The town pump is the biggest treasure of all

Before we had running water in America everyone had to go to one if various locations to secure water. In the TV series the Ingalls family got their water from a creek. In town people would get their water from the town pump. In the TV show the school had a pump. In the 1894 travel diary Laura Ingalls Wilder repeats this many times from town to town. Every town they stopped at they always camped at the school because it had an open public pump.

Recently I came upon a McGuffey's reader that had a story titled THE PUMP. It described itself by the people coming to itself. Each paragraph described a different person and was numbered. The end included a vocabulary list with the words divided by syllables. 

The town pump can be read in the mcguffey reader. A lot has changed since then. While out water is now cleaned piped to businesses and homes by the county/city less people drink the water. More people prefer to drink sugary or caffeinated drinks. Water is no longer free either. Because it is a utility there is a bill to pay for usage. Water as a utility is mandatory. I'd like to look up which decade it became mandatory. I may have to ask an architect friend or relative. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_Drinking_Water_Act

So far I have found a 1974 Act nationally regulating drinking water. See above Wikipedia link. Before that regulations were local. Bottled water is regulated by THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION while tap water is regulated by THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. 

Sorry no recent posts

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. I had to return the books. I'm waiting to borrow again from the library.