On a hot Sunday afternoon when you had a car with five wheels to
take you to the nearest swimming hole you were the King of the road.
So off we went to a pond located on a side road. This pond was part
of a watercourse that at one time supplied a mill. There was a
goodly flow of water to the mill but a road had been constructed
across part of the pond creating a dam to the water flow. This had
been compensated for by the installation of a culvert under the
road. On the up side of the road the pond was a great place to
"swim" besides there was no charge to jump in. As there was no
conservation Authorities around in those days to regulate the usage
of a water hole, there were no permits or regulations required for a
cooling dip.
The old A got us there in grand style and we paused long enough on
the side of the bank to note a raft tied up to a tree with a stout
rope. Some other swimmers had thoughtfully provided a diving
platform. Not wanting to pass up a good thing we untied the raft and
pushed it out into the pond. Great fun and splashes of water as we
enjoyed this convenience were underway, without much regard as to
securing it in place.
At some point it was noted that the raft had departed and was well
on its way toward the culvert under the road. Before anyone could
catch it the culvert did the trick and the water pressure tuned it
across the culvert. There was now an effective gate in the dam
blocking the water discharge. Well we would just go and drag it back
so we could resume our fun. We were about to get a first hand lesson
about the weight of water and no amount of tugging or pulling could
get it away from the culvert. As the water was slowly rising in the
pond we stopped to ponder on the solution to this situation. Ah ha!
The model A would get us out of this. Backing the A up and attaching
the rope to the rear bumper then we would haul the raft out. This
done the A was put in gear and began the pull. Gravel and sand flew
from the rear wheels but the raft stayed right there with the water
getting ready to wash out the road as it would if it spilled over
the top.
Time to rethink this operation was at hand. Observing that in order
to remove the raft we would have to lift it up over the culvert
opening. How to do that using the A was the next order of business.
We removed the spare wheel and tire from the back of the car and
removed the spare tire from the rim. We always carried tools for
this, as flats were common. Next the rope was placed over the wheel
rim standing up on the road above the culvert and attached to the
car. The magic of physics with the help of the A did the trick with
the raft coming away from the culvert nicely. We then got to finish
the swim in order to cool off after all this as I am sure the A was
smiling at us about then.
What’s that old saying? “Necessity is the mother of invention,
if you have an old
model A”
Al Howlett
