May 15, 1975 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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May 15, 1975 |
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PEGASUS, recently completed by students at The Evergreen
State College, stands ready to be mounted on an Evergreen
truck for a test run this month. The furnace-like,
wood-burning device will propel a regular internal
combustion engine without gasoline.
Marc
Dimes to
ive annual
The annual meeting of the
Mason County Chapter of the
March of Dimes will be held in
the conference room at the PUD
building this evening (Thursday)
at 7: 30 p.m.
Steve Morris, field
representative for the national
foundation, will be present to
discuss the latest programs of the
foundation.
Mason County Chapter
officers will be elected for the
coming year. The public is
welcome to attend this annual
meeting.
Food Bank to be
open Monday
The Mason County Food
Bank will be open Monday, it was
announced by Helen Morrow,
head of the food bank.
It doesn't look like much -
an old water tank with some
peculiar pipes extending from it.
It isn't even anything new.
Europeans were building its
ancestors 50 years ago.
But the cylindrically-shaped
stainless steel and sheet metal
contraption now standing idle in
the laboratory building at The
Evergreen State College could
change the lives of every driver in
the world.
Called a Pegasus, the
furnace-like device turns plain old
wood, coal, peat - even today's
used newspaper - into fuel which
can propel everything from the
newest luxury automobile to the
hardiest of tractors, from
ocean-going barges to
continent-crossing locomotives.
First used extensively by the
Germans during World War II,
Pegasus - which stands for
Petroleum Gasoline Substitute
Systems - has recently been
unearthed and reexamined by two
Evergreen professors, Dr. Neils
Skov and Dr. Mark Papworth.
The two educators - Skov an
engineer and oceanographer,
Papworth an anthropologist
interested in the history of
technology - became alarmed in
the winter of 1973-74 when the
Arab oil embargo graphically
dramatized modern civilization's
vulnerability in its heavy reliance
on inexpensive, though limited,
fossil fuel supphes. The "energy
crisis," as it was suddenly called
for the first time despite the fact
it had been building for years, was
probably best typified in America
by rising gasoline and oil prices
and seemingly endless lines at
those service stations which
remained in business.
Skov, a prisoner of the
Germans near the end of the war,
remembered riding in
Pegasus-powered vehicles which
the Germans had perfected in the
late 1930's when they realized
war was inevitable and that, when
it came, their gasoline supplies
would be extremely limited.
Experimenting with all kinds
of models, the Germans
eventually were able to run
tractors, cars, barges, trains and,
later, even much of their war
machinery - all without gasoline.,
Essentially, what they did was
build a portable furnace, the
Pegasus, which turned the
country's plentiful natural
resources - coal, wood and/or
peat - into gases which propelled
internal combustion engines.
There were some problems
with the device. Sometimes
drivers got ill from the fumes.
Sometimes fires got out of
control. And, not just everyone
could run them. But the vehicles
worked and they worked well -
without gasoline.
Two years ago Skov returned
to his native Denmark and tried
to find a Pegasus to bring back for
his students at Evergreen to
study. The only one he found was
in a museum. It seems that, as
soon as the war was over and
gasoline was available again, the
Pegasus was cast aside, an eagerly
forgotten reminder of war.
Long gasoline lines in the
winter of 1973-74 prompted Skov
to team up with Papworth and
publish a book, "The Pegasus
Unit," which details "the lost art
of driving without gasoline." In it,
one can find a brief history of the
units, first built in the early
1920's; detailed descriptions of
how they work, complete with
complex chemical formulas; and
pictures of several working
varieties as they were used in
Axis-occupied Europe.
Not satisfied with reading
about Pegasus, a small group of
Evergreen students, unknown to
Skov and Papworth, decided to
build one on their own. They say
it cost less than $200 to
construct. The total includes the
price of an old water heater, some
sheet metal and stainless steel.
Pegasus is equally inexpensive
to run. All the Evergreen model
needs is wood. And, one six-inch
chunk will propel a three-ton
truck one mile. But the unit's low
cost is not what most excites its
contemporary re-inventors. It's
the potential Pegasus has for
solving both the gasoline/energy
crisis -- and America's solid waste
disposal problem.
As Skov points out, each year
Americans must dispose of
mountains of solid waste, more
than half of them paper and
~cardboard. With further
If you don't know a
adaption of'the Pegasus and by
developing a means of pellatizing
the paper and cardboard,
Americans could solve their
disposal problems while they
drove to work, he theorizes.
Excited about the prospects
of solving two problems at once
Skov adds that, in the six-county
area served by the Ol ,mpia Air
Pollution Control Board, 200,000
tons of waste wood are burned
every year - just in "tee-pee"
burners. If one six-inch chunk of
wood will propel a three-ton
truck one mile, how far would the
average family automobile go on
200,000 tons of wood?
These and other questions
remain to be solved by
mathematicians, engineers,
ecologists, industrialists,
economists and mechanics. But
Pegasus has already been accepted
by one major European
automobile manufacturer as an
answer to the gasoline crisis. That
company (Volvo) reportedly
stands ready to mass produce
Pegasus-powered vehicles at the
drop of an oil embargo.
And Skov feels confident
Americans can respond the same
way. As he says in the preface to
his book:
"Knowing the enormous
amount of collective ingenuity
and initiative this nation
possesses, I have no doubt that
Americans will seize and improve
upon the fuel substitute
technology to the point of
ultimate perfection. The potential
for Pegasus units lies not just in
wheeled vehicles but in virtually
every combustion engine used,
perhaps even elsewhere, too. The
other day a fellow yachtsman
pointed out to me how cozy a
Pegasus would be on a boat,
doubling as heater and fuel
producer while burning sundry
driftwood and flotsam. He is
right, of course. And it is already
technically feasible for you to
read your morning newspaper and
then use that same paper to
power your automobile to
commute to work."
about Mason County Citizens
for Animals, it's time to
Stop pussyfootin'
There is an organization that affords shelter and
homeless an ma[s in our community You can
membership simply by filling out the form bel
nominal and the service is irreplaceable. Adults
Juniors (under 14)$1.00 per year. Or, if you W
membership is $100.
Don't wait 'til it starts rainingcats and dogs. Fill
and become an active member. Or if you'd rather
may do so by sending your gift to Mason
Animals Shelter Fund, P.O. Box 657, Shelton, WA
I
I
I Address
I Age Type of membership wanted
| M.C. Citizens for Animals, P.O. Box 657
#I
Pioneer School District did not lose $79,000 because of the state eq
Pioneer School District's own budget showed these figures:
Total revenues 1974-75 $228,509
This is $12,059 more revenue.
1975-76 $240,568
Pioneer Citizens Advisory Group cut $29,435 out of a budget that was
than this year's current budget.
1974-75 expenditures' $257,396
1975-76 expenditures$327,041 (minus $29,435 equals $297,606)
This $297,606 is still 16% higher than this year.
Oil or
latex
For new wood or re-do, OLYMPIC
STAIN is one of the most beautiful
things you can do for wood. It lets the
natural grain and texture show through
while it penetrates for protection. And
it never cracks, peels or blisters Buy 4
gallons now, and we'll give you a 5th
gallon free!
Old paint a problem? Dont repaint put
on the Overcoat! It's guaranteed better than
house paint! Try it If you're not convinced,
just return the remainder of your first
gallon with any unopened cans and we'll
refund your money! Choose from 22 colors
Buy 4 gallons now, and we'll give you a 5th
gallon FREE
O
NOTE
Specially marked $4 off Ftedwoo d Stain an d $3 off Outside White can s not included in
this FREE offer. Sat. May 17 to
Sunday May 25
t
lynnwood, shelton
L' first & pine 426.Z611
~! MON.- FRI. 8-5:30 SAT. 8-4:30 SUN. 10-4:30
Pioneer School District has always paid for our Junior High and High SchoOl:
out of our local tax dollars. Formerly the county withheld tax money to P
now the state takes it all and returns it to Pioneer to pay its own
Pioneer's secondary students.
Pupil enrollment had increased no more than seven (7) students since the
law went into effect January 1, 1975. This is a 3-1/3% increase.
When and if Shelton passes all or part of their three-part levy, they will let
there will be any additional payment, and how much.
Pioneer budgets for
Which is less?
1974-75 $257,396
1975-76 $297,606
#7
The total cost of the hot lunch program for 1975-76 will be $20,982. Reirnb
will be $10,500. Does it make any sense to cut a program that benefits
than other areas where the budget can be cut?
Pioneer School teachers have had salary increases each year which they
negotiated.
A yes vote for the levy will mean a property tax increase next year for sure.
Pioneer School is best for our children, best for the community and best
taxpayer, if you vote NO on the levy.
Paid for by Concerned Citizens for Better School Government
Estelle Bunnell, Chairman, Shelton
Shelton-Mason County
18 Thursday, May 15, 1975