Hello from Hazard!
Bee smoker, crop duster… the Court is still undecided on Item No. 657, and yet this week we received still two more different opinions as to the gadget’s use.
“On a recent trip through southern Illinois,” writes Elbert Wildman of North Bloomfield, Ohio, we stopped at an antique shop. There was Item 657 on a shelf.
“It had a small tool attached by a cord to the handle. The tool was about 4 or 5 inches long, cone shaped and at the small end were two prongs.
“The tag said ‘Hillbilly Band Instrument!'”
And Barb Lesak of Mentor, Ohio, weighs in on Item No. 657 with this guess: The item is a specimen box carried by Victorian women when outdoors. If they caught a butterfly, for instance, they would put it in their specimen box to take home to identify and study.
By the looks and sounds of it, Item No. 657 could be just about whatever you wanted it to be. I guess we’ll never know for sure.
And the mailbag also brought another guess on Item No. 660, the candle wick trimmer/snuffer that we previously unveiled. Vickie Michalek of Bedford, Ohio, also correctly identified that item.
Item No. 661 received several correct responses. It is a cylinder tooth wrench used to change the spike teeth on a threshing machine. With this tool, you could reach through the cylinder to the bottom to get to the nuts. Our thanks to: Donn White, Wooster, Ohio; Dale Gregg, Sycamore, Ohio; and G.A. Henderson, Williamstown, W.Va.
Our new hazard-ous item is Item No. 662, submitted by Jimmy Bruno, St. Clairsville, Ohio. It measures about 33 inches high.
If you think you know what it is, send your response to: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail to: editorial@farmanddairy.com.
