Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel was first published in
1939 and was read repeatedly by Bob Keeshan on the Captain Kangaroo show in the
1950’s and 1960’s to which I was a perennial devotee. In the plot, Mike and his
steam shovel Marianne had worked together for many years and were now running
into competition from the sleek modern gasoline, electric and diesel shovels.
The character of Marianne was based on The Marion Steam Shovel Company which
was being eclipsed by new modern shovels. Today these devices can be found in industrial
graveyards around the country. Mike found a job for a town that was about to
dig the foundation for its new City Hall. To secure the job Mike offered to
complete the dig in one day or else the town’s Selectmen would not have to pay
for the work completed. The Selectmen greedily accepted these terms, fully
expecting to get their foundation dug out for free.
Mike and
Marianne started at sunup working feverishly all day long and finished at
sunset fulfilling their commitment to complete the job in one day. In their haste to complete the job Mike forgot
to leave an exit ramp to remove the steam-shovel from the bottom! Everyone was stumped
to think of a solution to this dilemma until a child sheepishly suggests that Maryanne
be converted to a steam boiler for the heating system of the new town hall with
Mike as the caretaker! This solution was happily accepted by Mike, Marianne and
the Selectmen!
I loved the
story, and my parents purchased the book and read it to me nightly as a bedtime
story. The combined messages of the necessity for hard work to attain success,
being entrepreneurial, and most importantly planning ahead so as not to end up
with your steam shovel at the base of a pit with no exit plan seemed prudent. Finally,
being adaptive to changing circumstances was a great lesson to learn early in life.
Feb 2023
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