Stuff my grandfather wrote

My grandfather (and later, my own dad) was a grist miller in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, from the early 1900's.

He wrote a collection of interesting articles about the types of and history of mill stones - those machines that turn grains (like wheat and corn) into stuff that we could bake, cook and eat, like flour and corn meal, and other yummy raw ingredients.

The history, evolution, and technicalities of these machines that made food processing efficient and scalable -- as part of the greater evolution of technology, of course -- is full of interesting, intricate details, ingenuity, innovation, and stories. Coming from a completely different angle in the sciences (namely, computer software), I find all sorts of unexpected analogs and parallels between the tech of the "Olde World" and today's frenzy of interconnected hyper-technology

As I shore up material, I think I'll post it here, or somewhere on the web, and possibly reflect upon the parallels of milling and the web-related stuff I do for a living.

Below are a few pieces I happened to stumble upon while randomly browsing the web last night.

Old Millstones by Paul B. Flory

http://www.angelfire.com/journal/pondlilymill/flory1.html

Millstones and Their Varied Usage by  Paul B. Flory

http://www.angelfire.com/journal/pondlilymill/flory2.html

Benjamin Eby Flory dressing a millstone: