ones, but it is some of the latter that arc
intriguing, particularly those con¬
nected with some of the more fascinat¬
ing aspects of ancient history.
The pyramids have constantly chal¬
lenged man’s imagination and the
question about how they were built has
had a variety of answers.
Houtz. who has avidly studied the
product, envisions a predecessor that
he calls Pyramid Riggers. Ltd. (estab¬
lished 2900 b.c.) as having done the
work.
"The claims of the historian,
Herodotus, that it took 10.000 men 20
years to build the largest pyramid.
‘Cheops.’ is probably true." he said.
It is 450-feet tall, covers 13-acres
and consists of six million tons of stone
in 2Vi-ton blocks "which had to be
hewn to shape in the quarries beyond
the Nile, brought over the river, and
dragged up an inclined plane to the
site," Houtz said, adding that rollers
must have done the job.
Those 50-ton statues on Easter Is¬
land. a 55-mile square blob of volcanic
land 2.200 miles west of Chile, also had
the help of rollers. Houtz surmises.
While historians differ on the age of
the 300 statues there, some as tall as
40-feet, the North Carolina manufac¬
turer said they agree that they were
"hauled on rollers and skids of
driftwood by ropes made of mulberrv
fiber."
That ancient, exacting astronomical
observatory. Stonehenge, in England,
was put together with the aid of rollers.
Houtz said. "It's builders hauled
50-ton stones overland from a quarry
20 miles away, presumably by use of
rollers.
Going Strong
"Several years ago. a huge machine
was to be installed in a deep pit," he
recalled. "One man. seeking the job.
bid about one-fifth of what others
quoted. He got the job. but no one
could understand how he could make a
profit.
"He took the machine to the edge of
the pit. then put in enough ice to fill the
pit. levelling it so the machine could be
rolled atop the ice. Then,” Houtz said
"he just sat back and waited for the ice
to melt."
There are many other examples of
the uses the pa>duct has exhibited in
ancient and modem times.
And in these modem times. 90 per
cent of the rollers come from the small,
innocuous looking plant in North
Carolina's northeastern comer.
"We are listed in various registers
utilized by purchasing agents of large
IB
companies," Houtz said. "We are the
only pure roller mill left in the country,
the only company that makes a busi¬
ness of this."
The rollers are usually shipped via
truck. The company used the postof¬
fice one time "and that was the only
time we ever had to replace a damaged
roller." he said.
What seems to be the oldest busi¬
ness in the world shows no signs of
slowing down, nor does the Houtz
company which also makes other
wood products and aluminum furni¬
ture.
"I never cease to be amazed."
Houtz said "at the variety of things
rollers are used for."
THE STATE
REVISITED
How We Made The
First X-Ray Photo
By DICK YOUNG
The students of old Davidson
College must have been a mis¬
chievous lot.
Earlier this year we printed
the tale of a legendary prank
("Those Davidson Boys") writ¬
ten by Elizabeth Silance Ballard,
of Jacksonville, N.C. It reminded
readers of other notable pranks
by Davidson students, several of
which were passed on to readers
of this magazine.
But it took a letter from Mrs.
Charles E. Brown, of Augusta.
Ga. to recall the most famous
prank of all — a historic happen¬
ing at Davidson, here reprinted
from The State. December 12.
1936 edition — Ed.
A student's prank at Davidson Col¬
lege resulted in the history-making
episode of the first X-ray picture in the
United States.
Three students, who brought the dis¬
tinction of producing the first X-ray
picture to be made in America to a
North Carolina educational institu¬
tion. defied college rules in their tests
to satisfy their curiosity and to see if
what their professors were talking
about were actually true. And in so
doing they produced the first X-ray
picture.
Davidson College now has the un¬
disputed claim of the first X-ray pic¬
ture. although for many years this
claim was challenged by Yale Univer¬
sity. It had been asserted that Yale
produced the first, with Davidson tak¬
ing second place. The Davidson pic¬
ture, which now hangs in the college
library, could not be denied and as
Yale’s picture could not be offered in
evidence the claim was dropped and
the honor goes to the North Carolina
institution.
Osmond L. Barringer, prominent
Charlotte citizen, tells the story of the
history-making X-ray adventure. He
and Eben Hardie. now of New Orleans
and Pender Porter, now a physician of
Brooklyn. N.Y.. were the students
who made the picture.
Mr. Barringer tells of the episode as
follows:
"In December. 1895, physics
classes at Davidson were greatly in¬
terested in the study of Crookes’
tubes, an expensive piece of apparatus
which was part of the laboratory
equipment. About that time.
Roentgen, who is credited with the
discovery of X-ray, was studying these
tubes. The students at Davidson were
more interested in the color display of
these tubes than in the physics of the
cathode ray. So were Roentgen and the
other scientists who were studying
them.
"On January 4. 1896 Roentgen made
the announcement of his accidental
discovery of the use of Crookes’ tubes
in making what he termed ‘shadow pic¬
tures.’
"Dr. Henry Louis Smith, our
physies teacher, told us about the
Roentgen discovery and there was
much discussion as to whether it were
true. On Sunday night. January 12,
Eben Hardie and Pender Porter were
(Continued on page 28)
THE STATE. NOVEMBER 1976
