Windmills
And Sunsets
When
I look out across my front yard I see an old windmill standing there like
an old friend. Yesterday I watched the sun go down behind it as I
viewed
the most incredible sunset that I’ve ever seen…well, except for
that
pinkish-purple one last week with the storm clouds above it and maybe
that
bright orange one the other day. All right, I admit it would be
rather
impossible to choose the most beautiful sunset because
each
one is unique but some are more impressive than others.
The
sunsets of the Midwest are incredible and as a backdrop the windmill
across
from our house makes a beautiful sight. When it comes to nature’s
beauty,
it is
true that some of the best things in life are free and colorful sunsets
present
themselves almost every evening for us to enjoy.
Even
as a child, I used to climb up on an old board fence beside our barn
for
a better view of the sunset and I was never disappointed. I still
enjoy
sunsets
and many evenings I have the privilege of watching the sun
go down
behind the old windmill that stands next to where I now live.
Across
this great country we live in, we still see these old windmills that
were
put there by our predecessors. In this area, many have been
abandoned
because water is now accessible in other ways but when
this
land was first settled, one of the main concerns was water.
The
early pioneers who settled the land needed a source of water
and
if they didn’t live close to a spring or a stream, water was a problem
and
so they began to dig wells. However, it was difficult to bring up
enough
water with just a rope and a bucket, especially
when
it came to watering livestock.
These
pragmatic pioneers often had to use what was available to them.
History
shows that many of the early pioneers built sod houses when the
very
earth they walked upon was the only material they had to
build
themselves a shelter for safety from the elements.
In the
same way, our ancestors had to come up with a way
to obtain
water more readily.
The wind
often caused the pioneers a lot of trouble because it brought
with
it storms and tornadoes. It was sometimes a lot of work just to
keep
things tied down securely. The wind was often their adversary and
what
usually happens to people is that either they run from or they
face
their adversary. The early pioneers not only faced their adversary but
they
harnessed the wind by building windmills to bring up the water
from
their wells to the surface.
The early
settlers did find the answer to their water problem
and
as the song says, they literally found the answer “blowing in the wind”.
It is
interesting that what often seems to be an overwhelming obstacle
can
become the means to survival. Our ancestors persevered in
the
face of great obstacles.
The first
windmills were made of wood because that was the material available
to the
early settlers. However, these windmills were too big and were not
able
to withstand the high winds on the plains so they needed constant repair.
Some
of the early windmills had no tails to stabilize them either
so that
their vanes would stay pointed into the wind.
In 1854,
a man named Daniel Halladay invented the first all-metal windmill.
He made
windmills that had controls that would turn the vanes away
from
the wind if the wind became too strong, and it also had brakes
so that
the windmill could be brought to a complete stop.
Most
of the windmills that we see today have the metal blades at the top
even
if the rest of the windmill is made of wood. You can still see working
windmills
around the country, but mostly only where there is no electricity
readily
available or other water supply. In many areas today, the windmill
has
been abandoned. We see them standing rusty with broken blades but
they
still stand like stubborn sentinels reminding us of another time.
There
is something about windmills that have always intrigued me and
I sometimes
wonder why I like them so much. It may be that it is a reminder
of the
past but yet I think it is more than that.
The windmill
that stands near our house has been there a very long time.
Sometimes
I feel like that windmill, a little battered and rusty with
a few
broken places. There is something about the way the windmill stands
strong
and tall both in peace and in adversity. The windmill accompanies
the
song of the wind when it blows without complaint and yet, it knows how
to be
still when the wind stops blowing. As I watch the sunset behind the
windmill,
I know
there are many lessons to be learned both in the stillness and in the storm.
By
Pamela R. Blaine
©
June 2004