Soon after the meeting, Secretary Gaskill sent
the Proceedings manuscript to Dayton for printing.
The bindery burned down and the manuscript was
destroyed. Fortunately, Secretary Gaskill had another copy, but the Association had no money to
pay for printing. The book was printed when
friends provided the needed $450. The only annual Proceedings which did not go into print was
that of 1918 when the program was abandoned due
to World War I.
In 1914 the group had to abandon their annual
meeting facilities when the rooms were wanted for
the Memorial Day auto races.
The next year a very interesting trip was held
when the American District Steam Company had
the members as their guests for an entire day on
a trip from Rochester to Lockport, N. Y. to see the
city and the original district heating plant. The
group then inspected the ADSCO plant in North
Tonawanda and saw Niagara Falls. The wonderful
day ended with a banquet at the Clifton Hotel in
Canada.
The 1919 meeting was a unique one, being a
joint gathering with ASHAE, as then named.
In 1921 the first of the three editions of the
Handbook was produced. It was loose leaf and
soon outgrew its intended purpose. Only three
years later it was necessary to put out the secon?
edition. A great amount of work was done on thIS
volume by J. H. Walker. In addition, C. H. B.
Hotchkiss worked on it and H. R. Wetherell of
Peoria, a past president, was for a time employed
as technical secretary.
In 1925 Secretary Gaskill reported that the late
Czar Nicholas had been a member of the Association under an assumed name.
For a time in the thirties the manufacturers
maintained an organization of their own with ~
separate constitution. C. Gottwald, then presIdent of the Ric-wiL Company, was one of those
responsible for the progress that was made. Other
activities that were carried on included a two-week
long sales conference in April 1926, and l~mg
consideration of the benefits of the productlOn of a
house organ.
When William H. Sanford was named Secretary-Treasurer of NDHA in April 1934, the headquarters was moved to the Engineers Club of Philadelphia where it remained until September 15, 1939.
Mr. Sanford was in ill health and resigned at that
time.
John F. Collins, Jr. was appointed Secretary-Treasurer. The office was moved to the Grant
Building in Pittsburgh, and in a few months to
827 N. Euclid Ave., its present location.
A number of changes have been made in the
publications in recent years. The margins of the
Proceedings were made narrower than formerly.
This has resulted in their being more type per
page and 15 to 20 per cent less pages per volume.
Beginning with the July 1953 issue the name of
the magazine was changed from "The Bulletin" to
"District Heating," and the size of the pages was
increased to that of other heating magazines. This
saves cost to advertisers in the production of cuts.
After five years of work by over 50 members
and the editorial board, consisting of J. Earl Seiter,
Ernest E. Dubry, Henry L. Martin, Robert D.
Martin, Sterling S. Sanford, George H. Tuttle and
Secretary Collins, the Third Edition of The
District Heating Handbook was completed in June
1951.
Some have expressed the thought that district
heating has passed its zenith. Quite the contrary
is true. While there are not many new steam
utilities being organized in the United States and
Canada, there has been no appreciable loss. Meanwhile, the annual statistics of NDHA show that
there is a steady gain in sales and investment. The
supplying of steam for air conditioning and industrial uses, as well as for off-peak purposes, should
improve the load factors of the suppliers, something that has been sought. Another activity which
may prove valuable in expansion is the turning
over of obsolescent electric plants for the production of steam when conditions warrant. Elsewhere, the generation of steam at higher pressures
to supply both electricity and steam itself should
decrease investment for generation.
District heating by hot water has not been
looked on with great favor, but the use of high-temperature hot water should increase in the right
atmosphere.
With the looked-for increase in college enrollments in the next few years, there should be much
more campus heating from central plants.
Finally, in Europe there should be a great increase in district heating.
The industry has a bright future.
., The author wishes to express his appreciation for the material and pictures which came from many sources including:
1. "District Heating" by Bushnell and Orr.
2. The "Adsco Advocate," published by ADSCO in 1920.
3. A statement by Miss Melissa C. Stocker on the formation of NDHA.
v. J. Suche-19SS
w. A. Gillespie-1956
J. C. Haroldson-1957
