With carnival over for another year I’ve bagged up all my beads and recycled them. But I have one throw this year that I’ll be holding on to. On Joe Cain day (is it Joe Cain day if it’s not in Mobile?), during the Krewe of Thoth parade in New Orleans I caught a very cool throw version of the famous New Orleans water meter cover. So if you’ve always wanted a crescent box water meter cover of your very own, but you’re an upstanding citizen who knows it’s wrong to steal these beauties, you now can buy them by the two dozen to share with all your friends.
Catching this throw sent me back to the post Stepping on Jackson, Mississippi in NOLA where we see cool utility covers made in Jackson and other places that grace the ground in New Orleans. Reading the post reminded me of another utility cover seen recently that I think can be attributed to Harper Foundry of Jackson. The cover I saw in Biloxi is very similar to the design of a typical Harper Foundry utility cover, save for the name. This cover reads “WHOLESALE SUPPLY CO. INC” where it usually says “HARPER FDY. & MACH. CO”. What I suspect happened was that the Wholesale Supply Company of Jackson contracted with Harper Foundry to create water meter covers for their own distribution. But a savvy cast maker at Harper’s found a way to credit their own work by placing an image of a harp in the center of the cover. Has any one else ever seen a similar cover?
Categories: Asides, Biloxi, Greenville, Historic Preservation, Jackson
Preservation in Mississippi 
Interesting details most people would pass right over without taking time to appreciate.
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I find them interesting. Especially covers that have images (like the harp) on them.
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Many years go at a Hobby Show in Long Beach, CA I saw a display of wax rubbings of manhole and water meter covers. He used the same technique as those who do tombstone rubbings. A beautiful art form and sometimes dangerous hobby.
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What a great way to capture the image of a cover without a camera. One certainly has to have their wits about them for making rubbings in the middle of the road.
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I live in jackson ms. I will supply to anyone who requests it, an exact duplicate of any water meter cover in the city. I can cast them as requested without stealing valuable historical relics. Contact me at asthmedic@yahoo.com.
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That’s interesting. What medium do you use for your castings?
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I have a Harper fdy & Mach co sewer cover. Can anyone tell me how old it may be.
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