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Lead paint was not the best white paint in that it reacted with
sulfur dioxide in air from coal fired stoves and furnaces and turned yellowish. Premium pain had Titanium Dioxide pigment that stayed a pristine white…under the soot and
dirt from burning coal. I remember the good old days down side as my job was to pull the clinkers from furnace and fill
stoker from pile of coal in corner of basement. We were
fortunate, Some had to make do without central heating and
Winters were longer and colder back then.
That house when my grandfather owned it had a small coal
stove to head a portion of upstairs where he lived, a single
water outlet partial dirt basement and an outhouse back
by the alley. My folks had a full basement, bath, kitchen
and central heat installed. The coal furnace gave way to
oil and eventually gas when it became available. I got
elected to paint the outside of the house when I was 12
The experience left me all in favor of child labor laws.
Louis