I was, I’m sure, not even in the minds of my someday-to-be parents, but I’ve spent a lot of time in that decade of the Great Depression nonetheless. I like to think of them as teenagers as they wondered what was to be. They truly were the Greatest Generation.

There were a lot of writers then who focused on the art of steam- and hot-water heating back then. I imagine most of the hydronic heating work at the time was going into the homes of those who had managed to escape the worst of the Great Depression. I love this time in heating history because it was a sort of pause, and the writers spent time explaining what was going on, and why. I thought I’d share some of that with you. You can learn a lot by looking back over your shoulder.