The Cement Pond-Dodge City, Kansas, Park Street
/This is a story bout the Cement Pond down on Park Street in Dodge City, Kansas. Another family remembrance for you all. The farm on Park Street had some acreage next to it that my great grandfather helped my grandfather to farm. It wasn't large but due to the close proximity to the Arkansas River and shallow water table, they were able to utilize irrigation at a very early time.
To water that land, they would use a large windmill to fill a swimming pool size concrete pool next to the house and uphill from the land. I think it was probably about 50 feet long and 25 feet wide and of course made for a great swimming pool for the area kids too albeit very cold water. When filled, grandpa could release the gate and the water then had enough head pressure to flow across the field.
The windmill was just outside the back door and there was a small shed around the base of the tower. Inside that house was a concrete trough where you could set cream cans and the flowing water from the ground being 50 degrees, would keep the cream cool and also butter could be left there wrapped up in cheese cloth to stay cool. The water then flowed out and into the cement pond.
That term later came to be very funny to me as the Beverly Hillbillies always referred to their swimming pool as a "cement pond". And to an engineer mind, cement is the dry material where as concrete is the poured in place hard material that pools are made out of so cement is just not the right word. So there you go. You have learned when to use cement and when to use the word concrete.
Pictures to follow soon
Cement Pond in background
Cement Pond in background
Windmill house to the right of the house just barely seen. Water flowed south to the cement pond, then west and south to the field.