This story is about the old reliable stove that heats my grandparent's garage, I use it quite a bit in the winter when I pull my '77 Toyota Land Cruiser in to fix trail damage and do regular maintainance. The stove began it's life at the Newark stove works in Newark, New Jersey ages ago...It was then bought to heat the house, burning both coal and wood. My father remembers loading it with coal and emptying the ash pit when he was younger than me, and lets me know just how easy I have it with gas heat. The stove was then moved into the garage after years of service in the basement, to warm us during periods of work.

When I first aquired my old Toyota, I started to use the old stove about every weekend, starting the fire, making frequent trips through the icy air to the backyard woodpile, and keeping the fire stoked. As much as going to the wood pile in the cold annoyed me, I also enjoyed it. It gave me a sense of participating in my own survival, rather than turning a thermostat. I liked to sit in the garage and take a break from my work to sit and listen to the stove, open up the ancient fire door and watch the dancing flames. Though the stove is getting up in it's years, it is still maintained and inspected to make sure it is working correctly, and that it will do so for years to come. I hope that one day, the stove will be passed on to me to heat my garage, and continue the service it has been providing for so long. At the moment, I'm trying to convince my parents to buy a woodstove for our log home, not only for the heating benefits, but the secure, warm feeing that comes from sitting around the hearth. Matthew C. Hall [email protected]

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