Novel Device in View of Shortage of Coal
December 2, 1902 – The Semi-Weekly Messenger – This Day in Bowling History
Orange, N.J. is facing a coal famine. Small quantities of coal are received daily, but the supply is not equal to one-third of the demand, says the New York Times. One man, a proprietor of a large amusement place, has succeeded in keeping his home warm in spite of the lack of coal.
For a long time it was a mystery how he managed, and at last one day, some one opened the furnace door and saw what appeared to be a lot of bottles blazing away furiously. Others were summoned to view the seeming miracle, and at last the proprieotor came along and explained that the objects that looked so much like bottles were in reality, tenpins.
He explained that in the years he had maintained bowling alleys in the place, an almost countless number of tenpins had become too battered to be serviceable. They were made of hardwood and were saturated with varnish, so that when fired they furnished a hotter blaze and lasted as long as a coal fire. The man says he has a supply sufficient to last well into the winter.