Dow AFB GATR Site | Bangor

Nestled in the middle of a bedroom community for Bangor, on a cross road between two main thoroughfares are the remains of Dow AFB's Ground to Air Transmit & Receiver site. The two beheaded towers flank the town office and stand watch over the town's public safety building, and a basketball court. 

Assuming the town hall was built after the USAF had pulled out of Bangor, this site would have been used to transmit/receive communications between manned interceptor aircraft (the 75th Fighter/Interceptor squadron, flying F-106 Delta Darts) at Dow and the SAGE computer site farther downstate.

According to an article appearing in the Maine Commons, 09/2002, titled "Cold War Residue in Glenburn" (Catherine Schmidtt), there used to be an entire communications array behind the building. Apparently the property was acquired by the US Government in 1958, to house a computer and radar system that would communicate with the air base at Dow and the Bomarc missiles nearby. Sadly, as of 2013, the satellite communications array behind the building has been demolished.

A better view

[Retro Tech] The Doomsday Shitter

This isn't so much a post about a Cold War era site, but rather a Cold War era artifact...and it's not really 'tech.' It's just a steel barrel that you shit in.

Around this time of year in my youth, I'd be tasked with helping to take down "winter clothes" from a shed/garage. Usually they'd be in plastic totes, but sometimes -- they were in these drums with white lettering on them. These brown drums had kind of been an object form my childhood that I never really thought much about. All I knew about them growing up is that they sucked to try to hold on to and walk down the stairs.

A few months ago, I was helping my father do some garage-cleaning and found one of the green drums.

Since my 1st Gen Samsung Galaxy's camera has the resolution of a potato, here's what the text on the drum actually says:

To Fill: Remove drum cover. Insert plastic bag liner assembly and fill liner with approved tap water by inserting clean hose into bag spout. DO NOT FILL DRUM WITHOUT USING PLASTIC BAG LINER. Fill to water fill line, twist spout and double back on itself and tie tightly with wire tie. Replace drum cover.

To Dispense: Remove cover. Unfasten spout, insert siphon tube about 3/4 lengths into bag liner and pinch siphon tube. pull tube downward 12 to 18 inches which will start flow of water. release and fill individual containers. 

To reuse as a commode: Cut top seam of inner bag for full width of bag, spread mouth of bags over and down around top opening of drum about 4 inches. add waste treatment chemical, place commode seat on drum. When waste is to sanitary fill line, close mouth of bag and tie with wire tie. DO NOT REMOVE FILLED BAGS. Replace drum cover.