"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore."

Apr 23, 2022, 8:57 AM

I had what, for perusers of these boreds was probably a unique upbringing. My father, being a product of the Great Depression in his early teenage years, never forgot what it was like to have NOTHING. Therefore, when he grew up, he made sure he had accumulated enough life skills to put food on the table year round for his family.

I, and my brothers farmed, worked in the "general service" car / truck shop, or worked in the sawmill as seasons and needs dictated. The shop alone allowed me to develop the logical problem solving skills that proved to be invaluable in my future profession of Chemical Engineering after I got my Clemson degree.

But, it was elsewhere that provided some of those "You can never go home again" moments of my youth. Our family sawmill was powered by a 3-71 "Detroit Diesel" 3 cylinder engine. The accompanying Planer was powered first by an old "crank on gas, trip to diesel" International motor, but later on by a 4-71 Detroit Diesel that my dad and I worked on together to get into running shape, it having been purchased for next to nothing, having been through a ginhouse fire.

Unless you have heard the sound a Detroit Diesel makes, it is hard to explain. It is a "two stroke" diesel, which for laymen means, every time the piston comes to the top of the cylinder bore, the engine "fires" on a power stroke. This is what makes them so desirable as stationary power units. Six cylinder or V-8 versions power trucks, buses, or skads of other type vehicles.

Detroits could be fitted with many different "number" injectors, the higher the number, the more fuel they delivered. The "recommended" max for a 3-71 was a "40", I was told at some point. Daddy had a set of "80's" in our 3-71. If it had had wheels, that thing would have been a monster hot rod. It also had a "straight stack" exhaust, no sign of a muffler. My dad would never crank that thing up unless he had accumulated at least 3 weeks worth of logs to saw for other people.

So, as you can guess, my teenage self HATED hearing that Detroit crank up. It running meant three weeks of hard, manual labor at a time. But, OH, the sound that thing made when it was pulling hard. Anyone who loves mechanical things will know how the sound of them running becomes ingrained in your soul.

Of course, all that is gone now. The farm, and all the equipment was sold away years ago on the estate sale when my dad passed away. My parents SECOND house was lost to a house fire in 2010. So, twice over, I can never "go home again". But, to this day, I can go on YouTube, and listen to a Detroit Diesel power unit running somewhere, and the memories come flooding back so vividly, it hurts.

I'll see my Mom and Dad again, someday. That time is approaching now, sooner rather than later, as I get older. And, weird though it may seem to some, I believe that the sound of a particular old 3-71 Detroit Diesel will be echoing around Heaven when that time comes, and I will smile.