The Building
In March 1916, World War I was in progress. Although the United States had not yet entered the war, the country was assisting its allies with war supplies. Munitions, including shells, shell cases, shrapnel, and powder were shipped to Kingsland from over 100 different factories. At the foundry they were assembled for shipment to Russia. Since it was producing 3 000 000 shells per month, the factory was definitely a worthy objective for German saboteurs.
This building was used exclusively for cleaning out shells; it contained 48 workbenches. On the bench in front of each employee was a pan of gasoline and a small rotating machine operated by a belt. The cleaning process included several steps:
- The shells were dusted with a brush
- A cloth, moistened in the pan of gasoline, was wrapped around a foot-long piece of wood
- The shell was placed in the rotating machine and the wood was inserted into the shell as it turned
- A dry cloth was wrapped around the stick and the shell was dried in a similar manner.
Read more about this topic: Kingsland Explosion
Famous quotes containing the word building:
“Travelling is the ruin of all happiness! There’s no looking at a building here after seeing Italy.”
—Fanny Burney (1752–1840)
“The real dividing line between early childhood and middle childhood is not between the fifth year and the sixth year—it is more nearly when children are about seven or eight, moving on toward nine. Building the barrier at six has no psychological basis. It has come about only from the historic-economic-political fact that the age of six is when we provide schools for all.”
—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)