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| ConstructionEquipment "When conventional means of removing shot rock from the floor to the banks of the Chicago Drainage Canal proved uneconomical at $1.75 per cubic yard, several contractors approached Brownhoist for a solution. The result was the world’s first cantilever, or hammerhead, crane. Introduced in 1893, 11 of these cranes did the job for one-third that amount. They were resold for other uses after the project was finished, and one of them was later adapted as a dragline for construction of the New Yor other applications of these machines for excavation are known at this time, but mobile hammerhead cranes of various makes are known to have placed concrete at Grand Coulee, Friant and Folsom dams in the 1930s through 1950s, and hammerhead tower cranes are widely used today." [Alexander E. Brown also invented the dragline and clamshell buckets.] |
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| MWRD posted Construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at an unknown location in the mid-1890s, showing one of the cantilever incline machines that were used to move broken rock from the excavation areas to the spoil piles. |
Renaldo Craighead posted two photos with the comment: "From 1894 to 1899 Chicago started a massive public works project that excavated more rock that the Panama Canal. Seeing these images gives you an idea of the scale it took to build the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Images courtesy of the Chicago Historical society."
Carl Di Joseph: How could the Sanitary and Ship Canal excavation move more rock than the 50 mile cut through the Isthmus of Panama?
Dennis DeBruler: Carl Di Joseph A lot of the Panama Canal is a lake rather than a cut. The full length of the CS&SC is a cut.
John McDermott: Where did they put all that rock? (earnest question)
Dennis DeBruler: John McDermott A lot of the rock and dirt became Grant Park. That is, it was used for fill east of the IC tracks. (The part between Michigan Avenue and the IC tracks had already been filled.)
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| MWRD posted This #cyanotype image from the mid-1890s shows workers drilling holes for dynamite with an incline track and power plant in the background during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal. MWRD posted again |
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| MWRD posted This cyanotype image shows a steam shovel loading hopper cars during excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the mid-1890s. MWRD posted again |
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| MWRD posted Various people, workers and a dog pose near a hydraulic dredge during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal in this cyanotype image from the mid-1890s. MWRD posted on May 27, 2022 MWRD posted again Various people and workers pose near a hydraulic dredge during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in this cyanotype image from the mid-1890s (note the dog in the wheelbarrow). John Lovaas I gotta say, this is the first time I've ever seen cyanotype used for an archival/documentary photograph- fascinating! Does the District have more of these? Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Not many. This cyanotype print shows a group of workers, visitors and staff posing for a photo during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the late 1890s. |
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| MWRD posted A #cyanotype print showing a group on the canal wall during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the late 1890s. |
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| MWRD posted A worker on a tripod drill during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the 1890s. MWRD posted A worker on a tripod drill during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) in the 1890s. Workers drilled holes in the rock and then explosives were placed into the holes and detonated. The resulting rock debris could then be removed from the worksite. This type of excavation was required to remove the limestone from the 14-mile Rock Section of the CSSC, which begins at Willow Springs Road and ends at Lockport and was built between 1892 and 1900. MWRD posted |
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| MWRD posted Historical photo of the week: Construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at an unknown location in the mid-1890s, showing one of the cantilever incline machines that were used to move broken rock from the excavation areas to the spoil piles Jeff Bransky It says section 10 on the photo. I noticed that that large conveyor structure is sitting on rails so it can be moved as work progresses. Interesting to see horses at work in the background. I imagine the machine was driven by a steam engine. Eugene Klichowski Section 10 was between Summit and Willow Springs I thought the above was a conveyor belt where this end would be lowered into the canal so men could dump debris on it. But the following indicates it is for removing big rocks. MWRD posted Construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at an unknown location in the mid-1890s, showing one of the cantilever incline machines that were used to move broken rock from the excavation areas to the spoil piles. |
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| MWRD posted on July 27, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the mid-1890s in an area near Willow Springs. |
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| MWRD posted on Nov 16, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the mid-1890s in an area near Willow Springs, Illinois. |
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| MWRD posted on Jan 31, 2022 A view of excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the 1890s in an area southwest of Willow Springs, Illinois. Approximately 43 million cubic yards of material were excavated during the construction of the canal, and at the time, it was the largest ever public works excavation project. |
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| MWRD posted on Jan 21, 2023 xcavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal in the 1890s. The exact location is not known. |
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| MWRD posted on Nov 4, 2022 xcavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the 1890s. |
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| MWRD posted on June 10, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) on June 25, 1897. The 28-mile CSSC, from Damen Avenue in Chicago to north of 9th Street in Lockport, was built between 1892 and 1900. The MWRD extended the CSSC another four miles and built the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock from 1903 until 1907. MWRD posted with the same comment |
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| MWRD posted on Jun 2, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in an area near Willow Springs, Illinois, on July 20, 1897. |
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| MWRD posted on Mar 6, 2023 A view of an excavation spoil pile and workers' tents during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in this undated photo from the 1890s. |
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| MWRD posted Construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in an unknown location on June 11, 1894. |
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| MWRD posted Excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on July 3, 1894. |
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| MWRD posted Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) on July 16, 1894. The 28-mile CSSC, from Damen Avenue in Chicago to north of 9th Street in Lockport, was built between 1892 and 1900. The MWRD extended the CSSC another four miles and built the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock from 1903 until 1907. |
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| MWRD posted Excavation during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on October 16, 1894. |
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| MWRD posted Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on June 7, 1894, in an area southwest of Willow Springs, Illinois. |
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| MWRD posted on May 4th Dennis DeBruler: This is just silly. Star Wars walkers can't do excavation work. |
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| MWRD posted Workers loading rock for removal during excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in September 1894. Kevin Murphy looks like the Lemont area with stone MWRD posted |
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| MWRD posted Workers loading rock onto hoppers during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in an area northeast of Lemont, Illinois, on September 20, 1894. |
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| MWRD posted Two people stand at the top of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) wall at the Cook and Will County line on September 6, 1899. Just below them is a granite tablet in the wall that was placed in 1895 to celebrate the first completed contract during construction of the CSSC. [Some comments discuss how to look for it today.] |
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| MWRD posted Skaters on ice in the bottom of the nearly complete Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal west of Kedzie Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, on December 30, 1899. The Kedzie Avenue Bridge is in the background and behind it is the Chicago, Madison and Northern Railroad Bridge. Greg Burnet shared Don't you mean the CM&N RR bridge is on this side of the Kedzie bridge, if this pic is looking SW?.....and did the old Kedzie bridge swing open from a mid water base?...looking at Google Maps now, there is an abandoned RR bridge farther past these two...does anybody know what RR it was for?  Paul Musselman This view has to be looking Northeast since it states that the skaters are West of Kedzie.This 1938 photo shows the city replaced the swing bridge with its preferred trunnion bascule design because the MWRD bridge became way too narrow. The abandoned bridge is the Santa Fe/Illinois Northern bridge. This bridge was part of GTW's original route into Chicago. After the GTW built east to connect with the C&WI, Santa Fe took over the Corwith Yard. At one time International Harvester owned the Illinois Northern because it served the huge plant they used to have north of the canal. There used to be a lot more industry along this railroad including some industries that were east of Western Avenue. much of the debris generated by that dig went into Grant Park fill. So did rubble from the Chicago fire. Robin Rosenberg The Fire rubble filled the area known as Lake Park which didn't go past the IC tracks.And you know this how? |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Robin Rosenburg's "And you know this how?" comment. By the dates on some photos. Here is an 1865 photo showing Lake Park posted by JoAnne Gazarek Bloom |
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This 1866 photo posted by David Daruska shows Lake Park is filled in, but there are just piers east of the IC tracks. Of course, the fire happened in 1871 and the canal was dug after 1890. |
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| MWRD posted Today's image shows excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Romeoville, Illinois, on September 25, 1894, specifically “1 3/4 tons of rock in mid air” being dumped onto a pile from a hopper. The 28-mile CSSC, from Damen Ave in Chicago to just north of 9th St in Lockport, was built between 1892 and 1900. The MWRD extended the CSSC another four miles and built the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock from 1903 until 1907. |
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| MWRD posted on Jan 26, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville, Illinois, on September 11, 1894. MWRD posted Jeff Macri: 1 year after the nearby massacre of striking quarrymen by contract workers brought up north to dig the canal. Quarrymen were killed on the old Romeo bridge and hunted down the canal path to Lemont Bridge. |
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| MWRD posted on Oct 29, 2021 Excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the 1890s. MWRD posted |
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| MWRD posted on Mar 15, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) on October 6, 1898. |
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| MWRD posted on Oct 25, 2022 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) on October 6, 1898. |
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| MWRD posted A concrete mixer and wall construction for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) extension in Lockport, Illinois, between 9th and 16th Streets on June 9, 1906. Between 1903 and 1907, the Sanitary District of Chicago (now MWRD) extended the CSSC and built the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock in order to generate hydroelectric power and to allow passage of watercraft between the Des Plaines River and the CSSC. |
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| MWRD posted Dynamite was used to blast through bedrock in a 14 mile stretch between Willow Springs and Lockport, Illinois, during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Pictured here on June 28, 1899, is a 4450 pound supply. |
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| MWRD posted Spoil piles along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) east of Harlem Avenue on June 28, 1899. Excavated material was piled along the banks of the CSSC during its construction in the 1890s, where much of it remained for years. Thomas E. Zimmerman: They should have left them do we would have “hills” on the prairie. Peter Strom: They did leave them for many years up in North Park along the North Shore Channel. The neighborhood loved them. MWRD posted Lou Berger: What did they eventually do with it? Dennis DeBruler: Lou Berger It helped fill Grant Park east of the railroad tracks. |
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| MWrD posted on Jan 26, 2023 A steam shovel at work during excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on June 28, 1899, in an area east of Harlem Avenue. |
Here is how they got the sidewalls so straight.
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| MWRD posted Historical Photo of the Week: Workers pause for a photo with a channeling machine during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Romeoville on September 25, 1894. Channeling machines were used to make smooth, vertical “wall” cuts on each side of the canal and then the rock between the walls was drilled, blasted and removed. MWRD posted on Aug 4, 2022 with the same comment |
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| MWRD posted on Feb 4, 2022 Workers and a channeling machine during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the 1890s. MWRD posted |
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| MWRD posted Workers pause for a photo with a channeling machine during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1894. Channeling machines were used to make smooth vertical “wall” cuts on each side of the canal and then the rock between was drilled and blasted for removal. MWRD posted on Feb 26, 2023 |
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| MWRD posted Operators test out a steam powered trench excavator during excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on November 16, 1898. MWRD posted on July 11, 2022 |
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| MWRD posted Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, in the mid-1890s. MWRD posted |
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| MWRD Workers loading rock onto hoppers during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in an area northeast of Lemont on September 20, 1894. Approximately 43 million cubic yards of material were excavated during the construction of the canal, and at the time, it was the largest ever public works excavation project. |
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| MWRD posted Today's image is a cyanotype print showing a steam shovel at work during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1895. |
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| David Daruszka commented on MWRD's post More detail in B&W. |
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| MWRD posted on Jan 8, 2023 Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on May 29, 1895. |
MWRD posted the following photos as part of a long write up concerning their 129 year history. They built the main canal in just a couple of years after it was formed, so the districts has branched out into many other projects such as treating the sewage in the 1920s and allowing rain to sink into the ground rather than runoff to the sewers (grass play grounds for schools, green alleys, rain barrels, etc.) in the 21st Century.
Photo of grain elevators on the north side of the Main Stem
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Historical Photos: Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1895 and after completion in 1904, followed by the North Shore Channel under construction in 1906 and the Cal-Sag Channel in 1914; Board of Trustees meeting July 25, 1894; testing water quality; workers posing with equipment. Modern day: Kayakers on the main branch of the Chicago River, phosphorus recovered from the water treatment process, Stage 1 of McCook Reservoir, and a green alley in Berwyn.
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| 1 A dynamite blast during construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on May 22, 1895. |
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| 3 MWRD posted Excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal extension south of the Lockport Powerhouse on June 11, 1906. |
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| 4 The Cal Sag Channel under construction on Oct. 5, 1914 |
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| 5 Sanitary District (now called the MWRD) Board of Trustees on July 25, 1894. |
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| 6 A District worker tests water quality on May 26, 1923. |
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| 7 Three laborers posing next to a compressed air rock drill during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship canal. The nearly completed sluice gates for the Lockport Controlling Works can be seen in the background. The estimated date is sometime in November 1896. Drilling into rock requires the use of a fluid, or drilling mud, which can be seen splattered all over the workers. Explosives were placed into the holes and detonated, and the rock debris could then be removed from the worksite. |
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| 8 Present day: Kayakers on the main branch of the#ChicagoRiver Friends of the Chicago River |
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| 9 Phosphorus removed from the water treatment process at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant in Cicero, IL. |
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| 10 McCook Reservoir Stage 1 was completed in December 2017. |
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| 11 A green alley in Berwyn. [They are referring to using bricks to create a permeable surface. But notice all of the green recycle bins to keep plastic, etc. out of the landfills. And the brown bag on the left is probably for yard waste so that it can be composed instead of going to the landfill.] |
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| MWRD posted A steam shovel loads dump cars near Joliet on February 28, 1906, during excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal extension south of the Lockport Powerhouse. |
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| MWRD posted Excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal extension south of the Lockport Powerhouse in Lockport, Illinois, on October 25, 1905. MWRD posted again |
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| MWRD Excavation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on July 3, 1894. |
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| MWRD posted Large piles of rock spoil along the banks of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal during excavation in an unknown location in the mid-1890s. |
So they let the spoils lay along the edge of the canal for quite a while.
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| MWRD posted Removal of spoil along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Pulaski Road during an electrical conduit tunneling project on May 28, 1923. |
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| MWRD posted on May 14, 2023 Removal of spoil along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Pulaski Road during an electrical conduit tunneling project on May 28, 1923. |
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| MWRD posted on Aug 16, 2022 Removal of spoil along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Pulaski Road during an electrical conduit tunneling project on May 28, 1923. |
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| MWRD posted on May 8, 2023 rain cars unloading material onto a barge near Lemont, Illinois, on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on August 27, 1924. |
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| MWRD posted on Feb 28, 2021 Today’s historical photo is a cyanotype image taken near Lemont in the mid-1890s and shows a man carrying a bundle of straw with the under-construction Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal visible in the background. Learn more about the Chicago Area Waterway System here  |
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| MWRD posted on Mar 17, 2022 Repairs to a section of retaining wall on Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, on November 22, 1904. |
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| MWRD posted This #cyanotype image shows a crowd gathering during a tour of a nearly complete portion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the late 1890s. |
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| MWRD posted Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal construction areas were popular sightseeing destinations throughout the 1890s |
I include these photo because of the view of the tailings mound. Bill Molony posted two photos with the comment:
These two photographs from our collection are of a very violent head-on collision that took place in the 1890's on the Santa Fe Railway in the vicinity of Lemont and Romeo.
In the background can be seen the mounds of tailings from the excavation of the Sanitary & Ship Canal that was under construction at that time.
The Santa Fe was still single-tracked in this area at the time of this collision, and wasn't double-tracked until about 1910 or so.
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Photo of grain elevators on the north side of the Main Stem
In Sept 2020, I got hit with a Double Doomsday. Both Facebook and Google changed their software. I said "changed" instead of "updated" because the new software is not better. In fact, Google's Blogger software is far worse except for a search function that works. For example, it has three bugs concerning photos and their captions. So I'm no longer copying photos and interesting comments from Facebook. I'm just saving the link. Unfortunately, some of the links are to private groups.
incredible pictures.. thanks...
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