Cape Breton's Magazine

covered with black cotton. We could buy the handles. And there would be a cross that came with the handles • called the breast plate. That would be laying right on top of the coffin until burial • then take it off. The people would take it themselves and keep it. Maurices The coffins would all be black, except the children's. Children's coffins were always covered with white. (Would you make the coffin at home?) Robinsons Yes. After Young died I was about the only one around here. (Was it just understood that if someone needed a coffin they would come to you?) Yes. (Would you make the coffin at home?) Yes, usually. Sometimes you'd make it there, if they had a place you could work you'd make it there. If they didn't you'd make it home in your own workshop. (You always had boards waiting?) Oh yes. The sawmills around here always had pine. (Do you remember what you would charge?) Nothing. Never no charge. (Nothing?) No, no, no charge. No, I always did it no charge. And it was a big day's work to do it. (How many have you made?) Gee, I don't know. I made quite a lot. Maurice: I'd say in the vicinity of 50. And they were pretty classy looking. Robinson: Oh, when they were fin? ished, they were very nice. Maurice: And it didn't cost you anything. Well, you'd buy the fixtures. Three dollars and a half, then. Three handles on both sides and a big cross on the top of the coffin • and the handles were about a foot long and nickle or silver plated. And they were a pretty classy looking box to get put away in. Robinson: You knoyr, I was working on the ice. I had a black mare and I was hauling ice, putting up ice in the winter • and I got word that the priest's servant girl o- ver here had died. And they called for me to go make the coffin. So I went home, put the horse in the barn • and I had the coffin about half made when word come to me that I needn't bother making it. She had come to life again. That girl today has 6 or 8 chil? dren. She really died and came back to life again. Maurice: Oh yes, she was washed and laid out. Robinson: Yes, yes, everything all over. And just some nurse that was keep? ing watch, back and forth, back and forth • she thought she saw her eye move. By god, here she was coming to life again. Maurice: She would be about 22 at that time. (That didn't happen often.) ,0h no. The only time that ever happened. Robinson: I'm going to tell you something happened to me. I made a coffin for a young fellow that died. But three weeks before I made that coffin somebody called me. I was asleep. Five o'clock in the morning. And he called me right loud. It was in the month of February, and I never forgot it. And he woke my wife up too. When he called me the The wise use of electricity by Mary Smith Home Economist THIS COLUMN IS ONE OF SEVERAL BY MARY SMITH, HOME ECONOMIST, NOVA SCOTIA POWER CORPORATION, WHICH IS BEING PRESENTED BY THIS NEWSPAPER AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO OUR READERS. IT IS OUR HOPE THAT THE INFORMAT? ION WILL PROVE VALUABLE TO OUR READERS WHO ARE SEEKING WAYS TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF RISING PRICES ON FAMILY INCOMES. WE SUGGEST YOU CLIP AND SAVE THE SERIES FOR HANDY REFERENCE. The Electric Water Heater Because the electric water heater is the largest energy user of the household appliances, other than primary electric heating, its operation and installation should be as efficient as possible. A water heater, averaging 3000 watts, serving a Nova Scotian family of four, uses an average of 350 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. There is no simple formula for estimating your family's hot water needs as use varies with living habits. The number of family members and ages of the children are the biggest factors, but home size, and the frequency of use of an automatic clothes washer and/or dishwasher are very important. To provide hot water for the heavier draw-dff periods, a combination of hot water storage (tank size) and heat input (element size) is necessary to achieve the most efficient result. The average Canadian family uses up to 60 gallons of hot water per day with occasional peak requirements of 100 gallons per day. Locate the water heater as close as possible to the bathroom, kitchen and laundry areas to reduce heat losses which occur in long runs of pipe, and shorten the time required to produce hot water at faucets. When long runs are involved, insulation of piping can be effective, especially when pipes run along uninsulated basement walls, the coolest part of the house. Your water heater will cost more to operate if it's exposed to outside temperatures or if is located in an unheated room or basement. To assure long life and efficiency, the tank must have a small amount water drained periodically to clear out sediments and mineral deposits. Approx? imately once a month open the drain valve, located near the base of the water heater, and allow the water to flow until clear. This can be accomplished by using a bucket or a hose to a floor drain, for example. Water heater elements are controlled by thermos? tats • the type commonly used on residential storage type electric water heaters iieing a * 'surface mounted" thermostat which is either "single throw" or "double throw". The thermos? tat has an adjustable dial calibrated from 110?F (49?C) to 70?F (80?C) • and factory preset at 150?F (70?C) or higher. When the water heater serves only domestic uses, the thermostats can be set to maintain 125?F (51.5?C); however, for a home with a diswasher, 140?F (60?C) hot water is generally a good temperature. If it is necessary to adjust the thermostats setting, the electricity supply to the water heater should first be switched off, as the wiring is exposed when the cover plate over the thermostat is removed. The Cascade emblem on the front of the water heater cover is not a brand name • but a mark of excellence used to identify a high quality electric water heater. This logo is your assurance that the electric water heater, irrespective of the brand ,1 name or manufacturer, has met the high stan dards to both the Canadian Standards Association 1 (C.S.A.) and the Canadian Electrical Association (C.E.A.). Each time the hot water tap is turned on, the ho | water used is replaced with an equal amount of cold water. To improve the efficiency of your water heating dollar check your daily use habits 1 Wasting hot water wastes money. Conserve energy and water for the times you need | them most. Wait until you have a full load before | you run the diswasher or clothes washer. You'll save detergent as well as water and energy. i When doing dishes by hand, fill a pan or the other ] half of a double sink with rinse water instead of I letting the water run. Likewise, warm baby bottles .; in an appropriate container rather than under the hot water tap. Replace washers on leaky faucets. A hot water faucet leaking one drop per second wastes approximately 2,200 gallons a year and that's really money down the drain. When you're washing or shaving, partially fill the basin with hot water instead of letting it go down the drain. To save even more, switch to an electric razor • the electricity cost will be lower than the hot water cost. An average shower uses approximately eight gallons of hot water. A tub bath can often use twice that amount. When you need boiling water, start with water from the hot-water tap. It will take less time to bring to a boil.' For further information on the use of an electric hot water heater write: Mary Smith Home Services Demonstrator Nova Scotia Power Corporation P.O. Box 910 Halifax, Nova Scotia