Alan Skeoch

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  • EPISODE 153 GRAN FARMERS MUST HAVE HATED DOCKING MACNINES

    EPISODE 153   GRAIN  FARMERS MUST HAVVE HATED DOCKING MACHINES


    alan skeoch
    Oc.t 2020



    “Take a seat, Alan…rain trying to sleet outside…good time to think…to remember”

    HEADING:  DOCKING MACHINES MUST HAVE  BEEN HATED

    Cold rain…almost sleet…falling today.  Good time  to try and sort through our collection of weird and wonderful machines
    in the main barn.   It has been years since I have  done so.  Seems like a treasure hunt … includes a chair for contemplation.

    Contemplation?  Yep, I sat down and stared at two machines that were uncovered once the flower pots and threshing machine
    moulds were set  aside.   Two antique DOCKING MACHINES.  Probably the only such machines left in North America.  How
    did  I know that?  I combed the internet under various titles like ANTIQUE  GRAN DOCKING MACHINES and  other word
    combinations.   No luck.  You might do better but let me get on with the story.

    The same year, perhaps 1980,  we visited those hidden ICBM  SILOS in North Dakota we also  stopped at a grain silo near the Canadian
    border.  A  huge wooden structure that, unlike the ICBM sites,  stood out against the flat horizon. 

    “Hi, hope we  are not intruding but could I take a couple of pictures of your grain silo?”
    “Do what you want.  We don’t get many  visitors…matter  of fact we  don’t get any except for
    the trucks loaded with grain.”
    (I noticed two dust covered mini fanning mills in a forgotten  corner)’
    “What are those machines?”
    “Old Docking machines…they go a long way back.”
    “Docking machines?”
    “Yep, we take  a sample of every load of  grain, dump it in the docker and then
    calculate how much to dock the farmers’ load.”
    “Weed seeds and rat dung as a percentage  of  total load.”
    “Not so much rat dung but weed seeds for sure and other waste”
    “Farmers must hate these machines.”
    “They do…cuts into profits.”
    “Still using those dockers?”
    “No…they’re obsolete.  New dockers are  better.”
    “What are  you going to do with the old ones?”
    “Nothing…we’ll get rid of them when we have time.”
    “Would you sell them to us?”
    “Sure…sell them cheap, how  about $20 each?”
    “I’ll give you $25 each.”
    “Sold.  Let’s get them in your truck…Not much room.”



    This is the older  of the two…perhaps once  it was hand cranked.   Both Docking machines run by electric motors so they are likely vintage 1920 or 1930 or 1940.




    CONCLUSION

    And so  we  loaded both docking machines…packed tight in our  van.  Two kids, two dogs, four sleeping bags, Coleman stove, coolers, dog food, human food, one giant tractor tube (our idea of a boat),
    then Marjorie and  me  and  now TWO DOCKING MACHINES.   And a case of Coors beer for our visit with Wick at Lake of the Woods.  Behind the van we hauled a pop up trailer.  We  must have looked  like
    a modern version of Steinbeck’s Grapes of  Wrath.   

    I sat in the barn today thinking about that trip.  Good memories.  One mistake somewhere along the way when the tractor tube broke loose and rolled like an immense do-nut into the ditch.  We should
    have deflated it rather than tie it to the truck roof.  But how would we re-inflate it at a lakeside camp ground?  I think we gave it away.

    I hadn’t seen those  Docking Machines for two decades.  I knew they were  safely tucked away in the barn though.   This was a good time to give them the 
    exposure they deserved.  So here they are…yours to admire.

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020

    P.S.  Just in case you wonder why I had trouble finding the Dockers, here’s a picture of things that blocked
    my view.  Each of these things is  another story.  The great wood  drive pulleys were rescued when the
    Massey Ferguson factory was demolished around  1990.  


  • Fwd: EPISODE 152 ICBM MISSILE BASES IN NORTH DAKOTA…HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT



    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE 152 ICBM MISSILE BASES IN NORTH DAKOTA…HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
    Date: October 26, 2020 at 6:23:35 PM EDT
    To: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>


    EPISODE 153   ICBM MISSILE SILOS…DO THEY LIMIT THE CHANCE OF NUCLEAR WAR?

    alan skeoch
    oct. 2020



    Minuteman ICBM site….Hidden from view…almost  hidden on two acre lots across the American midwest .


     I did not want to look like the yahoo B52 pilot in the Movie Dr. Strangelove but
    this picture taken on our trip to North Dakota certainly gives that impression.

    Two boys at the controls of a Minuteman launch control center during a "community day" at a facility in South Dakota in the 1
    Making child’s play out of a potential horrific disaster.  Tours  of the missile silos could be arranged. In this case
    two children are planed in the launch seats.  What could be more chilling?

    THE NORTH DAKOTA MINUTEMAN SILOS


    Summer around  1980:  We  headed west  In search of

    the missile  silos in North Dakota.  Frightening.  Marjorie and  I

    were just ordinary citizens…not political party members or members of peace groups;
    Just Concerned citizens.  


    We drove from Toronto to North Dakota back  around 1980 just to get a sidelong look
    at this American silos housing the Minueman Inter continental ballistic missiles…ICBM’S.
    WHY?  First, I found it hard to believe that such  missile  sites really existed.  They did exists…
    and many still exist today, Oct. 27, 2020.   Second, Our boys were now teen-agers and we thought they should
    be aware  of the insanity of Nuclear conflict.

    “Boys, look over there.”
    “Where?”
    “That field.”
    “Nothing there, dad”
    “That is  where you  are wrong.  See  the little  bump?  What you are looking at is the hiding place
    of a 1.2 megaton nuclear armed  ICBM.”
    “ICBM?”
    “INTER CONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE…A nuclear weapon capable of wiping out a city.

    From launch  to impact in 30 minutes.”


    “Oh, Alan,  don’t say that.  You  will scare the boys…and me!”
    “Scares me as well, Marjorie.”
    “Tell us more, dad.”
    “These Minuteman  missiles buried  in silos 8o feet deep….many around us  here
    in North Dakota…spread  out in a circle around the city of Minot which has a big SAC base with those 
    big B 52 nuclear bombers.   Some  of those planes are in the air at all times in case of nuclear war
    they are ready to strike.”
    “Alan that’s enough…no more.”
    “Just one last comment, Marjorie, before we strike north to Manitoba and then to Wick’s place on Lake  of the Woods.”
    “No more.”
    “Can’t I just tell the boys to watch the movie titled Dr. Strangelove?”
    “No!  Now stop.”
    “What movie dad?”
    “Dr. Strangelove is supposed to be a funny movie with Peter Sellars…really a dark comedy.  Seems  funny until
    the very end when the crazy pilot of a B 52 rides a nuclear bomb heading for a Russian city.”
    “Riding…what do you mean  by riding, dad?”
    “Like riding a horse only it’s a bomb.”
    “Alan,  if you don’t stop, I am  taking the boys for s walk.”
    “My lips ae sealed…for a while”

    COMMENT

    How  long does  the President of the United States have to make his decision to launch the missiles?  About six minutes.
    Has a mistaken alert led to a near catastrophe?   Yes.

      From 1961 to 1967 the United States was building silos encased in rebar and concrete. That’s most of my teaching  career.  Why?   To house

     1,000 Minuteman missiles …  underground  silos, 80 feet deep,  all across the American midwest.  Why underground?  It was expected  most

    of the Minutemen missiles would withstand a surprise nuclear war and be ready to fire back at an enemy.  That was the essence of the Cold War. 

    Two enemy states capable of destroying each other and thereby creating a stalemate…a tenuous  Peace due to the chance of mutual self destruction.

    Who had…whups! I used  the past tense…the verb ‘had’  should be the verb ‘has’. Who has the power to push the launch button? The President

    of the United States.   Did you ever notice the military man with the briefcase that follows the President.  That brief case contains the codes that

    can trigger a missile launch.   Two men are in each command room near the missile silos.  Replaced by others in each 8 hour shift
    These men are deemed psychologically stable before getting placed.   Great Care is taken.  
    The missiles could only be launched when both men receive the “Go” command from the President and agree to push the  launch 

    button simultaneously.


    Some of the silos  have been rendered inoperable but around 400 or more are still ready in  spite of the fact that the Cold War is
    over.   Most of the operable silos are located on farm land distant from any human beings.


    Is  the system foolproof?  Could one man  go mad  and just launch a  Minuteman  for the hell of it?   What if one man refused?  
    What was the other man supposed to do?  What if the President of the United States went mad?    Is there some kind of check

      on madness?



    alan skeoch

    Oct. 2020




    The Minuteman was the first missile that could be stored in and fired from a concrete silo sunk 80 feet underground. <em>(” apple-inline=”yes” id=”1FD4C95F-5574-43C4-B78B-1E4D4472C194″ class=”” src=”https://alanskeoch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/5bb619b13c000018010d296d.jpeg”></div> <div class=










    minot map copynukewatchinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/minot-map-copy-300×278.jpg 300w, nukewatchinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/minot-map-copy-768×711.jpg 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 895px) 100vw, 895px” apple-inline=”yes” id=”D6802E7A-CB14-492A-8A9B-F40236FB4AB2″ src=”https://alanskeoch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/minot-map-copy.jpg”>










  • EPISODE 151 BEAR HUNTING WITH THE KIDS…BEGAN AS A JOKE … BECAME NO JOKE

    EPISODE 151   BEAR HUNTING ON LAKE OF THE WOODS…BEGAN AS A JOKE, TURNED SERIOUS


    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020
    This  is  Terry Wickstrom, a good friend and fellow teacher at Parkdale C. I. during the school year.  In the summer he 
    travelled to his island on Lake of the Woods where he became a very different person.  Sort of a Grey Owl character if you will.
    And always with a grin and chuckle.



    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020

    We were eating breakfast when Wick (Terry Wickstrom) said to the boys:

    “How would you like to see a bear today?”

    They nodded  and  looked at their mother who smiled agreement.

    The plan was hatched the night before when we were having an outdoor supper
    around  a campfire on a small rock island on Lake of the Woods.

    “Why don’t we have some fun tomorrow…take the boys on a bear hunt…make it 
    sound real…scare the boys but all in fun.”
    “A game.?  Sounds good to me, Wick.”
    “Marjorie wants to stay with the dogs so they do not get lonely like yesterday’s near disaster.

    Wick speaking to Kevin and Andrew:

    “Boys, how would you like to go bear hunting today?”
    “Dangerous..is it dangerous, Terry?”
    “No.  I will take my gun as protection.”
    “Good, let’s  go.”
    “Jump in the canoe…we must be very quiet so the bear does not hear us.”
    “Shhhh!  Getting close to Bear Island now…that’s my name for the island  because
    a bear lives here.   Shhh!  Silent paddling.  Careful getting out. Try not to step on
    twigs…be very quiet.”
    “Do you know why the bear lives here, boys?”
    “No.”
    “Blueberries…lots of  blueberries.  Long ago  there must have been a fire because the
    high point of the island is  clear.  No trees.   Just a great swath of blueberry bushes.”
    “Is that why dad is carrying the bucket?”
    “yes.  We may pick some berries  if the bear allows us to go berry picking.”
    “You won’t shoot the bear with the gun, will you , Terry?”
    “No.  Just scare him … or her,  could be a momma bear with cubs.  If we see her,
    we will leave fast. Now be very quiet as we climb the hill…step  on moss if you can.
    No snapping twigs.  We will move up slowly.  Maybe your dad can get a  picture if
    the bear if we are far enough away.  Shhhhh!”

    Bears often appear where you least expect them…except in blueberry patches
    where they often claim ownership.



    “Wick, look here,”  I whispered
    “Bear shit…old bear shit.”
    “Boys, take a look.  What did the bear  eat?”
    “Blueberries…skins in the shit.”
    “Don’t swear, boys.  Proper word is Bear Skat.”
    “Is the bear near?”
    “No, this  is  old  bear shit.”

    And  so  the four of us silently climbed the hill…very quietly.  Wick in the lead  with the
    gun…then the boys…then me with the berry tub.   Our real goal was to get some blueberries
    …we exagerrated the bear just for fun.   We moved silently.  Wick looked  around and  put
    his finger to his mouth.

    “Shhhh!  Boys…we close to the big blueberry patch…don’t scare the bear.”

    Then Wick stopped abruptly.  No reason to stop as far as I could see.  Wick pointed
    to the ground  at his feet.



    “Alan, look here…fresh  bear shit…Today’s bear shit.”
    “Do you mean there is a bear here on the island….a real  bear?”
    “Yes.  We’ve got to get the hell out of here now.”
    “Turn around  boys…back down to the canoe…be quiet but move
    faster than the climb.  We’ve got company on the island.  A real bear.”
    “But you said  there was a  bear on the island, Terry.”
    “I did…I know I did.   Your dad  and  I thought we would  make this trip
    into an adventure.  We did not expect a real bear.”
    “Could the bear be down at our canoe?”


    “No…bears do not like people much.  I think the bear is on
    the other  side of the island.  But the island is small.  Best we
    get out of here.  The bear may be watching us.  Let’s hope it’s 
    not a momma bear with cubs.  Keep  moving.”
    “Lucky you brought the rifle, Wick.”
    “Not really.  I did not put 22’s in the gun…gun’s are dangerous.”

    “What about berry picking, Terry?”
    “No blueberry picking today, boys.”
    “No blueberry pie!”

    And so  the adventure ended.  It was a very small adventure in the great 
    scheme of things but it was our adventure…ours!

    alan Skeoch
    Oct. 2020




    This is fresh bear dung.


    Here is Wick  with  “the Devil made me do it” look on his  face.


    This picture reminded me of another adventure we shared with our friends when some hunters decided to see what they
    could kill on our farm.  That will be another Episode.  Susie and Wick are in picture above beside he ladder.   My brother Eric is on the far
    left..  And  Don Hamilton holding his chin.  Louise Joyce is holding the ladder in centre.  All supporters in the mini-crisis.

  • EPISODE 150 LAKE OF THE WOODS…”Daisy and Sonny nearly lost…nearly a tragedy”

    EPISODE  150   LAKE  OF THE WOODS…”Daisy and Sonny nearly lost…nearly a tragedy!”

    Lake of the Woods  is sprinkled with thousands of small islands.  We lived on one of the islands for a week or two.
     A tragedy nearly happened.

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020

    My good friend Terry Wickstrom owns a small island on Lake of the Woods, near the Manitoba / Ontario border.
    We spent a few weeks with him long, long ago when our boys were small and before Terry was married and
    had his own kids.

    To a person who does not know Lake  of the Woods my previous  comment might sound like a typical cottager 
    comment.  So let’s get one ting straight.  The Lake of the Woods is one vast wilderness,  36th largest lake
    in the world.  Only a few people have been  granted cottage land on the lake.

    Most of the Lake of the Woods remains a pristine wilderness…sort of a place that time forgot.

    Wick’s cabin sits rather hidden on his small island…perhaps an acre in size.  Almost attached is a smaller
    island like the one below where we watched  a  family of mink go fishing every morning before we had
    our spartan breakfast of oatmeal  and powdered milk and coffee.

    “What’s up today, Wick?”
    “A few miles west of here there are some friends…thought we would go there.”
    “Leave our dogs here…they should be fine.”
    “Not too much room in the boat anyway.” (I forget whether we were taking
    a canoe or the small rowboat with the 6 hp motor.  Wish I could remember
    because the type of boat is important to the story.}

    Marjorie,  Wick, our boys Kevin and Andrew (then about 10 and  12) wedged  ourselves
    in the boat and pushed  off.  Lake of the Woods  is immense.  It is the 36th largest lake in the world
    with thousands…yes, thousands…of small islands sprinkled here and there like stepping stones
    for giants.   There always seems  to be a  light wind blowing so the lake gets choppy
    and  can get more than choppy in big winds.   

    We kept our eyes forward.  Unfortunately.   If we had looked  back at Wick’s island then 
    we would  have noticed something was wrong.  But we did  not.  We just kept going
    until one of the boys turned  around.

    “What are those two logs back there?  We did not see them.”
    “Logs? “
    “Well, something way back behind us.”
    “Maybe a bear swimming from one island to another…they do that.”
    “Two objects back there…floating…or swimming.”
    “Want to check them out?”
    “Could be a pair of moose too…big looking”
    “Let’s  check it out.”

    So we turned the boat around and headed back towards Wick’s
    island which  was now very distant.

    “Something alive by the looks of it.”
    “Two things.”
    “Logs or bears…?”

    “Holy Samoley…those are our dogs…Daisy and  Sonny…following us.”
    “They must have been swimming for a long time…Quick, get close to them.”
    “Grab Daisy by the collar …  pull her into the boat…careful…don’t tip.”
    “I got Sonny…got him in.”

    The dogs had  seen us  take off, perhaps  half an hour or an hour ago. 
    Both Labradors…mother and son.  They loved water and they loved
    us so they decided to follow.  By the time we got them they were a 
    long distance from Wick’s island.  Lucky they were spotted.  But, at a distance,
    they did not look like dogs.   More like logs.   We could have continued
    forward and left them swimming.  Could a Labrador dog swim for miles
    in an open lake?   

    Better not to think about that.


    Terry Wickstrom’s island is smaller than the distant island in this picture.  Attached by a spit of rock is a  second island almost exactly like this
    island in the foreground.    





    Some of the islands  are large but most are very small.  Most are empty and willing to be explored.

    This picture is the closest to our situation with the dogs.   Imagine being twice this distance from Wick’s island
    and  noticing two blackish dots in the distance behind our boat.  Pure chance that the dogs were spotted.


    It is  difficult to spot swimming creatures like this coyote or wolf swimming to an island on Lake of the Woods.
    Almost invisible.  I bet you saw the big  rock before you saw the wolf or coyote.    Our dogs were a long
    way behind  our boat when spotted.  Pure luck.

    Imagine the relief we felt when we rescued our dogs.

    Do not imagine what could have happened.

    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020

  • EPISODE 149 RIVERWOOD…A DELIGHT FOR THE EYES

    EPISODE 149   RIVERWOOD … A DELIGHT FOR THE EYES


    alan skeoch
    Oct. 24, 2020





    “Alan, let me take you to Riverwood for a walk.”
    “Too busy.”
    “You are not that busy.”
    “Awwww!”

    As  things turned out, Marjorie was  correct.  How could  I
    ever be so busy that I nearly missed Riverwood in full colour
    …complete with two cute Indian  dancers having a great
    time filming themselves and smiling for my camera.”







    Riverwood  is  a huge tract of forest bordering the Credit River.  Long ago it was a private estate but now is open for all to 
    enjoy.   Not just humans, by the way.  All sorts of wild life live here but are not seen  very often.  Several pairs of coyotes rear their
    young in secluded  corners of Riverwood.   Deer manage to co exist if tenuously.  Riverwood is a  treasure…not to be missed right
    now.   So  pack  up your troubles in your old kit bag and head for Riverwood.

    WHAT IS RIVERWOOD?

    Riverwood is hard to describe.  Best definition?  “Riverwood  is a 150 acre wilderness in the centre of the City of Mississauga.”
    Much  more  could be said.   But let’s just consider the wilderness aspect in this photo essay.  The two charming Indians dancers
    hint at the cultural significance of Riverwood but today it was the wilderness that was dominant.


    And  what a delightful surprise, these two young ladies  were dancing in he forest, all alone with their camera.  Smiling at our
    intrusion.  And their colourful clothing complemented to forest or vice versa.   We live in an enchanted land for sure.


    Bird feeders are located here and there in the wilderness drawing photographers and birders both.


    From a Riverwood high point it is  possible to hide and look for deer or coyotes on the flat Riverwood grassy plain below.


    Put yourself in this picture.  Easy to do.  Drive to Riverwood and take a hike in any direction.   Too bad that those of you in
    England, Switzerland, USA, Scotland, Korea, Australia cannot visit Riverwood.  I  hope my pictures are something
    you can enjoy.




    This “Pine Forest” sculpture fits so well with Riverwood.  When we visited the sculpture
    there was a little boy hiding from his mother in the forest below. See if you can find him.


    alan skeoch
    Oct. 2020