I am very glad to not have had the opportunity to test out the speed limit laws in a Missouri traffic court. LOL The law is, well, the LAW. I suppose there can be variations and interpretations but when it comes time to explain to the judge why you were breaking the law there is no gray area. Police officers enforce the law, they don't make the laws. They use their supposedly best judgement for that enforcement, but they too know the law is absolute. Yes, there is hardly an officer alive who will write you a ticket for one mile over, but that is the limit and the law. He can do it. I would be interested in knowing what the judge would decide if you were issued that obstruction citation. My confidence in the Missouri judicial system would diminish if he threw the book at you.
The difference in automobile driver attitude around here is significant. Nobody actually drives at the limit, but they do keep it to 5 over for the most part. In Illinois it's more like 15 over being the the understood limit. 20 over is reckless driving in Illinois. The police love to write tickets for those dudes. I think they get extra credit when they do.
The Rest Of The Story
Re: The Rest Of The Story
I rarely if ever met a police officer in Missouri I didn't like.
Even if I got pulled over for something, most were cordial and explained exactly what I did, or why they stopped me.
I would have to say, most, closer to all of the Missouri policemen from all jurisdictions were wonderful folks.
Who also obeyed the law as much as feasibly possible and still do their job.
Down south here is an entirely different story.
I would be hard pressed to find but a small hand-full of police down here who are not habitual offenders of the law.
They have an attitude at all levels that they are above the law, so the law don't apply to them.
Because of that attitude, and the fact they don't write tickets for the same laws they habitually break.
Most of the drivers down here don't follow those laws either, because they know they won't get a ticket, or usually don't.
While folks back home looked up to the officers, down here we avoid them, because they only look down on us from their pedestals of power. I have met a couple that were nice, but out of the hundreds, that's about it.
I realize all cities need the revenue from law enforcement, and in most cities it is only a moderate income.
Down here, it is their primary source of funds, and they want all they can get.
It may sound odd my saying that, since I've had many tickets in Missouri, and basically none down here.
But I know what I see when I'm out and about. Missouri cops cared about the people, Southern cops only care about themselves and their power, and it is prevalent throughout the justice system down here.
And don't get me going about all the crooked Mayor's we've had, that moved on to higher positions.
Even if I got pulled over for something, most were cordial and explained exactly what I did, or why they stopped me.
I would have to say, most, closer to all of the Missouri policemen from all jurisdictions were wonderful folks.
Who also obeyed the law as much as feasibly possible and still do their job.
Down south here is an entirely different story.
I would be hard pressed to find but a small hand-full of police down here who are not habitual offenders of the law.
They have an attitude at all levels that they are above the law, so the law don't apply to them.
Because of that attitude, and the fact they don't write tickets for the same laws they habitually break.
Most of the drivers down here don't follow those laws either, because they know they won't get a ticket, or usually don't.
While folks back home looked up to the officers, down here we avoid them, because they only look down on us from their pedestals of power. I have met a couple that were nice, but out of the hundreds, that's about it.
I realize all cities need the revenue from law enforcement, and in most cities it is only a moderate income.
Down here, it is their primary source of funds, and they want all they can get.
It may sound odd my saying that, since I've had many tickets in Missouri, and basically none down here.
But I know what I see when I'm out and about. Missouri cops cared about the people, Southern cops only care about themselves and their power, and it is prevalent throughout the justice system down here.
And don't get me going about all the crooked Mayor's we've had, that moved on to higher positions.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
Chicago had a dynasty of mayors from the Daley family. Maybe that's why I was attracted to O'Fallon subconsciously. The Daley family was as Irish as you could be and not live in Ireland. Richard J was known for many years as "the Boss" which could have easily also been "the Don" but as I said he was Irish not Italian. LOL It was known as machine politics when Daley got involved with something. He was the one from where I copped the saying "Windows just works" in that the motto for Chicago under his rule was "the City That Works." Things got done if you were willing to negotiate with your alderman. Of course, the expectation was that your vote would go to the right person come November, but the Republicans never expected to win an election and just put up a candidate as a formality. The suburbs were a different story, but in the city of Chicago the Daily Machine got things done if you talked to the right people. Nobody cared that the way things happened weren't exactly Kosher because it usually was a win-win situation. You got what you wanted if you supported the party. It was a dynasty to be sure, but not exactly like the RedNecks you describe down south. It was family in Chicago which was noticeably different than those Good Ol' Boys.
We moved here to O'Fallon in the hottest July they had experienced in decades. Being total strangers my wife and I had no idea where to even go out to eat. We did read in some paper that St Charles hand an Old Town and that it was the happening place. Turns out most places around here have an Old Town, but St Charles was bigger and more touristy. We drove over and walked around a bit taking in the sights, and then decided to go to an official Irish Pub for lunch. It was pretty cool and everything I expected a pub to be. I love people watching and am not an alcohol drinker so that I didn't absorb the full flavor of the environment. Anyway, across the aisle and down a table was a couple having lunch. The lady was casually dressed and the man was in uniform. He was some sort of police officer. I don't know if he was on duty having lunch with his sweetie or what, but it was interesting to see the two enjoying the pub. Then I saw something I never saw before. Two old ladies were leaving the pub and walking down the aisle were the officer and I were sitting. They stopped at his table and thanked him for all he is doing. He accepted it graciously, but it was obvious that these two were not the first ones to give him thanks. I was totally blown away by this simply act of kindness. I don't know how much the officer cared about the people he is charged with to protect, the the natives in the neighborhood were very appreciative.
We moved here to O'Fallon in the hottest July they had experienced in decades. Being total strangers my wife and I had no idea where to even go out to eat. We did read in some paper that St Charles hand an Old Town and that it was the happening place. Turns out most places around here have an Old Town, but St Charles was bigger and more touristy. We drove over and walked around a bit taking in the sights, and then decided to go to an official Irish Pub for lunch. It was pretty cool and everything I expected a pub to be. I love people watching and am not an alcohol drinker so that I didn't absorb the full flavor of the environment. Anyway, across the aisle and down a table was a couple having lunch. The lady was casually dressed and the man was in uniform. He was some sort of police officer. I don't know if he was on duty having lunch with his sweetie or what, but it was interesting to see the two enjoying the pub. Then I saw something I never saw before. Two old ladies were leaving the pub and walking down the aisle were the officer and I were sitting. They stopped at his table and thanked him for all he is doing. He accepted it graciously, but it was obvious that these two were not the first ones to give him thanks. I was totally blown away by this simply act of kindness. I don't know how much the officer cared about the people he is charged with to protect, the the natives in the neighborhood were very appreciative.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
St. Louis, and St. Louis County were both run by Democrats, which was fine with us, since we were all Democrats too.
The only unsettling thing to my dad was how often those in office, and larger businesses, hid behind lies.
But then so did the Republican businessmen! Of our two largest newspapers. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and the Globe Democrat, which one do you think was the Republican Paper? It was the Globe Democrat!
We had the greatest cops in all the towns, and in most parts of the County too!
The only exception was in the town of Marlborough. They were so crooked, the state even stepped in and shut them down after close to two decades of complaints about them. The wheels turned very slowly in that case.
My cousin and I were Junior Volunteer Firemen. That don't mean we went to fires, it only meant we did the grunt work after a fire at the fire house, such as cleaning and hanging hoses, and the trucks, etc.
But then they tried something else in our town, Teenage Cops. From age 16 to 17 you could walk a beat, such as in a shopping center. Then from 18 to 19 you were a volunteer cop. Our local News and Views did a several page article entitled Teenage Cops are Tops, and I think the Suburban Journal even picked up on some of it.
That's what it was like when I was growing up, it was only the politics that kept going downhill faster and faster.
The only unsettling thing to my dad was how often those in office, and larger businesses, hid behind lies.
But then so did the Republican businessmen! Of our two largest newspapers. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and the Globe Democrat, which one do you think was the Republican Paper? It was the Globe Democrat!
We had the greatest cops in all the towns, and in most parts of the County too!
The only exception was in the town of Marlborough. They were so crooked, the state even stepped in and shut them down after close to two decades of complaints about them. The wheels turned very slowly in that case.
My cousin and I were Junior Volunteer Firemen. That don't mean we went to fires, it only meant we did the grunt work after a fire at the fire house, such as cleaning and hanging hoses, and the trucks, etc.
But then they tried something else in our town, Teenage Cops. From age 16 to 17 you could walk a beat, such as in a shopping center. Then from 18 to 19 you were a volunteer cop. Our local News and Views did a several page article entitled Teenage Cops are Tops, and I think the Suburban Journal even picked up on some of it.
That's what it was like when I was growing up, it was only the politics that kept going downhill faster and faster.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
I don't want to give you the impression that I favor politicians and the way they operate, but you can't please all the people all the time. They are in a tough spot because they have to decide if they know better than the people they are representing. You would think the politicians are privy to information not available to the general public and thus can make well informed decisions. All of that is in place, of course, but do they make the best decisions all the time? Hell no. But they do make good choices based on information they have. Truth be told there is no better way.
Because you were born and raised in a place I discovered only three years ago, you might find my observations about the people here amusing. There are only subtle differences between O'Fallon and Roselle, but some of that subtlety has high impact upon my northern oriented mind. LOL I think you had to wonder why I was so amazed at the way my neighbors reach out to help me in little ways. We are all strangers after all, but that's what strangers do here in Missouri. So what is this Yank raving about?
Today I was sitting here looking out the window and waiting for the rain to start. Or go away. I'm not sure which it was doing. Suddenly a black SUV did a turnaround in the cul du sac across from me and parked near my driveway. Must be one of those freelance Amazon Prime delivery people that I thought they fired. But then, we didn't order anything from Amazon. Hmmm. A lady got out of the vehicle and pulled out a small red shopping bag and started marching toward my front door. She waved when she saw me in the window, but I didn't recognize her. I figured she was some sort of terrorist and was going to leave an explosive or anthrax laced bag on my front porch. I grabbed my clever phone, the one that can take pictures, and went to the front door. She was there waiting for me and smiled when I opened up the door. She gave me the shopping bag full of goodies and explained that as an act of good will; they were dropping off "care packages" to selected houses. Then she asked how me and Kathy were doing. She knew my wife's name!
We did some small talk for a while before I realized this woman was the lady who we dealt with when buying this house. She was the real estate agent that got us moved into O'Fallon, but she looked like she could have been a vagrant. Obviously she was not on duty because nobody is buy houses these days and was dressed very casually with no make up. She was a beautiful woman just three years ago, but now she is merely average. LOL Anyway, my wife came by with the dog and didn't recognize her either.
I probably sounded a bit foolish, but I can do that being the old git that I am, when I thanked her profusely for her random act of kindness. The bag did have the company logo on it, but still. She, they, reached out without provocation. The package contained one roll of TP, a face mask printed with an American flag, hand sanitizer, a bottle of drinking water, a bag of pretzels, and a full sized Snickers bar. It's all trivial stuff, and her company probably paid for it. But, maybe not. The people around here are proving to be truly amazing, Gary. I'm finding this all very hard to believe.
Because you were born and raised in a place I discovered only three years ago, you might find my observations about the people here amusing. There are only subtle differences between O'Fallon and Roselle, but some of that subtlety has high impact upon my northern oriented mind. LOL I think you had to wonder why I was so amazed at the way my neighbors reach out to help me in little ways. We are all strangers after all, but that's what strangers do here in Missouri. So what is this Yank raving about?
Today I was sitting here looking out the window and waiting for the rain to start. Or go away. I'm not sure which it was doing. Suddenly a black SUV did a turnaround in the cul du sac across from me and parked near my driveway. Must be one of those freelance Amazon Prime delivery people that I thought they fired. But then, we didn't order anything from Amazon. Hmmm. A lady got out of the vehicle and pulled out a small red shopping bag and started marching toward my front door. She waved when she saw me in the window, but I didn't recognize her. I figured she was some sort of terrorist and was going to leave an explosive or anthrax laced bag on my front porch. I grabbed my clever phone, the one that can take pictures, and went to the front door. She was there waiting for me and smiled when I opened up the door. She gave me the shopping bag full of goodies and explained that as an act of good will; they were dropping off "care packages" to selected houses. Then she asked how me and Kathy were doing. She knew my wife's name!
We did some small talk for a while before I realized this woman was the lady who we dealt with when buying this house. She was the real estate agent that got us moved into O'Fallon, but she looked like she could have been a vagrant. Obviously she was not on duty because nobody is buy houses these days and was dressed very casually with no make up. She was a beautiful woman just three years ago, but now she is merely average. LOL Anyway, my wife came by with the dog and didn't recognize her either.
I probably sounded a bit foolish, but I can do that being the old git that I am, when I thanked her profusely for her random act of kindness. The bag did have the company logo on it, but still. She, they, reached out without provocation. The package contained one roll of TP, a face mask printed with an American flag, hand sanitizer, a bottle of drinking water, a bag of pretzels, and a full sized Snickers bar. It's all trivial stuff, and her company probably paid for it. But, maybe not. The people around here are proving to be truly amazing, Gary. I'm finding this all very hard to believe.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
This is honestly one of the things I miss about Missouri.
And to add a feather to your cap, most of these little programs we have/had were usually started by democrats or democratic business owners. By the way, we were democrats too until later years.
We had the Welcome Wagon which brought goodies to all new families in our towns.
Also many stores sent out their own welcome packages, as did the Realtors and Insurance folks.
Another group maintained a list of seniors living at home, with little to no relatives.
Many companies did things like check on them, bring them things they may need, often in conjunction with church groups who took care of making all the deliveries.
A couple of the lawn maintenance services would take turns doing a few elderly homes for free. One company even boasted about every tenth lawn they did for free was for a disabled or senior on low income but still in their own home.
Back in the 1950's through about 1975, nearly every business in Des Peres donated products or services to help both newcomers to town and the elderly.
I know my grandfather started something back in 1913 that we continued up until we closed in 1984.
Although we did discontinue a couple of the things he started after he passed away, but mainly because of way too many new people moving in with all the new subdivisions, and also for peoples privacy reasons.
We built our own list of birthdays over the years, and every past or present customer, when they reached (at first it was age 65) 70 years old, we delivered a vase of roses to women, or a planter to men, and on every birthday after.
Every couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary also received a nice floral arrangement from us, and a slightly smaller one on each anniversary after that.
I don't remember a single day in all the 71 years we were open that there wasn't at least four or five free items going out, and on some days as many as 20 items. And also on holidays they all got a Lily or a Poinsettia too.
Three bakeries did something similar to what we were doing with flowers, but sending cakes or breads.
One of the attorneys in Des Peres gave tickets to the Fox Theater for folks celebrating their 25th anniversary, and he would also have donated from a restaurant close to them, a free dinner for two.
I don't thing we saw much of that going on after 1975 for some reason. We still did, as did several other merchants. But the groups that used to do that seemed to have disappeared. More than likely because the population density grew so much it was no longer feasible to be able to do everyone they wanted to.
Also, getting things donated became harder and harder over the years.
It used to be we had Food Pantries that were well stocked, almost like a grocery store.
After an interview, folks could pick out what they needed if it was approved.
Now, the Food Pantries only have an assortment of boxes pre-packed with X number of items, much of the box is things they don't want or like so is probably wasted or given to someone else by the recipient.
The world is a different place Yogi. And although I like the new technology, I really do miss the way things were when people were nice and helped each other all the time.
And to add a feather to your cap, most of these little programs we have/had were usually started by democrats or democratic business owners. By the way, we were democrats too until later years.
We had the Welcome Wagon which brought goodies to all new families in our towns.
Also many stores sent out their own welcome packages, as did the Realtors and Insurance folks.
Another group maintained a list of seniors living at home, with little to no relatives.
Many companies did things like check on them, bring them things they may need, often in conjunction with church groups who took care of making all the deliveries.
A couple of the lawn maintenance services would take turns doing a few elderly homes for free. One company even boasted about every tenth lawn they did for free was for a disabled or senior on low income but still in their own home.
Back in the 1950's through about 1975, nearly every business in Des Peres donated products or services to help both newcomers to town and the elderly.
I know my grandfather started something back in 1913 that we continued up until we closed in 1984.
Although we did discontinue a couple of the things he started after he passed away, but mainly because of way too many new people moving in with all the new subdivisions, and also for peoples privacy reasons.
We built our own list of birthdays over the years, and every past or present customer, when they reached (at first it was age 65) 70 years old, we delivered a vase of roses to women, or a planter to men, and on every birthday after.
Every couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary also received a nice floral arrangement from us, and a slightly smaller one on each anniversary after that.
I don't remember a single day in all the 71 years we were open that there wasn't at least four or five free items going out, and on some days as many as 20 items. And also on holidays they all got a Lily or a Poinsettia too.
Three bakeries did something similar to what we were doing with flowers, but sending cakes or breads.
One of the attorneys in Des Peres gave tickets to the Fox Theater for folks celebrating their 25th anniversary, and he would also have donated from a restaurant close to them, a free dinner for two.
I don't thing we saw much of that going on after 1975 for some reason. We still did, as did several other merchants. But the groups that used to do that seemed to have disappeared. More than likely because the population density grew so much it was no longer feasible to be able to do everyone they wanted to.
Also, getting things donated became harder and harder over the years.
It used to be we had Food Pantries that were well stocked, almost like a grocery store.
After an interview, folks could pick out what they needed if it was approved.
Now, the Food Pantries only have an assortment of boxes pre-packed with X number of items, much of the box is things they don't want or like so is probably wasted or given to someone else by the recipient.
The world is a different place Yogi. And although I like the new technology, I really do miss the way things were when people were nice and helped each other all the time.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
I think it was the first house we purchased after we were married where we met our first Welcome Wagon representative. It was amazing at the time, but I don't recall who sponsored them. I think it might have been an independent organization that promoted the businesses which gave donations as well as greeting new neighbors. After that house we moved to the custom home we had built. It was across the street from a subdivision that had been in existence for a dozen years prior to our invasion. We were at the junction of a "T" intersection and the two neighbors directly across from us came to greet us after we moved in. One brought a bottle of wine and the other brought a loaf of bread that she baked for us. It was some kind of British custom to do that. That's all I can recall about the neighbors being outgoing and welcoming in Illinois. All the neighbors were friendly as are the ones down here. But those who take the initiative are more numerous in Missouri than the ones I met In Illinois. It's kind of odd in a way. As out going as these folks are, they are also distant. We have yet to engage in any activity at all with any of the neighbors. Amazing to think of after living here three years.
I don't think politics has much to do with people reaching out. I just assumed I'm living in Trump country, but maybe not as much as I suspect. Roy Blunt seems like a nice guy who works for the people, but he also goes out of his way to kiss the president's butt. I guess that's how politics is run. He might be an entirely different guy if he were my neighbor. LOL
I don't think politics has much to do with people reaching out. I just assumed I'm living in Trump country, but maybe not as much as I suspect. Roy Blunt seems like a nice guy who works for the people, but he also goes out of his way to kiss the president's butt. I guess that's how politics is run. He might be an entirely different guy if he were my neighbor. LOL
Re: The Rest Of The Story
Hmm, Missouri was a Blue state all the years I lived there. Did it change?
I've lived south now close to 20 years so have been out of touch with the goings on there.
I've only met a couple of my neighbors, and as we know, one of them is more private than the CIA, hi hi.
Things are moving right along with his house renovation project, from what I can see from here anyhow.
He's actually not changing the outside much at all. Other than I see another one of the tall air-handling things being installed in the back of the house where you can't see it from the road.
I do see one of the cars that used to always be in his driveway in the early morning is now parked over there, but he's only over there for a few minutes, then walks back over to the first house until just after his replacement arrives.
Did see the city inspector's car over there on Tuesday for about ten minutes, then he was gone.
Couldn't miss him, he was parked on the wrong side of the road, and at a slight angle.
It's illegal, but city employee's are above the law here!
I've lived south now close to 20 years so have been out of touch with the goings on there.
I've only met a couple of my neighbors, and as we know, one of them is more private than the CIA, hi hi.
Things are moving right along with his house renovation project, from what I can see from here anyhow.
He's actually not changing the outside much at all. Other than I see another one of the tall air-handling things being installed in the back of the house where you can't see it from the road.
I do see one of the cars that used to always be in his driveway in the early morning is now parked over there, but he's only over there for a few minutes, then walks back over to the first house until just after his replacement arrives.
Did see the city inspector's car over there on Tuesday for about ten minutes, then he was gone.
Couldn't miss him, he was parked on the wrong side of the road, and at a slight angle.
It's illegal, but city employee's are above the law here!
Re: The Rest Of The Story
You certainly are more familiar with Missouri than I'll ever be. My understanding is that it is today considered purple, i.e. a mix of both the major parties. In theory I'm living in the blue part but down south near Arkansas it's redder than the Chinese flag at high noon. There was some talk about giving away those border counties to Arkansas to make both states happier, but I think there might be some sarcasm in what I read. 
If there is anything interesting going on with the neighbors, I can't see it from my Command and Control Center window. LOL The house I do see from my vantage point has four people living in it: two adults and two children. They are the most active family on this entire block. They are they only kids I ever see playing outside, for example. Some of the others come out on certain weekends at certain times of the year, but those folks across the way are out there shooting hoops several times a week when the weather permits. They have a kayak which I see them load into the pickup truck and head off to wherever they head off for the day. Maybe two days. Sometimes the entire weekend. It's truly a family that does things together.
This week it got a little more weird than usual. Before the pandemic and the stay at home orders, each night the entire family would leave before dinner and return home around nine or later. The only unusual part about that is they did it EVERY day. I often wondered where they went because sometimes it was obvious they left the kids at home. Most of the times all four of them disappear for a few hours. There are also times when the whole family goes on some sort of vacation. During those extended times strange people come to their home, park in the driveway, and enter the house through the garage. There are a few individuals who do that, but it also seems like somebody's mom and dad come by and do the house check. Mom and dad, more likely than not, will stay for a few days and then leave before the kids return home. Interesting, but not really unexpected.
Thursday the whole family disappeared. They didn't take the kayak but they all left the premises. That evening who I am guessing is mom and dad show up in two separate vehicles. They stayed the night, but, the lady of the house came by last night and parked her car in the street. That was unusual which is why I noticed it at all. It was the lady only and not the rest of the family so that I'm guessing it's HER parents watching the house. She left by nine o'clock and the parents stayed in the house. They are still there and the family is not. So ... I'm now more intrigued than ever. I want to know exactly what those people are up to. Where are they going en masse as they do, and which can't be too far away if the lady of the house can come by and visit.
You are correct if you are thinking I need something better to do than watch my neighbors.
If there is anything interesting going on with the neighbors, I can't see it from my Command and Control Center window. LOL The house I do see from my vantage point has four people living in it: two adults and two children. They are the most active family on this entire block. They are they only kids I ever see playing outside, for example. Some of the others come out on certain weekends at certain times of the year, but those folks across the way are out there shooting hoops several times a week when the weather permits. They have a kayak which I see them load into the pickup truck and head off to wherever they head off for the day. Maybe two days. Sometimes the entire weekend. It's truly a family that does things together.
This week it got a little more weird than usual. Before the pandemic and the stay at home orders, each night the entire family would leave before dinner and return home around nine or later. The only unusual part about that is they did it EVERY day. I often wondered where they went because sometimes it was obvious they left the kids at home. Most of the times all four of them disappear for a few hours. There are also times when the whole family goes on some sort of vacation. During those extended times strange people come to their home, park in the driveway, and enter the house through the garage. There are a few individuals who do that, but it also seems like somebody's mom and dad come by and do the house check. Mom and dad, more likely than not, will stay for a few days and then leave before the kids return home. Interesting, but not really unexpected.
Thursday the whole family disappeared. They didn't take the kayak but they all left the premises. That evening who I am guessing is mom and dad show up in two separate vehicles. They stayed the night, but, the lady of the house came by last night and parked her car in the street. That was unusual which is why I noticed it at all. It was the lady only and not the rest of the family so that I'm guessing it's HER parents watching the house. She left by nine o'clock and the parents stayed in the house. They are still there and the family is not. So ... I'm now more intrigued than ever. I want to know exactly what those people are up to. Where are they going en masse as they do, and which can't be too far away if the lady of the house can come by and visit.
You are correct if you are thinking I need something better to do than watch my neighbors.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
I might be able to help a little with that, based on the years my kids were growing up.
We had a list of restaurants where we could eat cheap, and kids ate for free, but one for each adult is all.
Afterward we would go to one of the recreation centers, often one with a pool, or go bowling, and on rare occasions take in a short movie.
Stepping back even further, whenever mom and dad would go somewhere with us kids, and we expected to be gone for more than 4 hours, dad always had one of his off-duty cop friends come an either sit in the house or in his car in the driveway, this was after he moved to Ballwin. Prior to that we had on property security and a night-watchman besides.
Security had the easy job, but the poor night-watchman was also the boiler stoker in the coal days, and mainly just checked temperatures in each of the greenhouse in the fuel oil days. Once we got the computer system that did this, the night-watchman only had to keep an eye on the warning lights while doing other duties around the place.
When I was young, we rarely if ever ate away from home. If we did, it was a special treat.
I was 16 when mom and dad moved to Ballwin, and that is when we went out to eat more often.
Almost became a habit on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
Once I and my brother was out of the coop, Mom, Dad, and my two sisters went out to eat most often.
But then too, there were many more restaurants by then, some quite cheap.
Before Ruth was wheelchair bound, we ate out at least 3 nights a week, often 4 times a week, with all the kids in tow.
We had about 4 different places we would alternate between, Jacks or Better, IHOP most often, Larry G.s, and one next door that changed names often, hi hi. If we ate at either of the first two, we went to the JCCA afterward for an hour for the kids to swim or play other games, while us adults used the adult recreation areas. Sometimes we went to the bowling alley next to the JCCA.
We had a list of restaurants where we could eat cheap, and kids ate for free, but one for each adult is all.
Afterward we would go to one of the recreation centers, often one with a pool, or go bowling, and on rare occasions take in a short movie.
Stepping back even further, whenever mom and dad would go somewhere with us kids, and we expected to be gone for more than 4 hours, dad always had one of his off-duty cop friends come an either sit in the house or in his car in the driveway, this was after he moved to Ballwin. Prior to that we had on property security and a night-watchman besides.
Security had the easy job, but the poor night-watchman was also the boiler stoker in the coal days, and mainly just checked temperatures in each of the greenhouse in the fuel oil days. Once we got the computer system that did this, the night-watchman only had to keep an eye on the warning lights while doing other duties around the place.
When I was young, we rarely if ever ate away from home. If we did, it was a special treat.
I was 16 when mom and dad moved to Ballwin, and that is when we went out to eat more often.
Almost became a habit on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
Once I and my brother was out of the coop, Mom, Dad, and my two sisters went out to eat most often.
But then too, there were many more restaurants by then, some quite cheap.
Before Ruth was wheelchair bound, we ate out at least 3 nights a week, often 4 times a week, with all the kids in tow.
We had about 4 different places we would alternate between, Jacks or Better, IHOP most often, Larry G.s, and one next door that changed names often, hi hi. If we ate at either of the first two, we went to the JCCA afterward for an hour for the kids to swim or play other games, while us adults used the adult recreation areas. Sometimes we went to the bowling alley next to the JCCA.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
When my daughter lived in Clayton she noted that the people there were very family oriented. When I moved to O'Fallon the first social structure I observed was that of being surrounded by Irish Catholics. There probably are more red haired people here than there are in most places and my guess is they are all of Irish descent. It makes sense that they would be Catholic given it's a popular religion in Ireland. The second social structure I noted was that every woman of child bearing age was pregnant, or recently so. LOL Well, maybe not every one of them but quite a few. This led to another subtle anomaly where I observed an inordinate number of dads taking the kids out for a walk and pushing a stroller. I originally suspected the guy living across the street was some kind of athletic director in a nearby school because he is always out there with the kids tossing some kind of ball around (depending on the season) while they all wait for the school bus to come by in the morning. So, yes, this place is very family oriented even if my observations are slightly distorted.
A few years ago there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas. I'm sure you remember the incident because a lot of people were massacred. About a year after I moved here I discovered a newspaper article wherein they interviewed the lady across the street, Ms Tammy, regarding her experience at that very concert. It was horrifying. A second article showed up about Ms Tammy going through some In vitro fertilisation procedure at Washington U hospital. That's how their son came into being. They never mentioned how the daughter came about but I assume she was adopted. Brian, Ms Tammy's hubby, works for a local bank so my wife claims. That's hard to believe given the hours I see him at home. He does come home for lunch nearly every day and stays at least an hour, usually more. During this pandemic he is home more often, but still goes away. Ms Tammy seldom, if ever, leaves the house. However, I now see her too out there playing with the kids, which I never seen her do before. All my wife knows is that she works from home.
So, that's about all I know of those neighbors. I like the suggestion that they go out to eat and then take in some entertainment afterwards. As far as people watching the house for them goes, that's not unheard of where I came from but it didn't happen often. That's why I was surprised to see so many homes with protection services and all those built in safes when we were roaming about looking for a place to live. People here are really into security. Having said that, the #1 crime has got to be stolen cars. I read about that all the time. People leave the keys in their cars as if they were living out in the country where they only have cows for neighbors. Actually I've not seen many cows around here either. Some horses but that's it for farm animals. I have no idea how the farmers here make a living.
A few years ago there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas. I'm sure you remember the incident because a lot of people were massacred. About a year after I moved here I discovered a newspaper article wherein they interviewed the lady across the street, Ms Tammy, regarding her experience at that very concert. It was horrifying. A second article showed up about Ms Tammy going through some In vitro fertilisation procedure at Washington U hospital. That's how their son came into being. They never mentioned how the daughter came about but I assume she was adopted. Brian, Ms Tammy's hubby, works for a local bank so my wife claims. That's hard to believe given the hours I see him at home. He does come home for lunch nearly every day and stays at least an hour, usually more. During this pandemic he is home more often, but still goes away. Ms Tammy seldom, if ever, leaves the house. However, I now see her too out there playing with the kids, which I never seen her do before. All my wife knows is that she works from home.
So, that's about all I know of those neighbors. I like the suggestion that they go out to eat and then take in some entertainment afterwards. As far as people watching the house for them goes, that's not unheard of where I came from but it didn't happen often. That's why I was surprised to see so many homes with protection services and all those built in safes when we were roaming about looking for a place to live. People here are really into security. Having said that, the #1 crime has got to be stolen cars. I read about that all the time. People leave the keys in their cars as if they were living out in the country where they only have cows for neighbors. Actually I've not seen many cows around here either. Some horses but that's it for farm animals. I have no idea how the farmers here make a living.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
We sorta see the same things, but it depends upon which street you are observing.
One street may be all oldsters, and the next one over all younger folks.
Something we've not had here in about a dozen years was troves of kids riding bikes and trikes up and down the street.
I'm the only blacktop driveway and they come up here to get a running start out onto the road, dangerous considering the traffic, but they do it anyhow. A couple are on skateboards now too and often can't make the turn onto the street at the end of the driveway and crash into the neighbors fence, hi hi.
If I go three streets north, the entire street is all young folks on both sides of the main drag. I think one, possibly two men own every house on that street now, and rent for a reasonable price. Back up one street at it is all seniors who live there.
My street is now a mix of ages, but it seems everyone is in some type of commercial enterprise and working mostly from home.
Where the lawn mower repair guy used to be, is now an auto repair, but done hidden inside the garage. Never more than one or two cars parked outside. Next to him where the siding guy used to have the yard filled with trucks and junk is a new family. Not sure where he works, but she makes crafts she takes over to the consignment shop for sale. Plus I think she does some garage sales and brings stuff home to clean up and take over there.
To the right of that is the IT guy, who now owns the house next down from that.
On my side of the street, to the left is a guy who raises pooches, and works at a kennel.
His wife, besides taking care of the pooches sews curtains for some company, and does so from home.
To the left of that is a swimming pool installer, who also has a backhoe and does jobs using it.
To my right is a man and wife who both work at the water works plant.
And to the right of them is someone who drives a car hauling truck OTR. I thought that odd since their are no car assembly plants around here. But apparently he hauls used cars from car dealers who took them in as trade.
Then further down I have no idea, but see lots of trucks coming and going down that way.
Plus of course the Meth Labs, hi hi.
Most of our newer neighbors are really nice, although the one with kids gets in our hair.
One street may be all oldsters, and the next one over all younger folks.
Something we've not had here in about a dozen years was troves of kids riding bikes and trikes up and down the street.
I'm the only blacktop driveway and they come up here to get a running start out onto the road, dangerous considering the traffic, but they do it anyhow. A couple are on skateboards now too and often can't make the turn onto the street at the end of the driveway and crash into the neighbors fence, hi hi.
If I go three streets north, the entire street is all young folks on both sides of the main drag. I think one, possibly two men own every house on that street now, and rent for a reasonable price. Back up one street at it is all seniors who live there.
My street is now a mix of ages, but it seems everyone is in some type of commercial enterprise and working mostly from home.
Where the lawn mower repair guy used to be, is now an auto repair, but done hidden inside the garage. Never more than one or two cars parked outside. Next to him where the siding guy used to have the yard filled with trucks and junk is a new family. Not sure where he works, but she makes crafts she takes over to the consignment shop for sale. Plus I think she does some garage sales and brings stuff home to clean up and take over there.
To the right of that is the IT guy, who now owns the house next down from that.
On my side of the street, to the left is a guy who raises pooches, and works at a kennel.
His wife, besides taking care of the pooches sews curtains for some company, and does so from home.
To the left of that is a swimming pool installer, who also has a backhoe and does jobs using it.
To my right is a man and wife who both work at the water works plant.
And to the right of them is someone who drives a car hauling truck OTR. I thought that odd since their are no car assembly plants around here. But apparently he hauls used cars from car dealers who took them in as trade.
Then further down I have no idea, but see lots of trucks coming and going down that way.
Plus of course the Meth Labs, hi hi.
Most of our newer neighbors are really nice, although the one with kids gets in our hair.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
A red haired middle aged lady driving a late model Escalade parked in front of my house yesterday. She came to the door for a little chat. It turns out that like a few others around here she too is interested in my well being. However, her interest is a little easier for me to understand. She is running for local council and wants to introduce herself to the people of O'Fallon in the hope that they will all vote for her. I laughed to myself because I thought of your observations about how all politicians are wealthy or get that way once they are in office. Well, I don't know if Katey is wealthy but she does drive a nice car.
We got to chatting about many things and my move to O'Fallon came up as a topic. She asked why we chose this as a retirement home. I ran through the list of reasons and ended summing it up as O'Fallon is just a very nice place to live. She was happy with that. LOL On reflection that is the draw. We had no other reason to be here. It was just comfortable and all the people we met on the road were very nice to us. Now that I'm here a few years, and in spite of the shortcomings I encountered, I'm thinking it would have been nice to move here many years sooner. The problem with that thought is this section of O'Fallon didn't exist even ten years ago. Like many other growing cities they annexed this land when the right developer came along. It certainly was a nice addition to the city, ticky-tacky houses and all.
We got to chatting about many things and my move to O'Fallon came up as a topic. She asked why we chose this as a retirement home. I ran through the list of reasons and ended summing it up as O'Fallon is just a very nice place to live. She was happy with that. LOL On reflection that is the draw. We had no other reason to be here. It was just comfortable and all the people we met on the road were very nice to us. Now that I'm here a few years, and in spite of the shortcomings I encountered, I'm thinking it would have been nice to move here many years sooner. The problem with that thought is this section of O'Fallon didn't exist even ten years ago. Like many other growing cities they annexed this land when the right developer came along. It certainly was a nice addition to the city, ticky-tacky houses and all.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
Before I moved up to Creve Coeur, I was looking at a six or seven year old subdivisions around Fenton and High Ridge. The reason I passed on them was the basements were all concrete block instead of poured concrete walls, and all the interior walls were only 2x3s instead of 2x4s. And the floor joists were those particleboard sheets with a 2x3 top and bottom of the thin sheet. The houses were really made cheap, but the price was higher than they should have been. The only thing going for them at the time was the real estate taxes were low, but then too they had no services. You had to buy fire tags from the volunteer fire department and they were like 250 bucks a year. No Natural Gas, you had to buy a big propane tank and have it filled. It was already there though.
The house in Creve Coeur was originally purchased by my wife and her first husband, which is why she wanted to sell it and move elsewhere. After looking around several places, she didn't like anywhere as well as where she was at, so we agreed to totally renovate the house, change its appearance drastically, both outside and inside. It took a few years but she was more than pleased with how everything turned out, and this was long before she was in a wheelchair.
With four kids always with us, we finished the basement with a master bedroom and bath, a separated office and laundry areas, and a workshop area. Then made the upstairs with two baths and four bedrooms, and this was with the kitchen in the original location too. Later on, after I built a new kitchen where the dining room used to be, I turned the old kitchen into an office, while at the same time making the two north bedrooms larger, then after her boy moved to Detroit, I moved the girls over to the two boys bedrooms, made the two girls bedrooms into a larger bedroom as our new master bedroom, and let my son live downstairs in our master bedroom. This was almost necessary as Ruth could no longer climb the stairs. I had finished the new upstairs master bedroom just before she had her major heart attack and had five bypass surgery. Our poor house was always under renovation in one way or another. But in the end, we finally had it exactly the way we wanted it for our retirement years.
The house in Creve Coeur was originally purchased by my wife and her first husband, which is why she wanted to sell it and move elsewhere. After looking around several places, she didn't like anywhere as well as where she was at, so we agreed to totally renovate the house, change its appearance drastically, both outside and inside. It took a few years but she was more than pleased with how everything turned out, and this was long before she was in a wheelchair.
With four kids always with us, we finished the basement with a master bedroom and bath, a separated office and laundry areas, and a workshop area. Then made the upstairs with two baths and four bedrooms, and this was with the kitchen in the original location too. Later on, after I built a new kitchen where the dining room used to be, I turned the old kitchen into an office, while at the same time making the two north bedrooms larger, then after her boy moved to Detroit, I moved the girls over to the two boys bedrooms, made the two girls bedrooms into a larger bedroom as our new master bedroom, and let my son live downstairs in our master bedroom. This was almost necessary as Ruth could no longer climb the stairs. I had finished the new upstairs master bedroom just before she had her major heart attack and had five bypass surgery. Our poor house was always under renovation in one way or another. But in the end, we finally had it exactly the way we wanted it for our retirement years.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
After more than 50 years of home ownership the average landlord learns a few things about maintenance. The first house was old when we bought it and gave many opportunities for us to learn how to fix things for which there were no longer any parts. The new house wasn't a lot better in that something always needed updating. Even though it was a custom built home, it took us 25 years to finally get it where we wanted it. Then we moved. LOL
Although anything could happen, which is how I got here in the first place, it looks like this will be the last house I live in. Everything I learned about keeping up a house is pointless now. I'm sure there will be some maintenance required, but I'm more than likely going to hire somebody to do it instead of attempt anything on my own. Being older and wiser doesn't mean I am inclined or able to do anything major, such as finish off the basement. Yeah, I'd like to have a rec room and pool table down there, but heck. It's not a lot of fun playing by one's self. LOL Even the gardening isn't worth the effort. I mow the lawn because the HOA police will visit me if I don't. Besides, I'm not about to beg my neighbors to accept my idea of a garden and hope it doesn't offend their sensibilities. If I had my way I'd have some goats and ducks. They would take care of the lawn so that I'd not even have to mow it. HA HA
Although anything could happen, which is how I got here in the first place, it looks like this will be the last house I live in. Everything I learned about keeping up a house is pointless now. I'm sure there will be some maintenance required, but I'm more than likely going to hire somebody to do it instead of attempt anything on my own. Being older and wiser doesn't mean I am inclined or able to do anything major, such as finish off the basement. Yeah, I'd like to have a rec room and pool table down there, but heck. It's not a lot of fun playing by one's self. LOL Even the gardening isn't worth the effort. I mow the lawn because the HOA police will visit me if I don't. Besides, I'm not about to beg my neighbors to accept my idea of a garden and hope it doesn't offend their sensibilities. If I had my way I'd have some goats and ducks. They would take care of the lawn so that I'd not even have to mow it. HA HA
Re: The Rest Of The Story
I had a friend who after they became disabled, bought four goats to take care of her back two acres.
She still had to have someone mow it because they only ate what they liked and left the weeds and wild bushes to grow.
I've built four houses from the foundation up, with only one fellow to help me get the roof rafters up and carry some drywall in. Everything else, from shopping, to toting, to building, I did myself. I only did the shingles on the first two, and on the second two I had a roofer do it for me. And on the last one I had a siding guy do the siding for me because it was steel ship-lap that came in fairly large sheets. Only the very first house had a small amount of brickwork on the front so I did it myself.
Prior to this I was doing historical renovations in super old houses. I really liked doing it, and those who called me liked my work, so I thought I would keep getting more jobs. Trouble is, they were far and few between, one I did was an 80 mile trip each day to get to. Most folks who do buy historical homes do most of the work themselves, and spend most of their time in meetings to get approved to make a change or do something a little different than the original.
I was one of very few electricians who could legally install replacement knob and tube, and also convert a switched ground system to a hot switched system. I already had my electricians license, but to do things that are no longer code, requires yet another license to restore historical wiring. Ironically, that was the easiest of all licenses to get. I only had to redraw four diagrams, prove I could make a proper Western Union Splice, and how to wrap it with friction tape.
I had more than enough experience making Western Union Splices when I took care of the farm grandpa worked on with all electric fences.
The main thing the inspector looks for is to make sure you did not damage the line or load wire while wrapping the pigtails. It is very easy to nick the wire or not get the coils tight enough. I was a little nervous taking the test, because the book shows a tight center, and I used a spaced center because it holds tighter and allows for a solid starting tape wrap. I just knew he was going to fail me when he saw how I did it, especially when he said I'm the first person he ever saw do it that way. Then he smiled and said that is the proper way, and the reason many don't use it is because if not wrapped properly the joint could slide. To which I replied. I've done enough electric fencing using a fence stretcher to know you can pull this type of joint up tight with enough pull, but on home wiring, the center tape wrap assures the connection remains solid.
He said he had a guy a number of months ago who claimed to do electric fencing, and the guy used a double loop connection, which as you know is a very poor conductor of electric and a possible fire hazard from arcing. I told him I've seen fences done that way myself, which meant I had to fix every one done that way. I also learned a trick on fixing that too without having to redo the fence. The inspector asked me to show him, so I did. It was actually simple and just required a separate wire added like a Western Union Splice over the existing connection, but passed through and twisted at both of the existing loops to prevent them from ever arcing. He just smiled and said that will work just fine, just don't ever do it that way unless you have to.
I've got a couple of spots in my house that would be simple to touch up the minor damage done to the drywall. But heck, out of sight, out of mind, so I don't bother. I would if I knew her son wanted to keep the house in the family, but I know he will sell it so he didn't have to worry about it, since he lives in another city half way across the state.
She still had to have someone mow it because they only ate what they liked and left the weeds and wild bushes to grow.
I've built four houses from the foundation up, with only one fellow to help me get the roof rafters up and carry some drywall in. Everything else, from shopping, to toting, to building, I did myself. I only did the shingles on the first two, and on the second two I had a roofer do it for me. And on the last one I had a siding guy do the siding for me because it was steel ship-lap that came in fairly large sheets. Only the very first house had a small amount of brickwork on the front so I did it myself.
Prior to this I was doing historical renovations in super old houses. I really liked doing it, and those who called me liked my work, so I thought I would keep getting more jobs. Trouble is, they were far and few between, one I did was an 80 mile trip each day to get to. Most folks who do buy historical homes do most of the work themselves, and spend most of their time in meetings to get approved to make a change or do something a little different than the original.
I was one of very few electricians who could legally install replacement knob and tube, and also convert a switched ground system to a hot switched system. I already had my electricians license, but to do things that are no longer code, requires yet another license to restore historical wiring. Ironically, that was the easiest of all licenses to get. I only had to redraw four diagrams, prove I could make a proper Western Union Splice, and how to wrap it with friction tape.
I had more than enough experience making Western Union Splices when I took care of the farm grandpa worked on with all electric fences.
The main thing the inspector looks for is to make sure you did not damage the line or load wire while wrapping the pigtails. It is very easy to nick the wire or not get the coils tight enough. I was a little nervous taking the test, because the book shows a tight center, and I used a spaced center because it holds tighter and allows for a solid starting tape wrap. I just knew he was going to fail me when he saw how I did it, especially when he said I'm the first person he ever saw do it that way. Then he smiled and said that is the proper way, and the reason many don't use it is because if not wrapped properly the joint could slide. To which I replied. I've done enough electric fencing using a fence stretcher to know you can pull this type of joint up tight with enough pull, but on home wiring, the center tape wrap assures the connection remains solid.
He said he had a guy a number of months ago who claimed to do electric fencing, and the guy used a double loop connection, which as you know is a very poor conductor of electric and a possible fire hazard from arcing. I told him I've seen fences done that way myself, which meant I had to fix every one done that way. I also learned a trick on fixing that too without having to redo the fence. The inspector asked me to show him, so I did. It was actually simple and just required a separate wire added like a Western Union Splice over the existing connection, but passed through and twisted at both of the existing loops to prevent them from ever arcing. He just smiled and said that will work just fine, just don't ever do it that way unless you have to.
I've got a couple of spots in my house that would be simple to touch up the minor damage done to the drywall. But heck, out of sight, out of mind, so I don't bother. I would if I knew her son wanted to keep the house in the family, but I know he will sell it so he didn't have to worry about it, since he lives in another city half way across the state.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
You have a way of resurrecting ancient memories from my past. LOL I had to take four shop classes in my High School days and one of them was electric shop. One assignment was to make a display of four, or possibly six, common splices that we were to present for grading. One of those splices was a Western Union and it took a couple tries on my part to make it correctly without nicking the wire. I thought the nicks would not matter given that the joint was soldered, but noooo. LOL I don't recall the other splices because apparently they were simple enough for me to get them right the first time. The other time I ran into nicked wire problems was in the aviation shop class I had to take. I worked on a turbine engine that had holes in the heads of the bolts holding the engine together. Those bold heads had to have a pair of twisted wires tying them together. One wire went through the hole in the bolt head, but the other wrapped around one edge of the bolt. The trick there was to make the wire conform to the exact shape of the hex head by pounding it with a plastic hammer, and not nicking the wire. I don't know how many times I had to redo the safety wire, but it took more than a week to get it right. LOL
You are right about the goats, but I knew somebody who had one to get rid of the dandelions. Apparently the goats love the yellow blooms and she didn't have one growing anywhere in sight. It might take more than goats to do a lawn properly. Maybe a few horses and some cattle too. Considering all the maintenance with with farm animals, it's just easier to cut the lawn. LOL
You are right about the goats, but I knew somebody who had one to get rid of the dandelions. Apparently the goats love the yellow blooms and she didn't have one growing anywhere in sight. It might take more than goats to do a lawn properly. Maybe a few horses and some cattle too. Considering all the maintenance with with farm animals, it's just easier to cut the lawn. LOL
Re: The Rest Of The Story
If you are working on Electronics you need to solder the splices and put heat shrink tubing over it.
However, if you are working on AC Electric over 10 volts, and a house is 110 to 120 volts, NO you never use solder on a splice. In fact, splices are actually illegal except in the old knob and tube installations.
OK, that being said.
There are often splices in a roll of Romex wire, you don't see them because of how they are made.
There is a legal way to make a splice in house wiring, but the equipment required to do so can be quite expensive.
It is more akin to Welding, but actually a little more than that. And then you have the layers of insulation to deal with too.
Code says you cannot have a splice that is not accessible. Which means you need a pull box in the wall where there is a splice. Or outdoors you must have an above ground box for the splice. Not practical in a parking lot, hi hi.
When I worked for Steffen Electric, they had a kiln type machine for rebonding copper wire. When it was done, it looked no different than a bond in a roll of Romex wire, but perhaps a slightly larger gauge at the joint.
But there was much more too it than that.
We had one large long sleeve and three smaller sleeves. The smaller sleeves just barely fit over the insulation on the existing wire. These were pushed back and the broken wire bared and slid into the kiln, along with the wire from the other side of the kiln. It was then clamped down and powered up. Two carbon rods stuck out top and bottom, or left and right of the kiln box. You pushed the first carbon rod in then backed it off about 1/16th inch. Then slid the second one in and did the same thing. Then you turned on the power, and only for a split second did you push the capacitor button to strike the arc. The arc continued for about ten seconds and when it quit you spun the housing about 90 degrees. Then took out the rods and opened the kiln and set it aside. The wire was now repaired. You had to do all three wires, or four if it was a four wire feed.
Then you would slide the three smaller tubes and center them over the bare wire, keeping about 1/4 to 1/2 inch covering the original insulation. We had a glue we dabbed on the ends just to make sure they didn't slip when the long larger tube was slid over them. The larger tube had to extend at least 3 inches over the original outer insulation on both ends. Once in place, Butyl Rubber was injected into the tube, and then a final mold clamped down over it. This mold was about about 18 inches long and ran on 120 volts, it was a heater, a flat heater of this type was often called a vulcanizer by tire repair places. It had to stay around the wire for at least 20 minutes, then allowed to cool while still in place, which took another 20 minutes. When it was removed, the spliced area was only about 1/3 larger in diameter than the existing wire and suitable to be buried underground.
Being able to make such a splice preventing a parking lot from having to be dug up from the store out to the light standard or advertising sign.
Very few outdoor lighting fixtures in parking lots used conduit.
However, if you are working on AC Electric over 10 volts, and a house is 110 to 120 volts, NO you never use solder on a splice. In fact, splices are actually illegal except in the old knob and tube installations.
OK, that being said.
There are often splices in a roll of Romex wire, you don't see them because of how they are made.
There is a legal way to make a splice in house wiring, but the equipment required to do so can be quite expensive.
It is more akin to Welding, but actually a little more than that. And then you have the layers of insulation to deal with too.
Code says you cannot have a splice that is not accessible. Which means you need a pull box in the wall where there is a splice. Or outdoors you must have an above ground box for the splice. Not practical in a parking lot, hi hi.
When I worked for Steffen Electric, they had a kiln type machine for rebonding copper wire. When it was done, it looked no different than a bond in a roll of Romex wire, but perhaps a slightly larger gauge at the joint.
But there was much more too it than that.
We had one large long sleeve and three smaller sleeves. The smaller sleeves just barely fit over the insulation on the existing wire. These were pushed back and the broken wire bared and slid into the kiln, along with the wire from the other side of the kiln. It was then clamped down and powered up. Two carbon rods stuck out top and bottom, or left and right of the kiln box. You pushed the first carbon rod in then backed it off about 1/16th inch. Then slid the second one in and did the same thing. Then you turned on the power, and only for a split second did you push the capacitor button to strike the arc. The arc continued for about ten seconds and when it quit you spun the housing about 90 degrees. Then took out the rods and opened the kiln and set it aside. The wire was now repaired. You had to do all three wires, or four if it was a four wire feed.
Then you would slide the three smaller tubes and center them over the bare wire, keeping about 1/4 to 1/2 inch covering the original insulation. We had a glue we dabbed on the ends just to make sure they didn't slip when the long larger tube was slid over them. The larger tube had to extend at least 3 inches over the original outer insulation on both ends. Once in place, Butyl Rubber was injected into the tube, and then a final mold clamped down over it. This mold was about about 18 inches long and ran on 120 volts, it was a heater, a flat heater of this type was often called a vulcanizer by tire repair places. It had to stay around the wire for at least 20 minutes, then allowed to cool while still in place, which took another 20 minutes. When it was removed, the spliced area was only about 1/3 larger in diameter than the existing wire and suitable to be buried underground.
Being able to make such a splice preventing a parking lot from having to be dug up from the store out to the light standard or advertising sign.
Very few outdoor lighting fixtures in parking lots used conduit.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
My experience with Western Union splicing was all in High School electric (not electronics) shop, and we did solder the splices. It could be that only some of those six were soldered, but I don't recall all the details. The point was to learn how to make the splice. We didn't actually have a use for them. When I got to Motorola it was rare, if ever, I had an occasion to use a Western Union splice. In fact most of the splices of any kind were done on homebrew test cables and not used in production or a live environment. I've done very little house wiring and don't recall any splicing outside of an electrical box. Most of what I did was with BX or conduit. I still have a wire puller in the toolbox down in the basement. I can't even recall the last project I used it on. It was purchased for use in my first house before we built the custom home. LOL
You and I come from way different backgrounds even though we both dealt with electricity. Sometimes I think the laws of physics I learned do not apply to the trades, but you dealt mostly with AC while my world was mostly DC. The formulas are the same, but the practical applications are way different.
You and I come from way different backgrounds even though we both dealt with electricity. Sometimes I think the laws of physics I learned do not apply to the trades, but you dealt mostly with AC while my world was mostly DC. The formulas are the same, but the practical applications are way different.
Re: The Rest Of The Story
The Western Union Splice was designed for wires under high tension, and/or wires that could be pulled apart easily.
Wires are normally connected by twisting and adding a Wire Nut. Sounds great until you pull and find they unwind.
With enough tension, it is possible to pull a Western Union Splice apart also, but in many cases, the amount of tension needed is greater than that of the wire itself.
The high voltage wires are held together with not only a Western Union Splice, but also a special clamp that locks the spirals. This clamp is also to block RF from being emitted by the joint.
I had an inspector once who did not know that there were splices in rolls of Romex wire.
When I ran across one, I set that coil of wire aside so I had it available the next time he was visiting the site.
It was around the 25 foot mark into the roll, so I used a couple of pieces to get closer to the splice.
That roll laid around for nearly a week with a big sign on it, don't touch, until the inspectors showed up again.
I wish I had a photo of his face when I ripped the sheath off and got to the insulated wire where I knew the splice was.
When I pulled the insulation off and showed him an actual wire splice, his jaw dropped clear to the floor, his eyes widened further than one though possible, and his eyebrows were nearly on top of his head, hi hi.
What made it even more profound was it was a lousily made splice, not heated as long as it should have been, which is why it was visible on the outer sheath.
That visit really made my day, hi hi.
Wires are normally connected by twisting and adding a Wire Nut. Sounds great until you pull and find they unwind.
With enough tension, it is possible to pull a Western Union Splice apart also, but in many cases, the amount of tension needed is greater than that of the wire itself.
The high voltage wires are held together with not only a Western Union Splice, but also a special clamp that locks the spirals. This clamp is also to block RF from being emitted by the joint.
I had an inspector once who did not know that there were splices in rolls of Romex wire.
When I ran across one, I set that coil of wire aside so I had it available the next time he was visiting the site.
It was around the 25 foot mark into the roll, so I used a couple of pieces to get closer to the splice.
That roll laid around for nearly a week with a big sign on it, don't touch, until the inspectors showed up again.
I wish I had a photo of his face when I ripped the sheath off and got to the insulated wire where I knew the splice was.
When I pulled the insulation off and showed him an actual wire splice, his jaw dropped clear to the floor, his eyes widened further than one though possible, and his eyebrows were nearly on top of his head, hi hi.
What made it even more profound was it was a lousily made splice, not heated as long as it should have been, which is why it was visible on the outer sheath.
That visit really made my day, hi hi.