0004133373@mcimail.com (Donald E. Kimberlin) (03/29/91)
In article <Digest v11,iss247>, Larry Lippman twanged a nostalgia
nerve with the remarks about end celss and liquid countercells.
Here's my tale of just one <only; ever> encounter with them.
In the picturesque town of Live Oak, Florida, AT&T had built a toll
testroom in Lord-Knows-When along what had been an open-wire line
route across north Florida leading to New Orleans. Over the years,
AT&T had transferred the building to Southern Bell, and then taken it
back when TD-2 microwave exploded along that route.
Much of what had been in that building had been removed, and it was
crammed with TD-2 microwave bays ... the reason I was there. However,
its old telegraph testboard was still there, and still connected in a
bunch of telegraph channels that interconnected to Southeastern
Telephone, the local Independent (totally unmanned, but it was there).
That old testboard still worked, including its Model TWELVE teletype,
which we knew enough to plug into the press wires just for some fun.
But, the power plant was a true museum piece, as I recall, called a
WECo 702C. I remember the number because we couldn't find anybody who
knew where to get documents for it.
Now, Live Oak had one more antique that added to its story. That was
a living antique of the Old South named Harvey. Harvey was, to all
common knowldge, the retired "building service man" from Live Oak.
An aged Negro in the truest character of the Old Deep South, Harvey
took care of that building, in retirement just as he must have done
a good deal of his life. The floors gleamed; the lawn was all trimmed
and tidy, wastebaskets emptied, toilet cleaned and the whole works.
The building had been unmanned for many years, and it had the standard
building alarm system that rang in Jacksonville any time someone opened
the door. If you didn't know where and how to ring into Jacksonville
shortly after entering, a voice would stab out of the top of a rack,
and say, "Who's there in Live Oak?" If there was no answer, it was
Standard Operating Procedure to call the local sheriff for a visit to
the building.
Except at Live Oak. On one of my first visits finding Harvey there, I
asked the local supervisor at Lake city about Harvey and security, and
he told me that everybody back at Jacksonville just knew that an
unanswered Open Door alarm at Live Oak meant Harvey was is the
building. They knew the Live Oak building was right in the center of
town, so nobody with malicious intent would get in there. (Remember,
this was a different time and a different America!)
Anyhow, the event involving the 702C and Harvey was the day I got told
to go to Live Oak and clean the "counter-cell." It was one full of
potassium hydroxide as Larry described, and after doping out a
suitable way to tie some jumpers around it so we wouldn't inadvertently
wind up with an open battery string if the old motor-driven switches
of the 702C called for it, I proceeded to start trying to move it.
Miraculously, Harvey had shown up. (I kind of think he watched out for
us to arrive, for he often came in to bustle around while we were
there, exchanging pleasantries and asking us about names we didn't
know; people who must have worked there decades before.)
My move at the countercell got Harvey very interested, and he started
gathering all the needed tools to clean the tank and plates. He
joined right in with me, knowing all the right moves to get the thing
outside, dump it down the sewer. (Remember, this was really pre-EPA!),
scrub the plates and tank and get it back inside for refilling. Now we
had a box of some powdered electrolyte to mix with water. Harvey was
ready, taking up a position he seemed to know well with a bleached-out
broomstick like one sees people use on laundry in a machine. I poured
water and powder, and Harvey dutifully stirred with his stick. He was
really enjoying it.
When I had enough electrolyte mix in the tank, Harvey started stirring
at a ferocious rate, saying, "Throw in de blue pill, Boss!" I didn't
have any blue pill. After many repeats about this, I could deduce
that the old mix must have had some sort of depolarizer to dissolve in
the mix, and Harvey just knew it was necessary. The incident must
have gone on for fifteen minutes with Harvey stirring so hard I was
afraid his old heart would give out. When I finally insisted a number
of times that the contents of the "blue pill" must be in the powder
nowadays, Harvey finally stopped. But, I never did find the instructions
for a 702C Power Plant, much less those for its countercell.
When I went on to other assignments, Harvey was last seen still caring
for his private AT&T building. I suspect others who followed me there
just one day noticed that Harvey didn't show up any more. I sure do
hope and pray Harvey had just gone off to his Maker a happy soul.
Thanks, Larry, for bringing up the memory!