Readers offer different solutions to Thingamajig 3

By ROBIN CAUDELL
Staff Writer

April 28, 2008 04:00 am

— PLATTSBURGH -- Geneveive Alavarez's cast-iron bracket, Thingamajig 3, is a humdinger of a puzzler. The smooth, cast-iron bracket with two mounting holes, nine decorative scallops and a concave opening brought many responses. Some told us Alvarez held it upside down in last Monday's photo on the Home and Garden page. As far as what it is, it's a toss up between a lantern holder, clothes-drying rack or a device to allow cows to drink water according to readers.
Here's how it panned out below:
Bernadette Lewis, West Chazy:
"I think it goes in a drinking cup for cattle. They push down on their nose with it, and it releases water for them. I remember things like that in my grandfather's farm. When they put pressure on it in the circle, it releases the circle. When I was a little kid, I would push on them and fill all the cups up."
Warren Robare, Plattsburgh:
"I love these things! A poker hanger is probable, but consider maybe, seeing as how families were rather large in those days (lotsa kids), could it be a toothbrush holder with rinse cup storage in the middle? That's my shot in the dark."
Ulrich Hoffman, Westport:
"I think that it's a trimming that was hung on wood stoves better and more efficiently to dissipate the heat."
Tom Venne, Prim Hall design engineer:
"OK, since your item was found in the barn, I believe I know what it is. First of all, I think it is upside down in the photo. It has to do with the water system for the cows. Every stall had a watering bowl that was hooked up to the water pipes. This item was bolted to a valve at the bottom of the bowl. When the cow's nose got to the bottom it would press this item and in turn would open the valve to let in more water. Thus always having a supply of water when needed. If they look further in the barn, they may find the bowl too. If you cut a soccer ball at the lower third of it, this would be about the size of the bowls. They are not worth a lot of money. I have seen the entire bowls at yard sales for about 5 bucks. They make great planters on the outside."
Mark Christian, Morrisonville:
"Definitely a clothes drying rack. Place dowels in the slots and the weight of the clothing keeps them placed properly. Remove the dowels, and there is a convenient compact cast iron mount remaining. No doubt."
Marge Harrigan, Plattsburgh:
"I think the thingamajig shown in Monday's paper might well be a wall bracket on which a candle or a wall kerosene lamp could be placed."
Dan Foster, Rainbow Delight Collies:
"Hi. I'm Dan, and I believe I know what the thing is in today's paper. Its upside down. Years ago, in dairy barns, there was a metal bowl between every two cows. When a cow wanted a drink it would stick its nose in the bowl and push down on the flapper (which is shown in the paper) and allow water to run into the bowl. With all the old farms around the North Country I'm sure they are still in use."
Katherine Gimlick, Plattsburgh:
"I would say this is an upside down oil-lamp holder which would be screwed to the wall. I have some of these antiques, only on brackets, which hold the antique oil lamps."
Stephanie Olin, Plattsburgh:
"It went into a little cow's trough, so cow's could get a drink. They would push their nose down inside against it and the water would come up. My grandpa used to own a dairy farm on Lakeshore Road on Chazy Landing."
Marshall Rasco, Saranac:
"It looks like a hanging for hot irons that you put in a coal stove (that) a blacksmith would use. He would put all the irons in a fire, and they would cool off quick so after he makes then he has to hang them up one at a time and do some impressing into it to make a particular design."
Nelson LaValley, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse:
"Farmers used it in a cattle trough. When the cows nose hits the lever, it opens up a valve to allow more water into the water trough. In the picture, it's upside down."
Jason Gardner:
"Part of a water dish for a cow."
Dave Hall, Schuyler Falls:
"I turned the dish upside down. We have a camp in the Adirondacks, and we have two of those on the wall. They were for coal-oil lanterns. The lanterns sat in them. Those brackets were mounted on the wall. I have almost identical ones to them. Ours had a little different scallop around the edge."
raudell@pressrepublican.com

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