Hazard A Guess: Week of May 17, 2001

Hello from Hazard!

Item No. 619 was an interesting little item. We’ll unveil it this week, since we had no takers the last two weeks.

If I had given you the name “Lawrence Paumier,” many Mahoning Valley readers might have at least guessed what the item was connected to, for Paumier owned and operated Brookside Farms Dairy from 1907 to 1997.

This gizmo was a quart cream separator the dairy gave to its customers in appreciation for their business sometime during the World War I era. “Mix” Paumier, grandson of Lawrence Paumier, shared the item with Hazard; it’s the last one he has left.

Here’s how it worked: The tube is open at the bottom with a small float. When it was put into a quart bottle, it allowed the cream to rise in the tube. When the tube was removed from the bottle, the float closed at the bottom, leaving the skimmed milk in the bottle.

Thanks, Mr. Paumier, for sharing the separator with us.

This week’s item comes from Russell May of Lowell, Ohio.

If you think you know what it is, send your guess to: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail: editorial@farmanddairy.com.

We’re always accepting photographs of new “hazard” items. Just submit a photograph of the item (try to place the item against an uncluttered background), detailed description of its dimensions and use, and send it to the address listed above.