Moving dirt.

In my lifetime I have seen tremendous progress (a tipping point) in man's ability to move dirt. When I was four years old (1929) I watched my Dad excavating dirt for the basement of a large church. He was using a team of horses to pull a metal excavator (a Fresno) full of dirt up a sloping bank out of the hole for the basement.

It was an impressive sight. My Dad was an impressive figure in the many men involved. The Fresno scraper (called a Fresno) was invented around 1775 in Fresno, California. Prior to this time most of man's earth scraping and dirt moving was done using many men and shovels. (Even the 400 mile long Erie Canal. 40 foot wide and four foot deep. Later deepened to 12 feet.)

This is a picture of an early Fresno.

Here is a model showing the addition of wheels. Some early Fresnos were large enough to require more than a single team of horses.

Take a look at the latest Fresnos. Now called excavators. I drive through the construction site for a freeway interchange several times a week. It will take cost 23 million dollars and take five years to build. It is interesting to see the earth moving that is taking place. They are using several of these behemoths.

You must agree that the change from men with shovels to the huge machines of today is a great change. My Dad (and the Egyptian Pharaohs.) would be very impressed.

The picture above is of my Dad taken in the 1920s. At that time he was doing contract work with his team of horses (Bert and Beck) in Pomona. California. I remember visiting the team in the barn.