MAEVIN CAZIBR

Marvin Cazier became Superin-tendent of Water Distribution in1942, after joining the DecaturWater Department as office boy in1924. Mr. Cazier is a member of theAmerican Water Works Associa-tion.

The members of the Decatur City Council inspect construction of the newpumping station near the dam.

Decatur Personnel

Homer L Chastain

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

Gerald L. "Doc" Davis has beenPlant Superintendent of the Deca-tur Water Department for the pastfourteen years. He joined the de-partment as City Chemist. "Doc"is a member of the AWWA, andwas chairman of the Illinois Sectionin 1956.

John M. Weir, Chief Engineer

John M. Weir, Chief Engineer of the Department of Public Property,has had a long and illustrious career. During his career as consultingengineer, he served the United States Government in China from 1929 to1931, as consultant on the construction of Chinese railroads. Prior tothat time, from 1925 to 1927, Mr. Weir was Chief Engineer for theGeorgia Manganese Co., and he was based in Russia.

Mr. Weir has capably served the city of Decatur for the past 15years. He was City Engineer for twelve years prior to attaining hispresent position.

GEKALD L. DAVIS

J U N E 1 9 5 7

This is one of seven basins of Lake Decatur, with a dividing1 bridge in thebackground.

A map of the proposed Big Creek Lake, which would enable Decaturadequately and easily meet water demands of a growing population.

to

catur, thus creating a huge reser-voir to be known as Big Creek Lake.This new reservoir will not be com-pleted for about ten years, but itis expected to more than satisfythe growing thirst for water in thecity and surrounding areas.

Thus, Decatur has made greatstrides toward providing an excell-ent water supply for its residential,commercial and industrial users.Much credit is due to the fine De-partment of Public Property, head-ed by Homer L. Chastain, Commis-sioner of Public P r o p e r t y . Mr.Chastain has handled this positioncapably for the last seven and one-half years. He was graduated fromthe University of Kansas with a de-gree in Architectural Engineering,and his varied background includes:one year as Resident Engineer inChampaign County, Illinois; oneyear as Land Surveyor in Orlando,Florida; and 20 years as Civil En-gineer for the A. E. Staley Mfg.Co. in Decatur.

In addition to his position asCommissioner, Mr. Chastain hasmaintained a consulting office en-gaged in private practice of engi-neering for the past eleven years.This office has specialized in indus-trial and heavy construction, andhighway design and construction.Mr. Chastain and his wife, RuthErin, have three daughters andfour grandchildren. He is a memberof A.W.W.A., A.C.I., I.A.C.E., andN.S.P.E.

Now that the major water prob-lems of Decatur have been solvedfor several years to come, it is ex-pected that even more large indus-tries will cast a favorable glancein the city's direction. "The Soy-bean City," or city in transition—call it what you will; Decatur isoutgrowing all growth estimates,and her city government is seeingto it that her people have the verybest.

A group of well-heeled young ex-ecutives were exchanging confi-dences on how they had overcomeearly difficulties. "Things were pret-ty tough for me," admitted Rogerswhen his turn came, "but I justgritted my teeth, rolled up mysleeves, spat on my hands—andborrowed another hundred thous-and from my father!"

10 M U E L L E R R E C O R D

Crawford Promoted—Tinsley Joins Mueller

Mr. Warren D. Crawford hasbeen named Western Sales Managerof Mueller Co., according to Mr. W.H. Hipsher, Executive Vice Presi-dent of the company. Mr. Crawfordsucceeds Dan R. Gannon, who wasrecently named Field Sales Man-ager, with headquarters in Decatur.Mr. Phillip R. Tinsley has joined thecompany as Sales Representative inthe Houston, Texas, area.

Mr. Crawford joined Mueller Co.in 1952 as Sales Representative inthe Houston area. A veteran ofWorld War II, he is married andthe father of three children. TheCrawford family will reside in theLos Angeles area.

Mr. Tinsley has been associatedwith a large manufacturer of wa-terworks supplies on the west coast,and joined Mueller Co. on April 15.He was All-American at GeorgiaTech in 1943, and was graduatedfrom UCLA in 1949 with a degreein Industrial Engineering.

Tinsley served in the Civil Engi-neers Corps in the Philippines dur-ing World War II. He is marriedand has two children. The Tinsleyfamily will take residence in Hous-ton. He is also a member of theAmerican Water Works Associa-tion.

Seevers Receives40-Year Award

Mr. Harry V. Seevers, who joinedMueller Co. in 1917, received hisforty-year service award on April5. Seevers started with the com-pany as a Sales Representative cov-ering the state of Kansas.

His forty years with the companywere broken only by five months inthe Infantry during the First WorldWar. After forty years, he is stilltraveling in the same Kansas ter-ritory.

Blessed is the leader who has notsought the high places, but whohas been drafted into service be-cause of his ability and willing-ness to serve.

Blessed is the leader who knowswhere he is going, why he is go-ing, and how to get there.

Blessed is the leader who knows nodiscouragement, and who pre-sents no alibi.

Blessed is the leader who knowshow to lead without being dicta-torial; true leaders are humble.

Blessed is the leader who seeks thebest for those he serves.

Blessed is the leader who leads forthe good of the most concerned,and not for the personal gratifica-tion of his own ideas.

Blessed is the leader who developsleaders while leading.

Blessed is the leader who marcheswith the group, and interpretscorrectly the signs on the path-way to success.

Blessed is the leader who has hishead in the clouds, but his feet onthe ground.

Blessed is the leader who considersleadership an opportunity forservice.

—Anonymous

Mr. Warren Crawford, left, and Mr. Phillip Tinsley chat during a recentmeeting; of sales representatives at headquarters in Decatur.

(Continued from Page 2)Card Party, the golf tournament,and the W.W. Brush Dinner andDance.

We were particularly proud ofthe wonderful reception accordedour Centennial exhibit—Watertown,U.S.A. Great crowds gathered infront of the exhibit to hear thestory of water, and to praise theknowledge and ability responsiblefor such an exhibit. To those ofyou who were unable to see Water-town, U.S.A., may we say that wesincerely hope it will be possible foryou to view this magnificent ex-hibit sometime in the near future.

The inevitable happened; the dayof departure arrived. Sure, we wereall tired, but we have a feelingAtlantic City will be the topic ofconversation in "w a t e r workshomes" for weeks to come.

J U N E 1 9 5 7 II

A local newspaper reported re-cently that a slick saleslady, aftertalking a customer into buying amink coat at a Decatur store, askedgently, "How would your husbandprefer being billed, madam? In aseries of piddling amounts, or inone staggering sum?"

Two vacationing businessmen onthe beach at Bermuda were havinga fine time debating the manycharms of movie star Jane Russell."Don't know what everybody seesin her," exclaimed one. "Take awayher eyes, her hair, her lips andher figure, and what have you got?"The other man gave a heartfeltsigh, and said, "My wife!"

George Gobel complained thathe couldn't teach his prize boxer,Irving, not to chase after automo-biles. A noted dog expert assuredGobel, "Every boxer chases cars.""I know," said George, "but Irvingcatches them!'

When asked to furnish his schoolaffiliations, a New England jobapplicant paused briefly, then wrote,"Korea, Clash of 1952."

"Our shop has a 100 per centsafety record—and we're keepingit that way!"

A report has reached us that theNavy is working on an atomic sub-marine which will stay under waterfor four years—coming up justlong enough for the crew to re-enlist.

12

'IF yoO^a'on't mind nurse, I con Handle this quite alright by myself."

Fo» your enjoyment-Courtesy o! Boyte ond Company

Abe Lincoln once attended atheater in Springfield, Illinois, andarrived just as the curtain rose. Hiseyes r i v e t e d on the stage, hethoughtlessly placed his tall silkhat on the seat next to him, openend up.

Entered a lady of very bountifulproportions, and headed straightfor the empty seat. She sat, therewas a crunch. She jumped up. Thehat was now a black silk pancake.Mr. Lincoln picked it up ruefully."Madam," he declared, "I couldhave told you my hat wouldn't fityou before you tried it on."

Have you heard the one aboutthe gardener attached to Bucking-ham Palace who stole a chair be-longing to Queen Elizabeth andhid it in his greenhouse? He wasspeedily apprehended, and senten-ced to reading nothing but puns forten years, an obvious vindication ofthe old maxim that people who livein g l a s s houses shouldn't stowthrones!

Then there's the one about agreat sea captain who lost a sailoroverboard during a storm, andsaw him swallowed by a whale. Theresourceful captain took after thewhale in a rowboat, and by judicioushandling of an oar, managed tobeat the tar out of him! (Ouch!)

The most unusual salesman heever met, claims Herb Shriner, isa fellow who made a modest for-tune selling lightning rods. Sud-denly he lost interest in his work,however. He got caught in a stormwith a bunch of samples in hisarms.

Here from the issue of September29, 1915, are Seven Wonders of theWorld of which we do not oftenhear:

"The man who will work withoutbeing watched.

A sales manager who doesn'tthink he pays the "old man's" sal-ary.

A salesman who thinks perhapsthe quality of the material mayhave something to do with his mak-ing those large contracts.

A stenographer who knows punc-tuation, and will look in the diction-ary when she is uncertain aboutspelling.

A purchasing agent who doesn'tthink he does you a favor when heasks you to quote.

A new superintendent who willwait a week before installing amuch better system than his pre-decessor's.

A boss who acts as if he wasn't."

"It all started innocentlyenough—as just a coffee break!"

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

CraftsmanshipTRADITION OF A CENTURY

Through a century of service, Mueller Co. has

established a tradition of fine craftsmanship, with trained

workmen utilizing lengthy experience and expert skills...

and with exacting control of quality, materials and

modern manufacturing methods...to produce superior,

more dependable products for the nation's essential

gas and water industries.

t .

Constant temperature checksassure foundrymen that moltenmetal, which can be accuratelymaintained within a plus or mi-nus of 10 degrees Fahrenheit,is of the exact heat and properconsistency.

Expert core men, with skilledhands, call on experience, crafts-manship and unerring skill toshape cores with exacting de-tail, even to the grain of the sand

Patience..

Pride...Patterns are shaped and inspected inminute detail to assure exact accuracyand precision. Records of many thou-sands of patterns and core boxes aremaintained in the Pattern Shop forchecking purposes.

Perfection.

Nimble fingers of this mastercraftsman operate a ground keylapping machine, producingMueller stops that must haveaccuracy to .001 of an inch.

Testing the alignment of platesused for making brass and ironcastings. Accuracy to .001 of aninch is strictly maintained forperfect molds.

Modern tools are of the utmostimportance in fabricating an ex-tension stopper fitting whichmust be accurate for long-livedease of operation.

Experienced ladlemen j o c k e yladles into position to receivewhite-hot liquid brass. Furnacesmelt 2.000 pounds of brass inmelt 2,000 pounds of brassan hour.

? recision machines cutting gleaming metalto microscopic tolerances... turning conveyorlines carefully carrying partially completedproducts to assembly points... busy men ofmany talents adjusting instruments, readinggauges, skilfully performing their work—thisis Mueller quality in the making!

Within this vast array of men and machines,

every movement has a purpose... each andevery man is thoroughly trained for his work,takes great pride in carrying it to perfection.Each part is carefully examined and tested toinsure a product of highest quality and thefinest workmanship possible... a product thatwill give long, safe and trouble-free service.

Never-ending patience and great pride in his workguide this machinist as he manufactures thousandsof small parts used in Mueller products.

A skilled workman with a steady hand and a "fire-proof" thumb"wipes" a lead gooseneck joint to mirror-smooth perfection.

Working with extreme care, anexper ienced craftsman checkseach component part of a drillingand tapping machine, insuringt rouble- f ree serv ice , ef f ic ientoperation for many years.

Extensive testing of the Lub-O-Seal, under the scrutinizing eyeof an engineering expert, givesthe product a final approval. ThisLub-O-Seal lost no efficiency after1,000 high pressure tests.

Watchful eyes and precision ma-chines combine to complete anexacting cut in a stem that will be-come an integral part of an ever-dependable Mueller Gate Valve.

Mueller fire hydrants are testedunder high pressure to provideproof of the dependability of aproduct that must always be readyfor instant service.

The final testWhen the finished unit leaves Mueller Co.,the skill, the care and the quality built intoeach product must meet one final test... atest in which Mueller products have demon-strated superior quality time and time again.

This is the test of the product on the job...in the line to stay, giving dependable,efficient, long-lasting service...a test whichproves that the century-old, Mueller tradi-tion of craftsmanship is worthwhile.

MilFactories at; Decatur, Chattanooga, Los Angeles;In Canada: Mueller, Limited, Sarnia, Ontario

tM&£ILL.

SALUTINGthe

New A. W. W. A. OfficersWILLIAM J. ORCHARD

Treasurer

HARRY E. JORDANSecretary

FRED MERRYFIELDPresident

LEWIS S. FINCHVice-President

J U N E • 1 9 5 7 17

003*1 n 81

J U N E • 1 9 5 7 19

The WeekIn Brief

THE BOARDWALK INATLANTIC CITY" — a magicalphrase that came alive for nearlyfour thousand members of theAmerican Water Works Associationlast month! The week of May 12-17was a week of fellowship, fact andfun in the city which is billed farand wide as "Playground of theWorld."

In this atmosphere of oceanbreeze and exquisite cuisine, mem-bers of the Association settled downto a week of discussion, merrimentand forward looks. Technical sess-ions filled the better part of eachday, interspersed with visits tothe more than 200 exhibits of thevery latest in water works equip-ment and services. The e v e n i n ghours were filled with concerts,dances and banquets, and the "duff-ers" even had a wonderful golftournament at the beautiful SeaView Country Club.

The weather, which was nevertoo good, but never too dishearten-ing, failed to put a damper on thespirits of the conventioneers. Theonly noticeable lack of activity wasin the field of "oceanantics." Veryfew AWWA people chose to bravethe Arctic-like Atlantic Ocean, oth-er than to walk along the beachand stick one or two fingers in thechill waters. There were, however,high-spots, when the sun wouldpeek through the morning mistsfor two or three hours, and hund-reds of people would flock onto thesix - and - one - half miles of Board-walk to view the ocean, or to wan-der in and out of the thousand-and-one shops along the world's mostfamous pedestrian thorofare.

And a p p e a r i n g everywherethroughout the week, with thateternal smile, was Fred Merryfield,who succeeded Paul Weir as Presi-dent of the American Water WorksAssociation. Mr. Merryfield, pro-fessor of sanitary engineering atOregon State College, and consul-ting engineer with the firm of Cor-

20

We** "AU

at the Mue>lle,l

rr

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

At left, Mr. M. C. Fangmeier is aninterested student as Russ Jolly, Mid-west Sales Manager, explains thefunctions of some Mueller equipment.Mr. Fangmeier hails from Waverly,Iowa.

Below, Ray Deweese, Mueller SalesRepresentative, "mugs the camera"as Bob Lawrence appears interestedin a Mueller exhibit. Mr. Lawrenceis Water Superintendent of Nashville,Tennessee.

nell, Rowland, Hayes and Merry-field whisked through the busyweek with boundless enthusiasmand enjoyment. The other new of-ficers, Vice - President Lewis S.Finch and Treasurer William J.Orchard, were on hand to greetall the members, and to join "cornertalks" whenever possible.

There were awards to the hardworkers—there were excursions toHackney's and Captain Starn's forsucculent lobster—there were ses-sions of concentrated discussion ofcommon water problems—and therewere many tired people boardingtrains, planes and busses for thetrip home.

But it was a good kind of "tired-ness" as people left the 77th AnnualConference of the American WaterWorks Association; for, in eachcase, there was a feeling of accom-plishment, of supreme enjoyment,and of joyful anticipation of the1958 Dallas convention.

J U N E 1 9 5 7

Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Fangmeier, ofWaverly, Iowa, chat with Herb Huf-fine, Mueller Sales Representative.

This happy foursome is, from left toright: Earl C. Coalson, Bristol, Va.;G. H. Ruston, Boanoke, Va.; John W.Biggers, Roanoke, Va.; and X. D.Murden, Portsmouth, Va.

Ray Deweese, left, and Wes Tomp-kins, center, seem amused by some-thins: Ed Murphy has .just related. Mr.Tompkins and Mr. Murphy hail fromBeacon, New York.

22 M U E L L E R R E C O R D

Seated, left to right: Mrs. Lynn O.Minor of Kankakee, Mr. Minor, andMrs. William D. Holmes, also of Kan-kakee. Standing are Russ Jolly ofMueller Co. and Mr. William D.Holmes.

From left to right: Mrs. Clark andher husband," Ed, from Nashville, Ten-nessee, and Mr. Joe Lovell of Mur-physboro.

These lovely, smiling ladies are, fromleft to right: Mrs. Gene Graeber, wifeof a Mueller Sales Representative;Mrs. Elizabeth Ellis of Moorestown,New Jersey; Mrs. G. L. Walton ofGlassboro, New Jersey; and Mrs. CarlKear of Minorsville, Pennsylvania.

J U N E 1 9 5 7 23

SMILES

Bob Jett—S. San Gabriel, Calif.

Mrs. Calvin Ellis—Moorestown, N. J.

Hugh Burns—Jackson, Miss.

IBB

Mark Sheridan—Chicago, 111.

Paul Weir—Atlanta, Ga.

24

Leo McQueen—Coldvvater, Mich.

M U E L L E R R E C O R D

EVERYWHERE

Mrs. Winfield Codell—Philadelphia,Pa.

Mrs. Bette Taylor—Johnstown, Pa.

Mrs. S. E. Ward—Scotch Plains, N. J.,and Mrs. Clifford Apgar—Dunellen,

N. J.

Grant Burbidge—Salt Lake City,Utah

Jay L. Ervvin—Chicago, III.

Miss Betsy Ward—Scotch Plains,N.J.

J U N E • 1 9 5 7 25

We here begin a new column, onedesigned to arouse your interestand humor, as well as to let youknow what was taking place in "thegood old days."

November 15, 1910: "This littlepaper will grow. It is going to bea benefit to you now. It will be agreater benefit to you as it devel-ops. We want to make the MUEL-LER RECORD a sort of clearing-house for all beneficial news. It'sa place of exchange."

February 1, 1911: "We have re-ceived an order for two reducingand regulating valves for the newGrand Central Station in New YorkCity."

You have all heard the NationalSafety Council's slogan: "If youdrink, don't drive; if you drive,don't drink." Well, we found thissimilar, thought somewhat moreamusing, entry in the MUELLERRECORD, issue of July 1, 1911:"A good rounder is apt to be a badroadster."

Shades of Jesse James! We herereprint a story entitled "PoorWillie," which appeared in theRECORD, issue of August 1, 1911:

"Saturday, July 22nd, Williesallied forth for Kansas City (onbusiness). He had fifty dollars ex-pense money, and Monday morninghe wired to say he had lost that anda check for fifty dollars. We senthim more money. Of course Williecould not help it. He has been ad-vised, while in the state of theJames boys, to stay away fromtheaters, and to go to bed immedi-ately after supper. With the newexpense money, we sent a porousplaster with directions to placethe money next to his body andcover it with the plaster. If he doesthis he is certain not to lose themoney unless he loses himself, andno one can pry him loose from it."

A little further along, we foundthis tribute to Willie, a Muellersales representative:"Once upon a midnite drearyWillie pondered weak and weary,He was broke and he was leary,Of the Wild West he was skeery.

"Sad, oh sad," he bawled in sorrow,"I must wire the firm tomorrow—What will they think of the story,It's so old and very bory.

144"But it's the best that I can fake,And I trust that it will take.It's so simple that it's funny,To tell them that I've lost their

money.

"Dear good friends won't you relentAnd not ask me where it went?You with hearts so full of pitySurely won't suspect the 'kitty'!"

—by Wilbur Simpson

January 17, 1912: "Over west ofElk City a half a mile, the MissouriPacific maintains a pumping sta-tion operated with a blind mule.The mule is left alone all day andgoes round and round, pumpingwater. When the big tank is fullthe water splashes out on a zincplatter, and this makes a noise thatis the signal for the mule to stop.When a train comes along andstops, the mule starts up again,and goes and goes until the watersplashes out on the zinc. This hasbeen going on for fourteen years.It is probably the only horse powerengine in Montgomery County, andthat is the home of crude oil. HenryDuMonde, who owns the mule andgets paid for its services, got outand worked last spring to beat thebonds at Elk City to build water-works, because the construction ofwaterworks there would throw himand his mule out of work."

In these days of industrial influx,we are all aware, on occasion, ofthe appearance of a new factoryin our town. We today, however,are much more reserved in ourenthusiasm than were the people,places and things mentioned in theRECORD, issue of December 25,1912: "We have come to the con-clusion that the people of Sarniaappreciate the fact that we haveestablished our factory there, andthey seem determined to celebrateit on every possible occasion.

The day that Mr. Oscar Muellerarrived in town to carry on thefinal completion of the work, there

was a little private celebration bythe Imperial Oil Co., which has alarge refinery at that point. Theywere so enthusiastic over his ar-rival that they blew up one of theiroil tanks.

Then, just to show that therewere no hard feelings, in that sameweek the Sarnia Electric Light andPower plant was burned downwhich, we think, was a very goodway of showing their friendship,as it gave us a pyrotechnic displaysecond to none.

Of course, there were other com-panies who did not care to go tothis extent in celebrating, but wewill have to hand it to the SarniaBridge Company. They were work-ing on our foundry building andwere drawing near the end of theirriveting, when they determinedthat the men could work a littleharder and go without the rivetingmachine. So they ran up the pres-sure in the air tank, and there wasan explosion which was heard allover Canada.

We are now prepared for almostanything!"

Many of us have run into somecrazy situations during vacationsover the years. Here is an amusingincident recorded in the RECORD,issue of April 19, 1913:

"A gentleman in Europe engageda courier. Arriving at an inn inAustria, the traveler asked theservant to enter his name in ac-cordance with police regulations ofthat country. The man replied thathe had already anticipated the or-der. 'But how did you write myname?' asked the master.

'I can't exactly pronounce it, butI copied it carefully from your lug-gage, sir,' said the servant.

'But my name is not there,' wasthe reply. 'Bring me the registerbook.'

The register was brought, andrevealed, instead of an Englishname of two syllables, the followingportentous entry: 'Monsieur War-ranted Solid Leather.' "

26 M U E L L E R R E C O R D

We dip into the M U E L L E RRECORD, issue of June 12, 1913,for the first item in this infantcolumn; "The New York Office re-cently received a nice order fromthe Central American Plumbingand Supply Co., of Colon and Pana-ma. This order called for a grossand a half of Extra Self-closingwork. The customer insisted on thisorder being made up with a smallcopper pin through the stem. Theobject is to prevent the Panamapeople from taking the faucetsapart. While this arrangement willprevent adjustment or repairs ofthe cock, it suits the Panama com-pany, who do not want any occasionfor making repairs after installa-tion has been made. Plumbers downthere working for the company getten dollars per day American goldfor eight hours' work. It wouldcost more to make repairs than toput in a new bibb."

* * *

The issue of July 15, 1913, re-calls some interesting informationabout a little-known facet of Muel-ler production: "The fact that wemade one of the first automobilesin the United States, and that itcompeted in and won the firstroad race ever run, is a matter ofautomobile history."

*• -X- -X-

Apparently, political jokes werequite the thing back in 1913, asevidenced by this item of July 15:"The assertion that one out of every200 voters for Woodrow Wilson hadapplied to him for a job remindedSenator Bourne of an office-seekingstory. 'There was once a President,'said the Senator, 'who received,early in his administration, a letterwhich proved to him that there isno such thing as discouraging anoffice-seeker. He received a letterwhich read: Dear Mr. President: Iunderstand you are going to take amonth off to destroy the big moun-tain of letters asking you for jobs.If everything else is gone, I wouldlike the job of destroying the let-ters!' "

•>:• * *•

Panic was in the air during partof 1913. Then, later in the year,things began to brighten, as weread on September 12: "Increasingconfidence dominates financial andcommercial c i r c l e s . There is a

III

general loosening of the tensionprevailing d u r i n g the summer.Bankers, railroad interests, manu-facturers and merchants breatheeasier. The real or fancied bugaboowhich has cast the shadow of res-tricted operation, hard times andpanic over the business world nolonger causes timidity and haltingin the avenues of trade . . . Thenew thought in American economicsthat business transcends politicsin importance in the country hastransplanted old political preju-dices."

* * -x-

And away we go—on October 4,1913: "The annual coon hunt waspulled off Saturday night underideal conditions. The temperaturewas just right, the crowd in finefettle, and the hunting ground thebest we have ever visited. Not onething occurred to mar the pleasureof the occasion . . . The dogs caughtand killed one coon and one possum.The rest of us fared not too well,or not at all."

* * *Here is a definition of efficiency,

or rather a description of it, whichwe feel could benefit everyone,thanks to the MUELLER RECORD,issue of June 15, 1914:

"While I would not advise makingbananas the main crop of NorthDakota (the climate on the wholebeing better suited to wheat), Ihave no doubt Luther Burbankcould grow in North Dakota ba-nanas of so delicious and excep-tional a flavor that millionairesall over the world would send forthem. I have seen beautiful applesclipped at the tree and sealed inpaper bags, labeled with the infor-mation they had never been touch-ed by polluting human hands, sellfor forty cents each at New Yorkhotels. There was no duty protect-ing those apples from the paupercompetition of fly-stung, worm-eat-en apples of many shiftless Easternorchards. A certain alarm clock

sells in great numbers, 3,600 eachday, for $2.50. Other alarm clocks,guaranteed to wake the soundestsleeper, can be bought for fiftycents. It is not a tariff duty thatprotects the $2.50 alarm clock fromthe competition of its less insist-ent rival. The fifty cent alarm clockwill suffer from competition, butnot the $2.50 alarm clock. It is notapples or clocks or inclement cli-mate or abundance of natural re-sources that count in the last analy-sis. It is the men, the humancharacter and intelligence behindthe apples and clocks, and behindour other great American indus-tries. It is their efficiency thatcounts above all."

—Harrington Emerson

Europe was at war when thisappeared in the November 23, 1914issue: "Our opportunity is at hand.America is pretty nearly self-suffi-cient already. From the vortex ofwar now raging in Europe there willspring a new America. We mustlook beyond the clouded present tothe beckoning future. If we do not,we shall fail to grasp the oppor-tunity. American skill and enter-prise will come up to the call, quick-ly and sweepingly. We shall pres-ently see such a seething of ap-plied brains that we won't recog-nize ourselves. It will mean the newAmerica of self-sufficiency, whichwe had dreamed of, but had fearedwould never come."

For the benefit of those whoreceive the MUELLER RECORDevery other month, we will printthe current "Looking Backward"column, as well as the columnfrom the previous month's issue.This will be done each month,to provide readers with that"something old, something new."

J U N E 1 9 5 7 27

I I