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THE
MAKING OF POWER FOR THE PARKINSONS
by Dr. Ephraim K. Smith |
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The second film, Worst of Farm Disasters,
runs between five and six minutes. Once again, the narrator
is not identified. After opening scenes showing views of the
countryside, Bill, Tom, and Dan at work are seen pumping water.
Hazel is cooking at her wood stove. Then inside the barn,
Tom bumps a kerosene lantern. The narrator warns: “the
lantern swings too far -- fire -- the worst of farm disasters!”
The next scene is of flames and the Parkinsons and their neighbors
rushing to put out the fire. But all they have is a hand pump
and a bucket brigade. Ultimately, the barn burns to the ground.
“This farm,” the narrator intones, “had
no electricity for water pumping.” “With electric
lights,” he adds, “the fire might not have started.”
The next scene is of a closeup of a hand addressing a envelope
to the Rural Electrification Administration. As the scene
changes to workmen setting a pole, the narrator notes that
“safe wiring, electric lights, running water, electric
ranges help prevent fires.” Since 1935, the narration
continues, some 700,000 farms have received electricity for
the first time. Now, these “farms have more protection
against fire loss than ever before” and “they
are safer places to live for farm men and women.”
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