Monday, June 15, 2015

Why Triphammer Road?

A trip hammer, also known as a helve hammer, is a massive powered hammer used in agriculture, mining, and fabricating tools from iron and other metals. Trip hammers were usually raised by a cam and then released to fall under the force of gravity. [Source: wikipedia]

Trip hammers uniquely solved a particular problem - how to pound things flat, and they did that one thing well.  Over time, trip hammers became obsolete, and left behind a legacy of ruined mills, ponds, and a changed environment.

Around here, Triphammer Road leads to Triphammer Pond where, in the nineteenth century, clever people used water-powered trip hammers to shape iron for the local ship and fishing industries. 

The mills on Triphammer Pond are no longer in use and Triphammer Road is now a quiet residential side street.  Times change.  We move on.

What can we take away from the idea of violent, loud, and dangerous machinery as the inspiration for reflection and talking about God in our lives?  Maybe it's the Biblical idea that "iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27:17).  Or that we are all shaped in some way by powerful forces we can barely control.  Or maybe it's just a cool name.

6 comments:

  1. Fun facts! Now Steve.... a little 'about me' on the side.....

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  2. Ah, I get it now. I always thought it was one of those things you hit yourself in the head with when you got lost on the annual family road trip to the White Mountains...

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  3. Welcome to the blogoshereI I am looking forward to reading your posts.

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