Another project finished...

Since sometime in the 1920's, and possibly earlier, there was a Dempster 8' No. 12 windmill next to the Ola School. It operated for approximately 60 years before it finally blew down in the early eighties, and laid buried in the mud at the base of the tower. About six years ago, I discovered that one of my neighbors still had it, and was willing to sell it to me. I've always likes windmills, and just happened to have a well next to my shop that we drilled but never used. I figured that if I could get the old windmill working, I could use it for watering the cattle that we lease the land for each summer. We agreed on a price, which included the old mill, the broken and bent tail section and wind sails, and the top 5 feet of the tower. I was pleasantly surprised when my neighbor told me that when the windmill was blown down, he had purchased a brand new tail section and wind wheel, but had never taken them out of the original boxes, and they were included in the sale. That was an incredible find! For the next several years, I restored all the original components with the exception of the two main shaft bearings, and rebuilt the mill using the NOS (new old stock) tail and wind sails. I then built a new 33' tower to support it, and poured a base surrounding the well. Last summer, with a little hep from my friends, the Old Dempster was erected and placed into service. It runs just like it was brand new.