Dungeness, a morning indoors

August-September, 2020

This morning started out dark and cloudy so I decided to head to some place where I could be indoors. The first place I tried was closed. The second place I tried was the Sequim Museum. Truth-be-told, I’m not usually fascinated by museums. Museums definitely can be interesting, but they don’t thrill me like real life does. Nevertheless, I looked forward to seeing some interesting old stuff in this small-town museum. I was not disappointed. There were some cool things here!

In fact, there were a lot of really curious and enchanting and interesting things here. But before I start showing you what I saw, let’s get in the front door first, ok?

The woman in the photo above is the museum’s Executive Director, Judith Reandeau Stipe. She met me at the door, just as I was about to enter, and just as a man was leaving. She and the man who was leaving had been in a business meeting for about an hour, then she was escorting him (very cordially) out the door. It just so happened that I showed up at the door at that exact same moment. She hesitated a bit. She told me they were closed because of COVID19.

Immediately, I gave her my business card with my email address on it, a photo of my truck and trailer on it, and the website address of this blog. I told her I would create a blog post for the Museum and then it would become famous worldwide. We both chuckled at that.

And then she said, “well, honestly, there’s no one else in the building except me … hmmm, well, hmmm … well … ok, come on in!” I did not hesitate!

I expected she would be busy so I was prepared to happily wander around the Museum on my own. But she and I got to talking about many things and so she started talking about the Museum generally and about many of the individual items and exhibits. I wished I had turned on my phone to record her, but I didn’t think of that until later. She was a font of information … all of it fascinating!

In the background of the photo above, you may have noticed an old car. I sure did, and I made a beeline for it as soon as I graciously could.

It was a 1907 REO, model B. “REO” stands for the name “Ransom E. Olds”. The man named Ransom Olds is considered to be the founder of the automotive industry in the USA. He built his first steam car in 1894, then built a gasoline powered car shortly after that. Ransom started the Olds Motor Works Company (which later became the Oldsmobile division of General Motors Corporation). It was his idea to use a stationary assembly line before anyone else was doing that. [Henry Ford started using a moving assembly line shortly after that.] Ransom then sold that business and started the REO company. REOs were built from 1905 through 1936. In their heyday, REO was one of the four largest auto manufacturers in the USA. In 1938, REO declared bankruptcy (the Depression did that to a lot of businesses). The REO name was purchased and used by other manufacturers well into the 1990s.

This 1907 REO in Sequim was in excellent condition!

I tore myself away from the REO and moved on around the small museum in search of other interesting items.

I’m sure all of you have heard of a ten-key adding machine. Well, this (above) was an 80-key adding machine. It was built by the Monroe company in the early 1950s and, according to the sign just above it, this one still works.

The item above was sitting in a very dark corner so the photo isn’t very clear, but it was quite a machine. It’s a Postal Typewriter. The Postal Typewriter company was located in New York, USA, and made these typewriters between 1902 and 1908. This typewriter has an interchangeable hard rubber type wheel and it has a double shift. It sold for $25 in 1902.

The next item that caught my interest was the item in the photo below. What the heck is it?!

I thought it might have something to do with ravioli … or maybe it was a spinning machine for wool … or maybe it was a miniature steam generator. I didn’t have a clue.

I looked deep inside. I still didn’t have a clue. Maybe it coagulates blood … or UNcoagulates blood. Heck, maybe it makes music.

Ok, here’s the sign that was on the wall next to it …

Ha, yes! A Cherry Burrell Butterfat Testing Centrifuge! Everyone knows that! 🙂

Here’s a little info about butterfat testing … The Babcock Test, developed in 1890 by Dr S. M. Babcock of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, satisfied the requirements for a rapid, easily performed, inexpensive, and accurate test of butterfat content in milk. Small, equal amounts of milk and sulphuric acid were mixed, the acid dissolving all solids except butterfat. The fat was separated by centrifugal force and then hot water was added to raise the fat into the graduated neck of a bottle where it could be measured.

The Babcock Test proved to be a practical means of determining butterfat production from each cow. It ensured fair payment to farmers for their cream, and it could detect milk adulteration such as watering or skimming. Babcock equipment suitable for milk testing on farms was available in a range of sizes from four-bottle models to much larger units capable of testing twelve tubes at once, such as the electrically powered testers advertised in the 1930 Cherry Burrell catalogue.

Ok, back to the Sequim Museum and things to be seen here.

Not surprisingly, this museum had photos and information and exhibits about the history of dairy farming in the greater Sequim area. Some photos and documents were more than 100 years old and told about dairy farming hereabouts back in those early days. Judith, the Executive Director of the museum, said that groups of school kids come here for tours, and that, more and more, as the human population density increases, fewer children say they’ve ever seen a cow. So this museum now has two cows (one Holstein and one Jersey, above) and a third one will be arriving soon (a dark brown and white Ayrshire). Of course, these museum cows don’t smell like real cows, and they don’t mooooo, or do other cow things, but at least kids (and adults) can get up close to them and get some idea of what a cow is all about.

Oh boy, here’s a big truck! Judith said it had just arrived in the museum a week ago. She said the truck was purchased new in 1939, was immediately brought to the Sequim area, and has been owned by one family the entire time … passed down from father to son to grandson.

The truck is a 1939 Autocar flatbed truck. Autocar was one of the first truck manufacturers that placed the engine under the cab, under the seats, which made the cab taller for better visibility and made the truck shorter in length for better maneuverability.

If you’re interested in more information about the Autocar company (still making trucks today!), then read the next paragraph here … or just skip ahead to the next photo.

Autocar’s history began in 1897, in the USA, when Louis Semple Clarke built “Autocar No. 1”, a tricycle powered by a one-cylinder gasoline engine, now in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Later that year, “LS”, as he was known, founded the Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Company, supported by his two brothers, their father, and a friend, William Morgan. Autocar No. 2, a four-wheeled runabout car they called “The Pittsburgher”, was built in 1898 and is now in the Henry Ford Museum. In 1899 they moved the company to Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and renamed their business the Autocar Company. Clarke and his partners knew they were at the beginning of something big. But even they couldn’t have known how their innovations would go on to shape all modern American cars and trucks, and how the motor vehicle industry would change the course of American history. Autocar thrived and, over a century later, is proud to be the oldest surviving vehicle nameplate in the United States. Autocar was at the heart of an industrial revolution when it built the first motor truck commercially available in the United States in 1899. The Autocar delivery wagon boasted a payload capacity of 700 pounds and optional 5 or 8 horsepower motors. The “engine-under-the-seat” design maximized area for freight and was the precursor of Autocar’s Cab-Over-Engine design used on every Autocar truck manufactured today, including their severe heavy duty trucks with engines that burn CNG/LNG instead of diesel.

This next photo/item/exhibit in the Sequim Museum is the last one I’m going to show you. It was spectacular.

The photo above shows a section of wall inside the Museum that had been painted with the image of a full-size Mastodon. There’s a clear plastic two-foot high barrier in front of the wall/painting that prevents anyone from getting close enough to touch anything. Attached to the wall/painting were the bones of a Mastodon found near Sequim in 1977. Husband and wife farmers, Emanuel and Clare Manis, were digging a pond on their land with a backhoe in 1977 when they unearthed two sections of one of the tusks. They stopped digging, called for expert help, and the results are here for everyone to see. All of the bones attached to the wall are real … they came from the Mastodon that was unearthed here.

The height of this Mastodon was about 7.5 feet tall. Given its height and the way the tusk curved, it’s thought this Mastodon was a full-grown female.

An object was found in the rib of this animal. The object was studied microscopically and digitally at Texas A&M University, and is believed to be a sharp human-made object that was used to attack and kill this particular Mastodon. Evidence of human activity around a Mastodon is rare. This particular Mastodon is estimated to be 13,800 years old, which means humans, who made tools, were here in the upper Olympic Peninsula area that many years ago too.

Behind that wall (the wall with the painting and the bones on it) … around behind, on the back side of that wall were lots of photos and info about the dig and about the research done. But also, there was a tank here with one section of the tusk in it. The tank was filled with liquid, although there was no information about what the liquid is.

The diameter of this part of the tusk averaged about seven inches.

Think about it … 13,800 years old.

There were many more fun things, fascinating things, and some rather odd things here at the Sequim Museum, as these types of small museums tend to have. It was a great place to spend a cool and cloudy morning. I’d go back any time!

Then, to top it off, after I thanked Judith for letting me come in, I walked out the door to find that the day had turned from dark and cloudy to bright, warm sunshine. What a delight.

 

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18 Responses to Dungeness, a morning indoors

  1. Jan says:

    Wow, this is definitely not a musty old dusty old museum. Looks very professional– definitely on my list to visit us soon as we can travel. Good sleuthing, Ann!

    • Ann says:

      You are absolutely correct. This museum was clean with everything nicely displayed and well-labeled. Judith and the volunteers are doing an excellent job.

  2. Kristin says:

    Cool stuff! I especially like the car… What a lucky break to be admitted to that museum.

    • Ann says:

      Yep, I was sure lucky to be there at exactly the right time. I wasn’t at all pushy but I did speak up and did what I thought I could to convince her to let me in. A big smile helped too I think. 🙂

  3. Ruby Begonia says:

    I have a question. I know some things in the world, mostly things about plants, but I know nothing about cows. Please tell me, why does that black and white cow have horns? I thought only bulls had horns. I agree … what a great museum espcially for a small town!

    • Ann says:

      Ah, good question. In fact, Ruby, for many varieties of cattle, bulls and cows have horns, if they are allowed to grow. Some cattle are bred to have the “poll” gene removed (I’m sure there’s a more scientific way of wording that, but you get the idea). And, as well, it has become fairly standard practice to “poll” a calf (especially the females!?) which means the buds of the horns are removed from the head of very young calves. So … indeed, cows have horns!

  4. Mrs Thompson says:

    I had no clue that you have business cards—neat idea!

    • Ann says:

      My business card is just a standard sized white card with a photo image of my truck and trailer parked in a campsite, and then I have my name, my email address, and the blog website address below that. It’s clean and neat and easily read. And, yes, it makes friends and opens doors. 🙂 Thanks Mrs. T.

  5. Tim in Montana says:

    I’m going to rent a backhoe! There must be Mastodons in Montana too, right? That was really cool.

    • Ann says:

      Ack! Everyone in Montana, watch out for Backhoe Tim … he’s coming and he’ll dig up every inch of your yard or your entire acreage!
      Thanks Tim. 🙂

  6. Marge says:

    Ravioli! I almost fell off my chair laughing about that. I sure do hope you were being a little bit goofy on purpose with that comment Ann. It sure tickled my funny bone. I’ve been reading along here for several months and I love your humor. And your photos. And your travels and information and education of us. Best blog we know of. 🙂

    • Ann says:

      Ha! Thanks Marge. Even my own words about the ravioli still make me chuckle. It was certainly not a serious comment but just a fun thought. What’s life without a bit of humor?
      Thanks very much for the kind words. 🙂

  7. Arlene Havlark says:

    Next time you are in the area, check this one out in downtown Port Townsend. It has some really cool stuff. It is a combo antique store/museum, but that description doesn’t really do it justice. I am not fond of antique stores, but this one had very different stuff than a traditional antique store.

    http://bergstroms-autos.edan.io/

    • Ann says:

      Oh my word … ok, I’m hitting Port Townsend next and will definitely be visiting Bergstrom’s Antique & Classic Autos. Thank you!

  8. Wanda says:

    I laughed at the ravioli reference too. What fun. 🙂 My husband and I were fascinated with the Mastodon information, what a thrill that must have been for those to people when they found it, and just by accident! My husband wants to know what the camera is that’s in the first photo with the director Judith. Thanks Ann.

    • Ann says:

      Judith talked about that camera (and it looks fascinating to me too), but I was so taken by the REO car that I didn’t pay attention when she talked about the camera. Looks like I’ll be going back there so that I can report to your husband. 🙂

  9. Dapper David says:

    I LOVE the new header photo! How impressive!

    • Ann says:

      Thank you David. To get that header photo, I cropped one of the photos that I took on my camping trip earlier in 2020, to Scenic Beach. I wasn’t sure that a cropped version would still give “the look” of the eagle, but it sure does.

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