Back when I was a kid and you wanted cash, you had to work for it- at least in our family. Money was always short in these neck of the woods, nobody just had money given to them. I had my eye on a crystal set, amongst other things, and decided to take some of my earnings to buy it. Pap didn't really care how you spent some of it but didn't want you just "foolin" it all away. [ Pap always quoted some old dude a sayin "A fool and his money soon parts" ] Ole Jeep was a wantin a muzzleloadin rifle we'd seen advertised for $13.00. We got our gunny sacks and headed to the cornfield after the picker had finished. The picker was an old Woods Brothers "Snapper". It did leave quite a bit of corn layin on the ground. Cold, frozen ground and with ruts, rows and downed cornstalks-it wasn't really a pleasure to do this. We struggled for most of the mornin-pickin up corn and makin little piles of it. After we had worked all this time-we took our sacks and started fillin'm up with the ear corn. We had way more than our sacks would hold so we went back to the barn and got more. We filled'm, tied'm and left'm layin in the field. Pap came and helped us load'm on the wagon to haul to town. I can't remember now just how much money we got from those sacks nor just how many sacks we had. What I DO remember is that old Jeep never got his muzzleloader and I never got my crystal set. Don't remember why now-after all, it's been almost 50 years ago! I did eventually get a set and ole Jeep finally got his rifle. I bought my first set and old Jeep had to wait about 40 years before he BUILT his rifle. All in all, I would't trade my past experience for anything but wouldn't give a nickel to do'm all over again either. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 13, 2000

Answers

Hoot - by crystal set, I'm pretty sure you're refering to an old- timey radio. True? If so, you may want to let the younger set in on the arcane language; after all, they've probably never seen a radio that works without a power source of any kind before. Talk about off grid!

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), August 14, 2000.

Soni! Sorry, I kinda get into my own little world at times. Yes! You're right-crystal sets were radio receivers of the a.m. band andused no electrical pawer at all. Using a long wire for an antenna, a coil you could "tune", headphones, groundwire and the main ingredient--a crystal. The crystal could be a "cats whisker" it was called. Geranium with a small wire that you'd touch the crystal in different places to get the most signal. Later on a geranium diode was used because it didn't have to be messed with as the "cats whisker". I used one for years as a kid and just let it run all the time. Why not? It used no power and didn't hurt a thing a runnin. Figgured I might as well leave'r on and lett'r rip as unpluggin etc. I think my most popular station at night was WBAP, Ft. Worth, Tx although I listened to XERF in Del Rio, Tx a lot too. Daytime I'd listen to our own little local startion at Olney, IL. WVLN but it quit at sundown--still does! If people would like I could send some picts and prints on how to build a simple crystal set, to COUNTRYSIDE MAGAZINE for them to publish. Steve! Would y'all be interested in that? Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 15, 2000.

Hoot, I would LOVE a set of plans for a crystal radio, even if no- one else does. If you decide not to send in a set, could you maybe e- mail me instructions, or send plans as an attachment. I have a (very) basic color printer, so nothing fancy or fine line on top of fine line, but a simple dark-line drawing or bluprint type thingy would be perfect. The less electric I need to use, the better. How far will they draw in stations from, assuming no serious geographical handicap and average weather.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), August 18, 2000.

Soni! I'm not smart enough to email the plans to you. I hate to admit it but ain't no use a lie'n either. If you'll email me your snail mail addy i'll send you a copy next week. The stations received depends on you location, station location and length/height of antenna. I've been fixin to build me another one since I posted this story. Don't know what ever happened to my old ones--course it's been over 40 years ago! Oh, no charge for the info. Guess I'll email Steve and see if they want a set of plans/pictures to publish. Probably not but hey whynot try! May be others in their second childhood like me. LOL. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 18, 2000.