The Weathervane Story
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Centuries ago, weather vanes were one of the first instruments to detect
changes in the weather by pointing in the direction from which the wind was
blowing. The Tower Of Winds in Athens, Greece (48 BC) is among the
earliest archaeological examples, topped with its Triton weather vane. Over
the years, a variety of ornaments have been created to display various
cultural, religious, and patriotic themes.
By definition the weather vane, or weathercock as it is also called, is a
figure that turns freely on a vertical rod and by virtue of its design, always
points into the wind. Stated another way, the wind always comes from the
direction in which the weather vane points.
Wherever people have settled, their reliance upon the weather vane has
been as basic to them as grinding wheat for bread. The weather vane has
always represented a simpler way of life, a life that is tied closely to nature.
At the end of each day and with the dawning of the next, people have
looked to the sky and studied the direction of their weather vane. They
have plowed and sown, reaped and stored, worked and played, trusting the
good directions of the wind that drove their fate.
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