| Show The noise of the mill machinery was deafening and seemed to increase in volume as we got nearer The horses shied and were not sure 1t was safe to go along the loading dock in front of the mill Daddy coaxed the team into place and tied them to an iron ring He stepped across the gap between the wagon and the platforn climbed down from the wagon went around to the steps at the end of the dock and clamored up to join Daddy The noise was ear-splitting and everything trembled When we got inside we could see that the vilration came from the whirling of dozens and dozens of large wheels Wide belts connected one wheel to another ina puzzling combination One large wheel andbelt near the ceiling operatedmultitude of wheels and belts below Then we observed that there was one wide belt reaching to the upper floor reason that machinery upstairs must have been bigger and noiser than downstairs Upstairs there must have beenconnection with the master water wheel outside Customers were not allowed upstairs It was eerie to see the ghost-like appearance of everything material Layers of fine white flour dusted the floor machines belts window sills and every flat surface The miller was white clothes hair face and hands He looked likephantom There were large pipes aboutfoot in diameter some metal anl others canvas They apparently were filled with different kinds of milled products miller was working at one of these condults filling sacks with flour He would positionbag overpipe outlet pull outwooden stopper and flour would spill into the sack Large wooden bins were filled with various grain products whole wheat flour graham flour and germade Cereal Bran chopped oats ami cracked wheat filled other bins saw the miller pass the tran bin reach in and take some to eat decided to try it too The bran was coarse but tasty tried some grahan flour and liked it better The grain in our wagon was soon unloaded and Daddy sald it would be elevated to the top floor From that point the processing would begin Infew minutes pure white flour was conveyed to the first floor The miller filled sacks from our very own wheat Daddy insisted that last yearcrop of wheat produced better flour Tt would befew months before the newwas the wheat would be harvested and ready to process right time to get our yearsupply of flour 132 |
