Hearthlist Digest #104 - Monday, January 26, 1998
 
Still Warm in Mid-Atlantic
  by Craig Issod <[email protected]>
Posting that didn't post
  by Daniel J B Melcon <[email protected]>
 

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Subject: Still Warm in Mid-Atlantic
From: Craig Issod <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 17:47:35 -0400
 
The paper today says that we are 7 degrees above normal, which means it
will be one of the three warmest winters on record (in the last 120 years).
The spinach in my garden (South Jersey) is still growing and providing
salads, and many bulbs and buds are appearing.
Well, I guess we have to make up for those killer winters we were blessed
with earlier this decade.
 
 
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Craig Issod             HearthNet at http://www.hearth.com
[email protected]    Everything your Hearth Desires
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Buddha says "avoid error"
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Subject: Posting that didn't post
From: [email protected] (Daniel J B Melcon)
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 09:12:01 -0400
 
Dan
 
 
1.  Wall Street Journal
2.  Other media mentions
3.  Ice Storm trivia
4.  Leaving Vermont for where?
 
Four unrelated notes from Vermont:
 
1:  There was a column on gas fireplaces, in the center of Page 1 of the Wall
Street Journal's Friday edition.  Usually this column profiles the interesting
or offbeat.  Here they focused on the efforts of gas engineers to mimic a wood
fire.  Heat N Glo got good press, and their were mentions of Superior and
Lennox, who just made their debut at the builders show in Dallas.
 
2.  As part of my own research, I am constantly looking for mention of hearth
products in the general media.  Not just items in publications, but such
examples as Jimmy Stewart saying "every family wants a home with a fireplace"
in "It's a Wonderful Life" , Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater in front of the
fireplace as he urged Americans to conserve energy, and radio reports about
woodstoves "saving our lives" during the recent ice storms.  If you would
e-mail any similar mentions to me at   [email protected]    Iwould greatly
appreciate it.
 
3.  Speaking of ice storms, our neighbors in Maine were hit again, so I'm glad
we only got a foot of snow.  People "on the outside" have a hard time
comprehending crumpled transmission towers and trees snapped like toothpicks.
I did come across something that explains why it happens.
 
According to the local Cold Regions Research Environmental Laboratories (CRREL,
run by the Army Corp of Engineers), a twenty five foot maple tree covered with
a half inch coating of ice will have an additional eight TONS of weight.   Put
another way, you could have the entire Green Bay Packer team (except Gilbert
Brown) climb a single, one foot diameter maple tree, and then have the Chicago
Bulls join them.  That's how much weight a half inch of ice adds (and there
were numerous instances of two inches of ice).
 
The only more dramatic devastation I've ever seen was flying over Mt. St.
Helens after the eruption.  But hey, it's been a good test of that ornery
Yankee streak of independence.  Certainly there is a huge opportunity to
promote the self sufficiency aspect of our products next year.
 
4.  4.  Having left Indiana to get back to Vermont, I can't imagining going the
other direction.  However, my old editor at the Hearth and Home magazine (back
when it was Wood 'N Energy), Jason Perry, is doing just that.   Formerly with
Cornfield Castings, he is the new vice president of marketing at Majestice.  I
wish the newest Hoosier the best of luck, and offer my condolences to his
family.
 
 
Dan Melcon
Professional Hearth