E R Haroldsen

LDS Youth sorting clothes for the Salvation Army as a service project.

Put kids near a body of water and you can be sure they will keep themselves occupied. Some of my best memories are of playing around an irrigation ditch on my grandfather’s farm.

Missionary work is hard work. They cover many miles on their feet. They have calluses on their feet and on their knees. Shoes don’t develop calluses. They simply wear out.

It is a sad day at our home in Pittsburgh. A tree that was older that our kids is gone because of a severe wind. We still have the swings. They lay in a pile on our lawn. We are in mourning.

The other day, we had the water shut off for ten hours. We had plenty of water for drinking and enough for washing. I issued an order that toilets were to be flushed only when it was important to flush them. In the garage, we had water in old vinegar bottles for toilets. This really paid off. We used eight of them—two gallons per flush.

But what if the outage had lasted longer?

I had the beginning of a larger collection system. It is a device inserted into a rain gutter down spout which diverts a portion of the water to a container. I had the catchers but not the containers. I’ve corrected that error. I got two 32 gallon round garbage cans. I cut a hole in the top of the lid for the garden hose and a hole in the side to serve as an overflow. I didn’t get a rectangular garbage can otherwise the walls would bulge. The can will need to be empty before freezing water.

In the future, I expect to be able to dip out water for toilets, washing and other non-potable purposes.

Be aware that some states have laws against the collection of rain water (Colorado and other arid states). These are places where the farmers are dependent upon every bit rain for their crops. They can get very nasty when they perceive that someone is cutting into their water supply. On the other hand, this system temporarily retains a portion of that water and everything else continues to the aquifer. No water is used except during an emergency. It also pays to be inconspicuous.