State of the Windmills

Growing up in west Texas, the windmill was an accepted and common part of life. It became invisible, blending into the background and out of sight, they became out of mind.

While visiting with Rob and his family last week in Lubbock, we visited the American Wind Power Center and Museum, a fascinating collection and exhibit of wind power implements and practices from the old West to present day. I never knew there were so many different types and designs of windmills! It was fascinating.

And it was poignant, as well. Wandering through the exhibits, or walking around the working windmills set up on the grounds, I kept thinking of how much Daddy would have enjoyed seeing these exhibits, and that he would surely have had windmill stories to tell. I really missed him.

What, I wondered, is the current state of the windmill in Texas? Or at least the parts of Texas that we see from the car window on our trips? Are there still any in existence? They had become so much a part of the landscape, I just couldn’t remember. So with a heightened awareness, we started home, actively looking for them.

I am happy to say that they are still out there. All we have to do is notice. We saw several dozen, primarily where the land is given over to livestock, as opposed to cotton, for instance. Most often they were in some distant field where an electrical line would never be strung, but quite a few were adjacent to the farmhouse, with a large tank of some sort set up to hold the water that was pumped. Only a few were turning; most were “off” with the vane canted to the side, so I don’t know what percentage of what we saw were still operable. Some with gapped and damaged blades – or the wheel completely gone – were obviously derelicts.

In fact, the venerable Aermotor brand – very well represented in the museum – is still being manufactured after 118 years; now in San Angelo, Texas. The windmill being produced today is identical to the model that was introduced in 1933. It is the only US manufacturer remaining, and sells about 3,000 units a year, one third of that number shipped overseas.

But there is another windmill story.

For the entire drive from west of Abilene almost to Lubbock, there are very few places where you are out of sight of the giant modern wind turbines. There are hundreds of them scattered across the mesas and plains, tall sentinels of a new era. There is an operating turbine at the Wind Power Center, and another disassembled and on the ground, where you can stand beside it and get a feel for the size and scope of these giants. In all, it was a trip of contrasts – the past, present and the future.