In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 22 Jan 2018 21:07:08 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:


In our older small-town city detached home before that, we had coal, and
my father bought an electric-stoker, so he could fill it before he went
to work each day, and my mother wouldn't have to shovel coal. But that
still meant my 53+ year old father, born in 1892, had to shovel a lot of
coal so around 1947 or 49, he changed to gas. No shoveling at all.
We had forced air heat then, and I thought we had it even when the
furnace used coal. That's possible, right?

Possible, but most likely a "gravity"furnace - worked on convection.
Looked like an octapus.

The reason I think it had been forced air is that their was afaicr no
evidence of the ducts being added later.

There certainly were afaicr no boxed in spaces in corners of the room or
ceiling. It was two stories, plus attic and basement, I guess I'll have
to check more closely if I ever see the house again.

I'm trying to remember where the ducts were, and so far I only remember
the one in the hall, because on v. cold days, my mother would warm my
coat over it before I left for school. That was on the first floor of
course. It's the 2nd floor that would be hard to install ducts.

My father was a bachelor until he was 53, lived with his mother, sister,
and nephew in a house that was probably long paid for, and had a good
career, and there was no way to live high on the hog in this small city,
so he had lots of money by the time he got married.