Since the spring ran the year round and kept some water going down the little mini creek, J. W. and I decided to make a small dam. There was a place where a large willow tree grew next to the stream and the water dropped about a foot. That looked like the best place for a dam. We dug out on the up hill side of the tree and placed in some logs. Then we filled the water side with dirt. To keep the water from boring through the soft dirt, we put a piece of old tarpaulin next to the logs. We knew it would rot within a season, but thought it would last long enough to let the dirt settle in. We were right. Where our engineering went wrong was that we did not count on the water getting high enough to pass on the other side of the tree�

Before putting the dirt on the logs we put a length of 2 inch pipe about a foot up from the bottom. The discharge end was about two feet above the stream bed below, enough to allow the tail waters to get out of the way. The little dam filled with water fast and by the next morning it was going around the tree the other way. This was bad, because in short order it would wash out a new channel and bypass the dam. So, we went to work filling that area with rocks and dirt. The water ran over the rocks all the time, even in dry weather.

The pipe had a good force of full flow all the time. It had about 18 inches of head above the intake when the rains were not there.

By cutting a round can and bending the pieces just right, you can make a dandy paddle wheel. This is what we did and suspended it on a stiff piece of wire. It would really whirl.

The project may not have gone any further had not something happened to draw my interest to it. There came a good rain that raised the water level well over our rock spillway and high over the intake end of the pipe. Water started passing through the pipe faster than it could take it in and a whirlpool formed. The whirlpool would increase until air would be drawn into the pipe, making a god- awful loud sound. Once the air entered, it broke the siphon and the whirlpool would go away. Then the routine would start all over again.

Of course this noise did not happen during the day. In the middle of the night it woke mom and dad. Dad took his shotgun and went out looking for the source of the noise. When he found it, he put a big chunk of sod over the intake end of the pipe and stopped the racket. Needless to say, dad told us to fix it�

J. W. wanted to rip it all out but I thought I could fix it so that sort or thing would not happen any more. I sure did not want to rip out all that work�

I tried to think of why the whirlpool formed. I ask Mr. Caldwell, the science teacher in school, what caused a whirlpool. He explained it to me - sort of.

Thinking on it I concluded that the water passed through the pipe faster than it could enter because, as it passed through, it built up speed, and therefore, pressure. The water at the beginning of the pipe had very little pressure. So, the answer was to restrict the discharge end a little bit.

Lucky that we placed the pipe in the dam with the threaded end toward the discharge. I found a pipe cap and went to dad�s shop in town. I told dad that I wanted the center of the pipe cap cut out. He asked why and I told him. He said, �Son, I think I can save you a lot of trouble. Have you ever heard of a Bell Reducer?� I had not. Dad dug around in his junk and came up with a reducer that went from a 2 inch pipe to a 1 � inch pipe. It was just right!

I went home and stood in that wet stream, cleaning the threads enough to screw the reducer on the end. Not only did it stop the noise, it caused the water to squirt with much greater force! I learned a lesson in hydraulic control.

That started me thinking that perhaps I could make the water wheel work instead of just turning. I got a new can, a two gallon round anti freeze can, about a foot around. I cut it out in such a way that I could bend the flaps into a sort of box. I mounted it on an old coaster wagon axle that had a hole right in the middle. I ran a piece of wire through the hole and wired it to the wheel. That way the axle had to turn with the wheel.

I made a mounting from scrap iron that was heavy enough to prevent the cutting of the axle and mounted it at the dam. Later I found that the axle did not wear fast because it was wet all the time. Water does lubricate, you know.

That new wheel was so strong you could not hold it with your hand. It was great! Now, the next step required a bit of big dealing�

The telephones of those days had a hand crank that turned a little generator inside, This was used to ring the bell on the other end. But where do I get a magneto and a bell?

Mr. Basil Moore owned the telephone company in Mansfield. He was blind and had been since he was ten years old, but he had a darn sharp brain. I went to see him. He told me that he had so many broken telephones he didn�t have room for them. So, he gave me a good generator and two bells�

I fixed a small pulley to the shaft of the wheel and another to the shaft of the little generator. Then I put a platform up in the tree about six feet above the wheel. There I mounted the generator. I made a belt from a small hemp rope. I could adjust the generator mounting board to tighten the belt, Then I got a square can, about 5 gallons, and cut the side out for a generator house. It sat over the generator to keep the rain out.

That little generator really turned and it made enough voltage to bite you if you touched it.

Way up the hill, south of the wheel, was a big, old growth, black oak tree. It was not the tallest tree on the farm, but, since it was at the apex of a hill, it was the highest. I had built a tree house way up where I could sit and look at the entire valley. It was a beautiful place and I often dream about it to this day. I thought that place would be a nice place to put the bell.

I raided every junk pile in town for bottles and jars. When I had enough I ran a wire up the hill through the trees to my tree house. I would chop off an upward pointing limb, stick a bottle or jar on it, and tie the telephone wire to it. Great insulator, and no matter how hard the rain, they would not short across. But easy to break�

The bell, of course, rang continuously. It was far enough away that it did not keep us awake. However, very soon the little bearings the bell clapper rocked on wore through. I put the other bell up but this time I put in a liberal amount of axle grease. It lasted all winter.