Hazard A Guess: Week of Jan. 8, 2004

Happy New Year from Hazard!

Seems like just yesterday we were worried that turning the calendars to 2000 would freeze computers, wreak havoc with utility grids and shut down the world as we know it. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Now, it’s back to work for all you readers, time to get back in the groove of guessing (or telling us) how our weekly mystery items are used.

Two more guesses rolled in over the holidays on Item No. 698, which truly was a mystery item. Christine Wallace of Columbus, Ohio, says it looks like the tool used to hoist blocks of ice onto trucks and when delivering ice in years gone by. But Joseph Fox of Hartville, Ohio, disagrees. He says it looks like the tool used to tighten fencing to the wooden fence post before being stapled to the post.

Back in mid-December, other readers surmised the item was a drum brake spring tool, used to remove the spring that holds brake shoes, and a tool to tighten big tire chains.

Maybe we’ll never know …

* * *

On to Item No. 699.

It’s another submission from Randy Winland of Prospect, Ohio. What do you think it is? (This one won’t leave us hanging, as Randy knew what this gadget did.)

Send your responses to: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail to: editorial@farmanddairy.com.

If you have an old tool or gadget that you’d like to share with Hazard readers, please send a clear 35mm photograph or high resolution digital photo to the addresses listed above. Please include as much information as possible, as well as a detailed description of the item’s size, dimension and how it was used.

And don’t forget you can check out the last month’s worth of Hazard a Guess featured items online at www.farmanddairy.com. Just click on the “Hazard a Guess” link along the left side.