Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-09-13

ground and the other end of the axle
connected with the pulley to raise the
hammer Two horses were hitcheo 10
posts at opposite sides of the wheel
each walking around the rim. Ihus.
while the horse kept walking. IL
really made no progress, but turned
the wheel instead. Whether TINS
kind of a two horsepower engine mas
ever been tried before or since is
hard to tell. but it served the Popes
until time came for more power,
In 1S4S a larger factory was built
and twenty horsepower tubular
boiler installed This was wood
burner in every sense of the word.
1t kept so many men busy feeding
the thing wood that it threatened to
deforest the state in short time.
1t was too expensive and Pope found
someone who had more wood than
they knew what to do with who
wanted it.
While experimenting with temper
ing forks, Pope discovered another
means of increasing the output of his
Manchester factory. Up to that time,
about 1888, wedges used in splitting
rock in the great quarries of the
country were hammered cold out of
iron. While they were as good as
the market afforded, they were I'M
satisfactory to the worknen and ex
pensive to the operators because they
would not stand the hard hammer
ing. Extensive granite quarries We're
IN, Sf,.ia
ing Manchester and the demand for
wedges great.
| Pope experimental with several
means of tempering with success.
4 While he was making the wedges by
I hand, he tempered them that way,
! but the growing demand for tenn
pered wedges forced an increased
means of output-a faster way of
making. Pope met this demand in
his characteristic way. The growth
of his hay fork industry had forced
him to resort to a trip hammer and
the construction of dies with which
to make them faster. The same
would work with the wedges. So he
made dies in which to fashion the
! various sizes of wedges
Then came the problem Of rapid
tempering. This was met with
large kettle which was placed over a
furnace and in which lead was
melted. Shovels full of wedges were
dumped into this kettle and per-
mitted to heat in the lead until the
desired temperature was reached.
They were then removed from the
lead and cooled in a pickle" It was
not long before the Pope wedges were
recognized all over the country as
the best and tons of them were used
in the far off Pacific coast quarries
and mining camps. One quarry alone
in the Middle West. in the early Civil
War days, was using two tons of
Pope wedges each year.
At this time. John Pope had retired
from the business and his son.
Jacob, a chip off the old block. had
taken over the business and continued
it with his son Charles, who is still
living at the Pope homestead at
Manchester and is the last of the
Pope industry builders. Three trip
hammers were at one time in opera
ton pounding out hay forks and
wedges. The factory was the busiest
place in the interior of the State of
Mapc.
The failure Of the wood eating
tubular boiler was disheartening to
Jacob Pope in his advanced stage of
life. He retired from the business
and turned it over to his son.
Charles The younger man was not
so easily discouraged. With the
characteristic Pope energy. he sought
a new means of power. Water was