3-18-10 The Ol' Red Pump

This hand pump, which is now in my dad's backyard, once stood at our family lake house. Back in the 70's, when we first got the lake house, this was how we got our water to use inside the cabin. I remember having to prime the pump several times before the water would flow into our bucket. Once the bucket was full, we'd haul it into the cabin, and put it on the stove to heat up for dishwater, or sponge baths. In the mornings, we could be seen standing around the pump, brushing our teeth and splashing the very cold water on our faces. If we were real daring, we'd stick our heads under the pump, while someone else pumped, and washed our hair. With the well water being so cold, that didn't happen too often! We used the pump for several years, until our neighbor, whom we shared the pump with, modernized the well so he could have running water to his cabin. We then tapped into it and had running water just to the kitchen. It would be many years later until we actually dug our own well to have running water (and indoor plumbing) throughout our cabin. Great memories!