"Do you ever wonder if early Model T owners who had to turn their cars around to back up hills ever complained as much as we do about "technology". I would imagine that they were excited at the adventure. Imagine a common man or woman owning a car. Something previously only afforded by the rich. Now imagine that same individual could now afford to carry the collected knowledge of the world in their pocket. Do you think they would continually complain and moan about technology? Whine about how it "never works"? Technology is destroying the family as we know it? Or would they Google why the Model T will go up a hill in reverse and not forward? Maybe figure out how to solve the problem instead of complaining about it using their access to the collected knowledge of the world in their pocket."
So why would someone who bought a Model T back up a hill? It's not like I have a Model T to figure out why and a lawyer on my FB page asked me why they would do this. After a few seconds of reflection on some stories that my Grandpa told me I decided to share.
Grandpa Hicks was born and raised at the top of the hill right outside of Perrysville, Indiana. He would tell us about how he would get up and hitch up the wagon to deliver the milk to the people of Perrysville. He explained that he would have to get up before most kids would be getting out of bed to go milk the cows. His mother would take care of the milk after he brought it up from the barn and then he would take his wagon down to the town to deliver the bottled milk.
Eventually they bought a delivery truck to help him out. I don't remember the make and model but he would talk about some of the trials and tribulations he would deal with. He once mentioned the horse taking off on him before he could get it hitched in. He fell in the mud and had to go back to the barn to retrieve the horse who didn't want to work. He spoke of how the truck was an improvement. He showed me once how the old trucks and tractors while being easier to work with could be more dangerous. They often didn't work with electric start. They would use a crank that was inserted in the front of the motor.
He showed me once at the Perrysville Fun Days how you could shatter your arm with those old cranks. An old car didn't want to start for the parade. The owner used the crank. He held it in such a way that if the crank caught and spun on him it would come back around to break his arm. The scary result was a ten year old me watching that crank spinning like mad until it shook loose from the catch.
Imagine an intermediate level boy not only working before school but dealing with animals and equipment that could hurt him? Do you think he was constantly complaining about his "technology"? He would tell you how nice it was to be riding on a seat with a spring that didn't require hitching up or brushing down. Why would he back up a hill?
Grandpa mentioned two reasons. The gas pick up line was at the front of the tank and old vehicles didn't have baffles in them to keep the gasoline stable. If the angle was severe going forward all of the gas would drain away from the pickup. This would mean the vehicle would stall and roll back down the hill.
They would also back up the hill because the reverse gear was often a much lower torque ratio than the forward gears. Grandpa mentioned trying to get up the hill on a snowy day may be difficult in the higher forward gears. Turning around and backing up however utilized the lower reverse gear which would create a better situation for pulling him up the hill.
Don't believe me? Get out your phone and Google it. Grandpa Hicks lived it. I am sure he complained a little but I bet he wouldn't be caught by his family complaining about his "technology" at that age. Imagine in another forty years when I am approaching my late eighties. What stories will I tell Madison's children that they will think of as old? What will they not be able to imagine about how I was raised? (Bicycles without helmets! Oh my!)
I can honestly say I won't be complaining about technology to everyone who will listen. You never know when someone will get sick of hearing that line and write a blog about it.