My grandfather was a coal miner in western MD when I was a young kid, late 40's thru 50's and used a calcium carbide lantern like this. Calcium carbide combined with water produced acetylene gas, which burned when ignited. Apparently it worked well since battery technology was still in dark ages.
My father worked in the coal mines near Uniontown PA for 14 years, before the war and after . He moved to NJ in 1950. When that song, 16 Tons came out, he went out and bought it. We didn't own a record player.
My grandfather was a coal miner in western MD when I was a young kid, late 40's thru 50's and used a calcium carbide lantern like this. Calcium carbide combined with water produced acetylene gas, which burned when ignited. Apparently it worked well since battery technology was still in dark ages.
ReplyDeleteMy father worked in the coal mines near Uniontown PA for 14 years, before the war and after . He moved to NJ in 1950. When that song, 16 Tons came out, he went out and bought it. We didn't own a record player.
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