Wayside Inn

The oldest operating Inn in America, Longfellow's Wayside Inn has had an illustrious history. From being the subject of the immortal Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Tales Of A Wayside Inn" ("Built in the old Colonial day, When men lived a grander way, With ampler hospitality. A kind of Old Hobgoblin Hall....") to having been the site where the poem "Mary Had A Little Lamb" was composed, Wayside Inn has indeed seen its share of history.

However celebrated Wayside Inn may be, it is not immune to the problems caused by grease. The Inn has ten guest rooms and is the scene of many banquets and gatherings, and can serve up to 1,100 meals per day at times. According to Bob Purrington, the owner and current Innkeeper, the septic field servicing the Inn's effluent flows was being inundated by grease. "Around three years ago, Massachusetts enacted a law requiring any facility serviced by a septic field releasing 'X' BOD (Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand) in its wastewater with so many gallons of wastewater per day would have to construct its own waste water treatment plant. We thought, "Whoa! We're going to have to head this off at the pass!"

The engineer in charge of inspecting their septic field informed Bob of an automatic grease interceptor that he should investigate further. "We went down to a restaurant where a Big Dipper® was installed in order to see it in action. We were impressed with its simplicity." A Big Dipper® model W-250-IS (Product Catalog) was installed into the kitchen at its three-compartment pot-washing sink, and a change for the better was immediately noticed. "There is no question that it has helped immensely, removing grease on a daily basis before it gets to our septic field."

So, in Longfellow's words, the Inn is still "a house of call for all travellers from Boston westward." And will continue to serve those travellers, confident that there is a Big Dipper® servicing the kitchen of the oldest operating Inn in America.

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