Fixing the Well

February 10, 1936  We got the plunger out [of the well].  We had the misfortune to have the rope break and the plunger fall into the well.  Charley Klotz came and got it out. 

The Siemens household and farm depended on a windmill for water.  Since there was usually plenty of wind in western Kansas, using a windmill to pump water was a huge labor-saving device over pumping water by hand.  Sometimes the windmill broke, so a farmer had to be able to repair it.  However, in this case, they made the problem worse by accidentally dropping the plunger into the well. 

A windmill operates with a pair of check valves that alternately open and close to ratchet water out of the well.  The upper, moving valve that is driven by the wheel is called the plunger.  Apparently they were working on the well and had suspended the plunger by a rope; and the rope broke, dropping the plunger down into the well.  It would require a special tool to grasp the plunger and pull it out.  

Charley Klotz was the well driller in the area, and when he was drilling or working on a well, he ate at the farm where he was working.  It was said that if you served süaromps moos (sorrel moos) instead of meat and potatoes, the well would get drilled much more quickly.  While Mennonites enjoyed süaromps moos, it was not a favorite of “English” people.