A Little Bit of Dover History Comes to Light

This has been a great month for historical photos at the library. Not only did we discover the mill machinery photos but a relative of Edward Lord sent us photographs and information on a project the Lord & Keenan Company undertook during the 1940s. During World War ll the Office of Civilian Defense was concerned about conflagrations caused by air strikes. Lord & Keenan, Dover fuel oil dealers, developed a way to convert oil trucks into water tankers to fires for $10 - $15. Once their discovery was published in an industry magazine, fuel oil dealers from around the country sent telegrams and letters inquiring as to how they could convert their own tankers for the war effort. Lord & Keenan also received letters and thanks from the Office of Petroleum Coordinator for War. These photographs are from a demonstration of the converted fuel oil tankers. Cinematographers from the major studios such as Paramount, Fox and Pathe News came to film the event for newsreels to be shown before a feature film.