THAT SOUND: We’ve had items in RTS about the various
“”melodies”” of the oilfield – pretty much a thing of the
past.[neWLine]

Two come to mind – the sound of a barker on early oil
operations, and the cacophony of a pump house. We can’t help but
wonder if anyone has these sounds on tape.[neWLine]

With ARG’s 125 anniversary coming up soon – the oldest refinery
in the country – it would be nice if there was a recording and
perhaps pass it along to National Public Radio.[neWLine]

NPR has been airing a series of programs on unusual sounds, and
this would fit right in. It would be a great way, too, to attract
visitors to Bradford for the anniversary celebration.[neWLine]

The program on NPR is called “”SoundClips”” and airs as part of
its All Things Considered program. It is described as, “”an
occasional series that collects the sounds that fascinate NPR
listeners.””[neWLine]

“”From antique hit-and-miss engines and large overhead cranes to
defective ceiling fans and noisy dryers, we are interested in
hearing what you are hearing,”” according to the NPR
website.[neWLine]

We’ve heard a few of these offerings and they are interesting.
Initially we figured it would be common things, like the sounds of
peepers in the springtime, but these are far more
quirky.[neWLine]

Among the featured “”sounds”” were:[neWLine]

Norfolk railroad photographer Wes Cheney captured the odd sound
of an automatic spike-driving machine.[neWLine]

One listener took the audience on a ride down a 650-foot-deep
elevator, into a salt mine used for storage under the soil of
Hutchinson, Kan. The elevator shakes and shimmies as it
drops.[neWLine]

A vintner from Carlton, Ore., passed along the sucking sound of
an apparatus used to detect acidity in wine. He tells us how it
works and why it is important to do this test.[neWLine]

Listeners heard a Grand Junction, Colo., family’s “”musical””
tradition of entertaining with squeaks in a wet bathtub, a practice
which started when a corpulent uncle made squeaks when moving
around in a tub raised on legs.[neWLine]

And then there was a woman who played a recording she made in
1993 when she was working as a zookeeper at the Milwaukee County
Zoo – and one of her charges, Dickie, a male orangutan, issued a
mating call.[neWLine]

Now tell me: Wouldn’t the sound of an old pump house fit in
perfectly?