A North Central PA farm museum closed last year and they are starting to liquidate the contents because the family made the decision they didn't want to keep it open any longer. This weekend was the second auction, I picked up 2 items. The one is marked as an ice crusher, about 32 inches long and the cast iron head is about 3 inches in diameter.  I've never seen one before.

The second item is a multi tool marked Washington Hatchet, Thompson Manufacturing Co from Dayton Ohio made several of these multi tools, the Washington marked one was advertised heavily around 1909. Magazine advertisements can be found online through Google searches. This one has about 95% of the original nickel plating.

A few more items for the kids to get rid of some day.

Correction, Thomas Manufacturing Co.

Ice crusher, huh? We never need one down here!

Quote from: Papaw on February 26, 2018, 06:29:57 AM
Ice crusher, huh? We never need one down here!

You just put ice cubes in your mixed drinks?

 didn't they have ice boxes in Texas ???

  they sent ice thru the railroad to many states years ago. in non refrigerated box cars.

  Lewill2, I have one a little longer with shorter spikes and is cast iron, the patent called it a chipper.
  supposedly it was used to clean/smooth  ice blocks at the ice storage facility.   

Quote...didn't they have ice boxes in Texas ???

  they sent ice thru the railroad to many states years ago. in non refrigerated box cars.

Want some history?
My home town of Alvin, Texas was famous for strawberries at one time, and tons were shipped north. A man here in Alvin is reported to be the one who suggested big blocks of ice should  be shipped here in the empty rail cars and loaded here with strawberries, figs, satsumas etc. to ship back to the North.  They were insulated with straw.

Quote from: Papaw on February 26, 2018, 09:31:46 AM

Quote...didn't they have ice boxes in Texas ???

  they sent ice thru the railroad to many states years ago. in non refrigerated box cars.

Want some history?
My home town of Alvin, Texas was famous for strawberries at one time, and tons were shipped north. A man here in Alvin is reported to be the one who suggested big blocks of ice should  be shipped here in the empty rail cars and loaded here with strawberries, figs, satsumas etc. to ship back to the North.  They were insulated with straw.

Papaw,

Thanks for the history lesson.

Insulated with straw?  Before that they were just called "berries"?  Hey, I'm just askin'.

OK guys,forgive my ignorance but what the heck is satsumas.

Quote from: gibsontool on February 26, 2018, 12:04:13 PM
OK guys,forgive my ignorance but what the heck is satsumas.

A type of citrus fruit, a variety of plum, or a species of land snail.  We'll let Papaw enlighten us on which it was they grew there in Texas.  I'm betting on plums, but I'm ready to be surprised to hear that there were huge spreads with snail herds grazing in the sunlight and snailboys rounding them up for the drive to the railroad head.  Kind of like this, but slimier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

Wow,  that would be a looooong drive to the railhead.

 

QuoteOK guys,forgive my ignorance but what the heck is satsumas.

They are small orange/tangerines that are very easy to peel. Also called Clementines.

Here in Alvin Satsumas were grown in large quantities, and were sent around the country by rail. One of my wife's relatives was one of the first to introduce them to the area.

Quote from: amecks on February 26, 2018, 11:57:01 AM
Insulated with straw?  Before that they were just called "berries"?  Hey, I'm just askin'.

Grow low to the ground.  Straw mulch keeps the berries out of the mud.  And makes them more available to rabbits and turtles....

Is that really how they got their name?  We have a small strawberry patch.  I'll have to try the straw this year to keep em off the ground.

I think this is cast iron under the hot dip galvanize, the points are soft steel, I bent the crooked point straight after the picture was taken.

I like strawberries, but I like that hatchet even more! Nice one there Les. I've got one just like yours but with a black japanned finish, and another (broken) one that has no plier jaw teeth or wrench jaw teeth. (I wonder if that second one was broken at the factory and thrown out before it was completed, and then someone "rescued" it from the scrap heap and brought it home?)