Marysville’s town hall gets stuck on railroad tracks in 1923, as the building is being moved four blocks. A malfunction on the moving apparatus leaves the hall stuck in the middle of the tracks. No one can figure out how to budge the building, being moved by a contractor for $835. A train is expected in an hour, and as tensions mount, someone suggests digging a tunnel to let the train through.
“The supreme moment had now arrived and the hero of the hour came to the front. This was F. J. Custer, the painter, who was never accused of being a mechanical engineer or scientific expert. He suggested that they take out the core of the works which would let the spool loose. Mr. Mapes said it couldn’t be done, but Mr. Custer, with one or two others, started on the job and after getting hold of the right tool easily removed the core, when the spool dropped loose and the rope was free. A very few minutes enabled them to get the rope out of the way, replace the parts properly and attach the rope and start the horse on its way again. The world little knows where genius may be found until an emergency arises.”
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5 years ago
