The Watering Trough

Along the side of Pa. Rt. 16 are the remnants of this old watering trough. It was used to water horses as they stopped to rest while climbing the Tuscarora Mountain. Later it was used to top off the radiators of the early cars. I remember my grandfather telling of the days when it was made of wood.

The water came to it through a pipe from a mountain spring. When I was a child we would haul our livestock to market across this mountain and frequently stop on our return to get a refreshing drink of the cool mountain water spilling continuously from the pipe. On a hot summer day it was a most welcome respite before continuing our trip home.

I remember my grandfather telling that in earlier years it was made of wood. The watering trough was a very useful piece of infrastructure whose time passed as technology improved. I remember my grandfather once saying that he had seen man go from the horse and buggy to the moon. Now I look back and can only marvel at the amazing progress that I have witnessed in my years. I am sure that my stories of “the old days” seem just as quaint to young folks now as Granddad’s did to me.