We were out for a drive and came up on these guys...this place is right beside the road in a small town about 15 or 20 miles north of here. The owners give tours, and I had planned for us to go back and get an actual tour and maybe even take notes or something till I could have lots to tell.
However that was September 1 of last year and we have yet to make it back up there on a weekday. I was so impressed with it that I was all eyes, trying to take pictures, and just so in awe of it all.
I did come away with a couple of facts that I remember for sure. This is a family owned business that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. It was very hot the day we were there and the heat coming from this place was intense. I worried about getting too close and the heat damaging my camera.
Though these pictures do not show it, there were heat waves surrounding the place. I cannot imagine doing this for 8 hours a day! The two guys did take turns digging out the clankers.
Anyway, the clay to make the bricks is right there on the property not far from the kilns. I am not sure of the word...do they call it digging clay, or is it mined...I don't know.
I still hope to go back someday and have a slower, more informed tour.
Interesting Rose. I haven't seen kilns in a long time. We used to have what they call, coke ovens, in southwest VA --when I was a little girl. Don't know the difference although George thinks that kilns get to a higher temperature than coke ovens.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
Interesting post Rose and some great shots as well!
ReplyDeleteI like the kiln shots. The heat is intense in the one I used to see from time to time that fired clay field tiles.
ReplyDeleteThis post is soo-oo interesting, Rose. I'm so glad you had these great photos to show us. I can almost feel the heat. (Yes, I have a vivid imagination!)
ReplyDeleteWow...that looks interesting! I imagine the heat is tremendous. I've always wondered about that when I watch glass blowers and the heat they constantly work around. Hope you make it back there! Mike sometimes does engineering work at steel mills and he has talked about their big furnaces. Not work I would want to do! By the way, I finally did my alphabet meme in the This, That and the Other Thing blog...B was a fun letter! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey Rose - I live about 150 miles south of St Louis!
ReplyDeleteRose, you got some great pictures. Thanks for a very interesting post.
ReplyDeleteThose are great shots, what an interesting series! The buildings look very similar - perhaps we have an ID for your previous post?
ReplyDeleteA fascinating business. Your series does a good job of showing the setting and the intense heat problem of working with a kiln. Nice shooting.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how I missed that these are brick kilns. Then I see this posted on the day we left for 3 weeks vacation. My husband works around brick kilns all the time. The plant he worked at in Knoxville used to have the "beehive" kilns you show here, years ago. The plant in Knoxville did close in January 2008. Hence, the reason we live in different cities during the week....I degressed. The modern day brick kilns are very long, and the bricks are stacked on cars that move on a track through the kiln. There are still brick 'wrecks' and when that happens they still have to pull the bricks out holes like you show here. It is very hot. Jimmy comes home looking like he spent the day out in the sun with no sunscreen. The kilns in Knoxville still let alot of heat out so it was very hot on the outside of the kilns. When the new ones turn up they are suppose to be more insulated and so they won't be as hot to walk by.
ReplyDeleteDidn't mean to write a book here.
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