Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-03-15

ne greatest aCnieNementS IN history
nave had their inception in small be-
ginnings. Most great inventions have
been inspired by sapall happenings
around home. The history of s. I.
Bowser & Co., Inc. is not tedious to
any reader because of its wonderful
developments and the remarkable life
history of 5. f. Bowser. the president
OF the company and inventor. 1t deals
with problems which confronted one
generation and were solved during the
life and time of that generation.
Only twenty years after the rec
oSniZed used of petroleum as Il COM
mercial necessity the first effort toward
conserving this product was made.
when he created the self-measuring oil
storage equipment. From that time to
this he and the company have steadily
progressed until now they are recog-
nized the world over as the oil storage
and distributing experts. manufactu
ing oil-handling devices of all kinds
suitable for the most modern private
garage to the largest and most COM
plete factory or railroad power plant
or oil house. S. r. Bowser's story
that led to the invention of the self
measuring pump is as follows:
For twelve years before my inven-
tion l was travelling salesman, SELL
ing wrapping paper. paper bags, and
so on, in which time | had many en-
periences that would try the steel of
any man and more. Finally, notwith-
standing the rugged man that l was.
my nervous system was undermined
and / became wholly unable to take
care OF my business. l had to slacEen
my pace for the time being and take
a greatly needed rest. At which time
| decided my home to one of my cred
itors and moved down town near the
Pennsylvania Railroad station CFort
Wayne. lnd.), where l got three rooms
for $40 a month.
Here l relaxed. but remained on
the road selling wrapping paper and
unware for friend of mine, woI king
as | could stand il. two to four days
a week. aiming to be home every night.
or at least was seldom away from
home more than one night at a time.
| kept this up for a year and did fairly
well. | kept out of debt and paid my
friend for whom | was working 500
of debt in which time my physical
condition improved as was evidenced
by the fact that | gained eight pounds
This was early in the spring of
1888 and | was going out on the 5
clock train one morning in pursuit
of my business. Therefore | got up
about o'clock to get ready, and
among other things / wanted to leave
my wife a good supply of water for
got our water was about seventy feet
deep and our means of getting it was
somewhat primitive. Notwithstanding
the same way is in use now here and
there, throughout the country, and
doubtless forever will be-
over the well was built a little
house and up in the roof of this little
house big grooved swivel wheel was
fastened. over which the long well
rope passed, so that a bucket could be
tied TO each end of it. BY letting one
bucket down for water YOU at the
same time would be drawing mp the
other bucket full of water. The little
mouse over the we'll was unusually
high. II simply had a roof on it and
was not enclosed and the we'll being
deep and the night being still and very
cold, the steam that came out of the
well froze onto the rope thus exposed
between the mouth of the well and the
roof. which was, as before stated, un-
usually high from the ground. There
fore. 10 draw water in this manner,
all of this frozen frost covered rome
had to pass through my hands. and
1t being n very cold morning. added
to its sting of cold-but / got the
water. n the meantime my good
VIE. who never murmured or COM
planned had me a bite to eat and [
took my grip and made the train
went 10 Decatur, twenty-five
miles south of Fort Wayne. Here (
got team of horses and a sleigh and
drove to Pleasant Mills, some six miles
southeast. From there | drove to
Wiltshire. Ohio, three and one-half
miles farther on. II was on this drive
from Pleasant Mills to Wiltshire that
my mind turned 10 the unpleasantness
of drawing water out OF this deep weh
ON cold morning. Ally thoughts turned
TO deNisinS some better way, at which
time | saw, as it were, a pump cylinder
at the bottom of the we'll sufficiently
large to hold a pail of water, the same
being provided with discharge pipe
and pump rod similar to our pres
ent pump. and so arranged that with
one full stroke | could discharge a
bucketful of water
This looked good to me and |
thought if it was good and practical
maybe | could work up a little busi-
ness out of it by manufacturing 1t for
the market. Upon my return home
took II up with my brother, who was
an engineer on the PENNSYLVANIA rail-
road and lived the second door from
me. drawing water from the same
well.
Neither of us being versed in this
kind of business, but my brother hav-
ing an acquaintance with a patent
model maker down street. who was
quite versed in mechanics of this sort
we went down and laid the matter be-