Emergency Preparedness Planning: The Very Best Oil Lamp

I grew up in a 250-year-old farm house in rural Ohio near the shores of Lake Erie where the wind chill factor could drop in one fell swoop to 50 below. During the winter months, we burned coal and wood, slept in flannel sheets and long underwear, and were well acquainted with the working end of a snow shovel. I missed a month of high school during the Blizzard of '78. It was well before the age of the SUV, so we were forced to drive our 1945 Ford tractor to the grocery store for provisions during that epic storm. It was the only thing we had that would make it through the snow.

My parents were avid antique collectors, and had an impressive collection of antique oil lamps, which, when the electricity went off during a storm, we took down from their places as decorator items on the shelf and put them to good use illuminating the rooms of our drafty farm house. Needless to say, I know something about emergency preparedness and getting by when the electricity is down. Battery powered lamps are convenient, but there's nothing like a high-quality oil lamp to tide you over during the dark times when we can't illuminate our homes with the simple flick of a switch!

I no longer have any of those antique oil lamps from when I was a girl. Some of them have been broken or misplaced, and a few are still at my parents' home. I have tried some of the cheaper imitations that can be found at Wal-Mart, and I must say I'm unimpressed. My experience is that while they may look cute on a dresser or a table, when you really need to put them to use, they smoke, the mechanism to operate the wicks is flimsy, and they put out a measly amount of light. None of these are good attributes for lighting your home during an emergency, and I'd hate to rely on them as part of my emergency preparedness plan. Every emergency preparedness plan should include a solid method for lighting your home in the absence of electricity.