Water

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In 1860, the United States population was 31½ million, the Pony Express made its first run to California, Abraham Lincoln was elected the first Republican president, and South Carolina seceded from the union — putting America on the fast track toward the Civil War. On the western side of Michigan, which had only been a state for 23 years, the Denton boys were installing wells.

Many people make the following mistake: Never use a piece of metal, like a wrench, to measure the levels in a water well.

Some years ago I had a job as a drilling foreman for a large contractor. Sometimes when we would bid a job, they would ask me to go look at the location to see what we needed.

Readers, you will have to forgive me, for I am going to take a short detour from my series of columns about clamp-on pitlesses. I recently had occasion to pull a pump that I had installed years ago and, not having a pump hoist available, did it the way we used to do it.

Drilling large commercial and municipal wells in cramped quarters is not for everyone.

This month, I will turn 80 years old. For most of these years, I have been involved in drilling of some type.

Though we often take clean water for granted, millions around the country are not so lucky, and that daily convenience is replaced by a deep longing for fresh, clean, convenient water.

As I write these columns and think about different subjects, I seem to have more to say about certain procedures and products used in our industry than others.