| | |  | Wind Power | Home » » Windmill Tales | | | | | | | Description: | | "Windmill Tales deftly presents these mechanical wonders as western icons. . . . Wyman Meinzer's images, each executed with precision and thoughtful perspective, range from grand, silhouetted landscapes to nuanced details. Every picture invites the reader to investigate further, to explore the contraption's engineering and rustic beauty."—Great Plains Quarterly "The only sound that day was from the windmill, a creaking sound that a windmill makes turning in the summer breeze. It is a memory I deeply cherish and why I love windmills so much."—A visitor to the American Wind Power Center On the prairies of North America, wind and water were pervasive, but whereas wind was tangible, water in quantity was hidden beneath the surface. The vast grasslands fed great herds of animals, which in turn sustained native Americans, but it was not until water could be brought to the surface that the plains could be cultivated and developed into a great agricultural bread-basket for the growing nation. The self-governing windmill forever changed the culture of this vast region. The agricultural development of the plains is the story of the ingenuity, hardship, success, and sometimes failure of settlers as they applied a new technology in an environment with which they were barely familiar. The stories of these settlers and of their children and grandchildren often focus on the windmill, for this source of life-sustaining water often became the center of ranch and farm life. In Windmill Tales, in ninety-nine beautiful full-color images, photographer Wyman Meinzer shows American windmills as they appear today. Many of them are still working, and others have fallen or are preserved at the American Wind Power Center, but all illustrate the way of life that was made possible by the windmill. Brief reminiscences and stories told by visitors to the American Wind Power Center give the reader a sense of the central importance of windmills in the lives of early pioneers in the West. Some of the stories reflect the sense of humor ranch and farm families developed to help them through hard times, whereas others hint at disappointment and tragedy. Together with the photographs they give us a fascinating insight into our history. | | | Product Details: | | | Hardcover:
| 160 pages | | Publisher:
| Texas Tech University Press | | Publication Date:
| June 15, 2004 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0896725278 | | Product Length:
| 11.32 inches | | Product Width:
| 8.82 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.83 inches | | Product Weight:
| 2.35 pounds | | Package Length:
| 11.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.7 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.25 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 2 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Windmill TalesAug 22, 2005
By Claire L. Ducker
The Wyman Meinzer photographs in this book are so beautiful that it's perfect for the coffe table, but the stories are so funny, so interesting, so odd that you'll want to keep it by your bedside.
Modern Americans are so urbanized that windmills seem almost exotic, but they were a daily experience for most rural dwellers in the Southwest and West from the mid-19th century to nearly the present. The stories in this book illustrate the importance and the ubiquity of this mechanical marvel.
In his forward to the book, Steve Halladay, a descendent of Daniel Halliday, the inventor of the self-regulating windmill, notes that, while it is often claimed that the Winchester rifle tamed the West, a good case can be made that it was really the windmill. Indeed, without massive windmills stationed every 50 miles along the tracks, the mighty railroads would not have been possible. It was the smaller household and ranch windmills, though, that people remember and revere with surprising passion and persistence. The American Wind Power Center, which produced the book, is a testament to this enduring fascination with windmills.
People visiting the museum at the Wind Power Center frequently shared stories about the windmills that they and their families and friends lived and worked with over the years. The staff at the Center recorded the stories for their archives, and eventually Coy Harris, the director, realized that this trove of anecdotes would make a great book. He enlisted Meinzer to provide photographs to accompany the text, and the book was published by the Texas Tech University press.
Some of the stories are hilariious; some are interesting and informative; others are almost like shaggy dog stories: not much point, but sort of strange, even mysterious. My personal favorite: during a repair of a remote windmaill in New Mexico, the storyteller's uncle found that he had failed to bring a brace and bit to drill the holes for attaching the sucker rod to the steel pump rod. He did, however, have a .30-30 rifle, which he used to shoot the necessary holes! Now, that's good old American know-how!
Get this book, even if you know squat about windmeills and care even less. You'll love it!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
West Texas MemoriesJul 21, 2007
By DJW
The following review was written by my friend who, among other things, is a true aficionado of both the literal and figurative value of windmills:
Thank you for the wonderful book, "Windmill Tales". I received it as a gift from a good friend upon my recent retirement, and I can't tell you how much pleasure I have derived from this "jewel". The tales were quite entertaining; and, of course, I enjoyed reading them. However, it was the photographs that kept drawing me back. They were like an open door to my past.
I spent much of my youth on the Spade and Wulfjen "96" ranches in west Texas, and the photographs in your book are like flashbacks in my mind. Through the pictures in your book, I can almost feel the warm sun upon my face as I rode with my dad making the rounds checking on the windmills that might require repairs. I can hear the gentle rhythm of the windmill blades turning in the evening breeze, as I sat on the porch steps watching the sun sink below the horizon. They even bring back the sweet taste of cool clear water spilling into the tank.
Your book has given me the opportunity to slip back from "city life" into the past to once again visit these silent sentinels that dot the landscape and provide the life-blood water for the people and pastures of Texas.
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