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Spring 1943. Closeup of the J.D. Leon general store in Cerro. Taos County, New Mexico. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by John Collier. View full size.
Sadly, I can't find any online records of remaining stations selling Conoco or any other gasoline in Cerro. Fuel up before heading out that way.
My vote is for a wind generator.
My father's family has a farm in Soutwest Nebraska and windmills were used to fill water tanks for cattle out in the pastures. The house had electric power for everything, but it was easier to set up a windmill out in the pasture were power lines were not available or dependable. Plus the willmills and water pumps were very easy for the farmer to fix, didn't have to call the power company and wait forever to a linesman to show up.
There is no way that windmill was used to pump water...unless it charged batteries that ran an electric pump. It's a wind generator. That store owner was "green" before it was cool!
[Not quite. Windmills have been used all over the West for decades to fill watering troughs and storage tanks. They drive mechanical pumps. - Dave]
Is that a wind generator in the upper right of the photo? In many rural areas they were a common source of electricity for charging batteries.
[Most windmills like that were used for pumping water. - Dave]
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