Pauline enjoyed going to estate sales and farm auctions. At one
estate sale she paid 10 cents for a ring that turned out to be worth
$600.00. At one of the farm auctions she attended she bought an old
potato plow and a milk can.
The potato plow leaned against the outside of the garage at her place in
the country for many years until someone visiting told her that it was a
rare type of potato plow and worth at least $400.00. After that, she
kept it in the garage where no one could see it.
When Pauline had bought the milk can, the lid would not unscrew and the
can itself seemed heavy. The milk can sat on the front porch of her
place in the country for many years. She wedged an old distributor cap
on the lid and used it for an ash tray. At one point, her nephew Mark
Kreiger had offered to buy it from her but she refused to sell. After
several years of using the milk can for an ash tray, Pauline's cousin,
Allen Wright , decided that it was time to remove the lid and see why the
can was so heavy. The lid was stuck on and did not want to budge. Allen
tried everything he could to get that lid off. Hammers, screwdrivers and
wrenches had no affect. Finally he was successful with the right length
of pry bar. What he found in that old milk can scared him to death. It
was half full of dynamite sticks, leaking ones. Apparently the
nitroglycerine had become unstable. He filled the milk can with water
thinking that would stabilize the nitro, then contacted the demolition
squad at Fort Leonard Wood thirty miles away. The first thing they did
when they arrived was to pour off the water very carefully. Putting
water on nitro leaking dynamite sticks is one of the worst things to do.
They then carried the milk can into the woods and detonated it.
According to the demolition squad, that can could have exploded at any
time over the past several years. Pauline was more careful about what
she used for an ash tray after that. |
Allen Wright, decided that it was time to remove the lid and see why
the can was so heavyt
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