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Welcome to Texas. We don’t know why it’s called Texas but it may be because it is far away and very hot in the summer. This floor contains the shakers and cyclones for the main grain elevators. These machines separate the grain. The floor above also contains a huge routing ring that is connected to the turn wheel on the first floor. This is the domain of the Todal. “The Todal looks like a blob of glup. It makes the sound of rabbits screaming and smells of old unopened rooms.” It is waiting for the Duke to fail in some evil endeavor. “And when he does the blob will glup him.” Best you move on and find the Golux. He may help you, or perhaps not.
This is the main control station for the Mill. Here the miller could control all of the functions of the mill. He could weigh the incoming grain, send it up the elevators to the top of the mill and using the turn wheels he could route the grain to the various processing machines and storage bins. Grain could also be mixed and bagged on this floor. The Prince, Zorn of Zorna, has been seen here. He also goes under the guise of a wandering minstrel. He is trying to win the hand of Saralinda but the Duke doesn’t want her to leave since she is the only warmth around. Fortunately Zorn has been befriended by the Golux who has been known to frequent the upper floors of the mill. But be very careful because the Todal has been seen in Texas.
Welcome to the Emlenton Mill built in 1875. The grain entered the mill here in the basement from rail car or wagon. The grain hopper is connected to the scale on the first floor above. The grain was weighed and sent to the 5th floor via the grain elevators. This is where the Duke hangs out. “The Duke was always cold. He was six foot four and forty six and even colder than he thought he was.” His niece, the Princess Saralinda was “warm in every wind and weather but he was always cold.” And of course there is always a handsome Prince. I’ve heard he might be found near the turn wheels. By the way, you can play along with this game. Yesterdays blog contained the game grid and instructions on how to play. Perhaps we can even come up with a prize.
Welcome to The Emlenton Mill Creamery. Live music on Saturdays at 7pm. This is where you get your game grid and have it stamped with your start time. Note that the clock above points to one o’clock and that we have entered a 1 on the time line of the Inn Keeper square on the grid. Please enter your start time in the same square. Next proceed to the mill. Your goal is to figure out the combination to the safe. In the safe you will find a game log and a stamp to certify your game grid and entitle you to a free milkshake. A spy told us that the wicked Duke is always cold and might be found near the grain elevator. “We wish you well.”
How about a game – Cute Princess, angry old Duke – Is that why you came?
You’ll need a time card- Find clock times to open safe – Don’t run, be on guard!
Start in the Cafe- Find score card, fill in the blanks – It’s simple to play.
Now two the basement – Find the cold Dukes secret way – Get the odd placement?
It’s a triangle – Zorn, Saralinda, the Duke – Control room tangle.
Back in 2008, as we were beginning to open the mill to the public, we decided to create a scavenger hunt that would tour the Mill. It was to be based on Thurbers’s story The Thirteen Clocks and who better to test the game than my daughter Saralinda who is named after the Princess in the story and her CMU friends. To win the game you had to open the combination safe in the old Mill safe with numbers and story information found at thirteen stations around the Mill and Flour House. Stay tuned!
The third floor of the Flour House (Bunkhouse) was used for storage. Since we couldn’t use the upper floors of the Mill for the public we used them for storage. The downside to this is that we carried a lot of heavy stuff up a lot of stairs. By we, I include Joe Hanna and sons, my kids and Libby’s AmeriCorps volunteers. On the third floor of the Bunkhouse we stored the parts of the trade show booth Whitaker had given us that we hadn’t used yet in the renovations. We also had enough metal racking and mattresses to outfit the third floor if we had ever been able to afford the fire escape required to allow the public on the third floor. That’s pretty much the tour of the Mill from top to bottom. There are a few more secrets we may get to share once the debris is removed. Next, I think I will take you on the Thirteen Clocks tour of the Mill. Thanks for the Likes.
The bunkhouse basement was our shop. We stored tools here and bikes and renovation supplies. Some of our guests stored their canoes here when they came to stay at the Bunkhouse. It was also where the water heaters were located and the Pex distribution system. The Bunkhouse was designed so all the water could be easily drained out for the Winter months.
The second floor of the bunkhouse was full of bunk beds. (seems reasonable) We used some more of the cabinet doors for the walls here. We also had two bathrooms and two shower rooms on the second floor. The bunk beds were actually shelving racks donated by the Whitakers who donated a lot of the other materials used in the Mill renovation. Thanks.
The Bunkhouse was a hostel located in the three story Flour House next to the Mill. The Flour House was used to store flour from the Mill. We had renovated the first two floors into a place for trail users to spend the night. Most people who know the Mill will not be familiar with the first floor sitting area because we only set it up this winter with personal furniture we had stored at the Mill.
I have now taken you from the top of the Mill to the bottom of the Mill. I’m interested if anyone has a preference for the next blog. There are lots of stories about the renovation and also about the events that happened at the Mill. Any preferences out there? This set of pictures is about the Creamery ceiling. Nancy found cabinet door seconds in Kentucky and our guys made them into a ceiling for the creamery.
The Emlenton Mill 