BE PROUD: That’s what Carol Bidwell of Rew tells us in a recent
letter.

She writes: “We have honest people working here.”

“About one hour after returning from shopping, I received a call
from the Bradford Wal-Mart saying they were holding my lost check
book for me. I hadn’t even discovered it was missing.

“They returned it to me, complete with the $280 CASH that was
stuffed in it, and my ATM card.”

HAMMER IT: Our combination hammer may have had many uses in “the
old days” but we believe it is primarily an artifact from the oil
field.

When we printed a photo of this strange-looking hammer, we had
several phone calls from people telling us how it might have been
used. Robert Butler of Bradford even brought his in to show us. It
was identical except instead of saying Combination Hammer Co.,
“Bradford, Pa.,” it said, “Coudersport, Pa.”

The most persuasive story we heard came from Darrell Harris of
Oswayo who, we know from previous conversations, has experience in
the oil industry. This hammer, he says, was used on a standard oil
rig.

“When they built a derrick, they spiked them” rather than
bolting them. And they’d use the tool, too, to tear down the
rig.

Given the age and engineering of the tool, this makes sense. But
so do some other explanations:

Frank Gates of Rew tells us these hammers were used years ago to
remove and install split rims on cars and trucks.

A couple callers, including Jim Morgan of Lantz Corners, believe
it was used for opening packing cases. Lester Watson, who is in the
antique business, said the hammer was used to open wooden crates
and shipping boxes. “There was a whole box of them at
Bovaird’s.”

And Clif Hastings of Rew confirmed that the Bovaird and Seyfang
shipping crew used the unusual hammers almost exclusively in their
line of work.

In any case, it’s obvious this old hammer is versatile and quite
durable – it’s been languishing around many garages and basements
for more than 100 years.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “More and more, the networks are only about
whatever sells. They used to genuflect in the direction of the
public interest. Now they only bow down before money.” Today’s
harsh – but true – opinion spoken by Robert Lichter, president,
Center for Media and Public Affairs, 2007.