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AUTHOR Frese, Millie K., Ed.TITLE "I" Is for Iowa Inventors!INSTITUTION Iowa State Historical Society, Iowa City.ISSN ISSN-0278-0208PUB DATE 1998-00-00NOTE 34p.; Published quarterly. Theme issue.AVAILABLE FROM State Historical Society of Iowa, 402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa
City, IA 52240-1806 ($3) . Tel: 319-335-3916.PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022)JOURNAL CIT Goldfinch: Iowa History for Young People; v20 n1 Win 1996EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Elementary Education; Elementary School Students; Family
History; *Inventions; *Local History; *Patents; SocialHistory; *Social Studies; *State History
IDENTIFIERS *Iowa
ABSTRACT"The Goldfinch" is a magazine oriented toward young children
and intended to introduce said audience to many different aspects of Iowahistory. Each issue focuses on a different topic, and features a number ofarticles that discuss the topic in more depth. The topic for this issue isIowa Inventors. Featured articles highlight women inventors, young inventors,and patents. The articles include "Iowa Inventors from A to Z"; "PatentThat"; "Write Women Back into History"; "Nicholas Schrunk: Kid Inventor"; and"Fort Madison: Inventor 'Pens' History." Additional activities include acrossword puzzle, a history mystery, and a story. (RH)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.
"I" is for Iowa Inventors!
Millie K. Frese, Ed.
The Goldfinch: Iowa History for Young People
Volume 20 Number 1 Winter 1996
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and ImprovementEDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)0 This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organizationoriginating it.
CI Minor changes have been made to improvereproduction quality
Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily represent officialOERI position or policy.
2
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
BEEN GRANTED BY
D. Gore
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
TST COPY AVAILABLE
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Reb a Johnson
All ohnston
What do you think an inventor looks like? Today'simage of inventors is a lot different than oldstereotypes of people with thick glasses, wildhair, and white lab coats! An inventor looks likeany woman, man, girl, or boy who can identify aproblem and look for new or improved ways tosolve it.
Iowa's history is full of inventive people.Each light bulb on the map on the next pagemarks the spot where a creative Iowan turnedbright ideas into inventions. Theirstories are packed into this issue ofThe Goldfinch. But we ran out ofpages before we could tell you aboutthe radio-related inventions of ArthurCollins of Cedar Rapids, or about thedoctors at the University of Iowa whoinvented buffered aspirin, or abouta synthetic blood patented by the Uof I for use in surgery, or about IowaState University researchers whodeveloped a part used in all faxmachines...
This issue is just thebeginning of a fascinatingjourney through Iowa'screative heritage!
rize reritev John Froelich's44.%. Maybe today's inventor tractorp. 6looks just like you! Do you have an inventiveidea you'd like to tell me about? I'd love to hearfrom you! My address: 402 Iowa Ave., Iowa City,IA, 52242. E-mail: [email protected].
Volume 20, Number 1 Winter 1996
Member, Educational PressAssociation of America
Winner of a 1998 Parents'Choice Silver Honor Award
WalterSheaffer's
fountain pe
p.
INTERIM EDITOR: Millie K. FresePUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR: Shaner MagalhaesILLUSTRATION: Mary Moye-RowleyPUBLICATIONS INTERN: Bonnie Wilmesmeier
CONSULTING EDITORS: John Anderson, associatedirector, University Relations, Iowa StateUniversity; Skip Derra, science writer in UniversityRelations, Iowa State University; Dianne Haas andMary Ann Reiter, co-chairpersons, Wapello CountySesquicentennial Committee; and Timothy J.Zarley, attorney at law.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jen Golay, KatherineHouse, Lin Ly, Diane Nelson, Melinda Padley,Brian Page, Nicholas Schrunk, Jean Strong, andJan Wolbers.
EDUCATORS' ADVISORY BOARD: Carol Dighton,West Delaware Middle School, Manchester;Janice L. Gobble, Danville Elementary School,Danville; and Clen A. Lincoln, Fair Oaks MiddleSchool, Fort Dodge.
.1 CHILDREN'S ADVISORY BOARD: Leah Bergman,Iowa City; Sarah Frese, Danville; Emily Johnson,Fort Dodge; Jessica Myers, Coralville; and JeffZittergruen, Van Home.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Alexia Abernathy; LindaBlakesley, administrator, Legal/Patent Depart-ment, Sheaffer Pen Corporation; Countree Store,Winfield, Iowa; and Karon Moll, State Library ofIowa, Des Moines.
CREDITS: The characters Wild Rosie and Goldie;1, created by SHSI exhibit designer Jerry Brown.
Jenny Plagman and Abby Rosenthal demonstrated theirinvention, Stink Stopper, at the 1998 Invent, Iowa! state
2 The Goldfinch compeon. Read more about young inventors on
The Goldfinch (ISSN 0278-02081 is published quarterly bythe State Historical Society of Iowa, 402 Iowa Avenue,Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1806 (319/335-3916). Second-class postage paid at Iowa City, Iowa. Subscriptions are$9.95 for four issues.
Postmaster: Send address changes to: Carol Carey,subscriptions coordinator, The Goldfinch, State HistoricalSociety of Iowa, 402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1806. 0 State Historical Society of Iowa, 1998. Noportion of The Goldfinch may be reproduced without priorpermission except for classroom use.
lia).0, The Goldfinch is also available on cassette tape.!11 for the blind, the visually impaired, the physicallyhandicapped, and the learning disabled. For moreinformation contact the Iowa Department for the Blind,1-800-362-2587. Or write to the Iowa Department for theBlind Library, 524 4th St., Des Moines 50309.
FC;1-117
/
4 Iowa Inventorsfrom h to t
15 Patent That!20 Write Women
Back into History21 Nicholas Schrunk:
Kid Inventor22 Fort Madison
Inventor "Pens" History
Hey Izosie! Put on yourthinIting cap and las
travel across Iowa!
?rimgharV Spencer
30; Sionn LaeLt1 CherokeiVF6:
wati-84V4lanwn
'-Srnith l
Newtand V-'662wrie
'Qzonassa
Now Mampion
wa Union
We'll meettalented inventors
and investi9atetheir creations!
;Council Nuffs
Imogene
Waterloo
La PorteCiti
fkm.3g:
Do Moino VV44al'vell
?mil Indianola
Cantvg MI I-Cts4oviavs:This issue of The Goldfinch might help
generate ideas for your
1999 History Day project!%ctmrice, T6.elvviegy,
trtVerrg.ferl kts46-ry: ttpract9trif1hence9 Ciiang&
Competition Dates:Districts: February March 1999State: Junior Division April 26, 1999
Senior Division May 3, 1999National: June 13-17, 1999
Competition open to students in grades 6 through elV.For more information, contact Crystal Bailey, SHSI,
600 E. Locust, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.
VFroelich
Vicl;MarionCedar Rapids"
30:TiptonIowa C4t,t
woo ubort* 399:Davenport
3,0:11'orribur9 De mar
Osceola _,,Salent
Chardon t,tt,,,bur9 (rj: ;V:fhiriingtonaParto
DonnelZnQs, VPt. Macliwn3,v, ;Reogug
waa;DTA2 On the Cover
24 Dear Diary26 History Makers28 Goldfinch fiction:
The Dream Computer
esIS Inventor's Crossword
Puzzle
17 History Mystery25 Be a Diary Detective!
The Goldfinch 3
An invention begins with someone's good idea.Sometimes those ideas happen by accident. More often, inventions
result when creative people work hard to solve a prc,7311em or
to make life's chores a little easier.
1°' ags stuffed with letters were piled atop stage-coaches to travel between stage stop post offices inthe 1850s.
The problem: Dust and dirt blown into thebags soiled the mail. Rain and snow leaked in, re-ducing letters to a soggy mess.
The solufion: Charles A. Robbins andHarvey Allen designed an air-tight mailbag to pro-tect mail from dust and water. Robbins constructed
141
the p rototype bycrimping in elasticmaterial at themouth of the bag. 'stagecoaches
carried peopleHe was one of the and mailbags!
first Iowa City residents to ap-ply for a patent, which was granted on September7, 1852.
Robbins's inventions didn't stop when hesolved the soggy mail problem. He also patented aditching and excavating plow for turning prairie sod.
Ut;@tl,
Sharpen your #2 pencil and blacken the oval ofthe correct answer:
Everet E Lindquist, a professor of educationat the University of Iowa, devised:
CD the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in 1935CD the Iowa Tests of Educational Development
in 1942CD the first electronic scoring machineQV all of the above
The correct answer is CD all of the above.
4 The Goldfinch
Born in Gowrie, Lindquist earned national rec-ognition for his innovations in testing. Schoolsacross the nation used tests he developed, sendingthem in by the thousands for grading. Scoring themone by one was a tedious job. Lindquist dreamed ofan easier waythen invented the first electronicscoring machine-in 1952, even though he had nospecial training in electronics.
Now, when your teacher tells you it's time forbasic skills tests, you'll know whom to thank!
c)mow MINIUM
alarrn-kid vITho didn't
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li e the-hard-work of _1 L I 1 1 Li I I LLfarming. Picking corn by hand left him exhausted.But he liked tinkering with machines and dreamedof an easier way to get the job done.
By 1880, Lawler had drawn his ideas for a cornpicking machine on paper. With the help of John F.Barry, a lawyer from Chicago, Lawler built a work-ing model of his dream. Then, on a sunny afternoonin 1885, a crowd gathered at the Lawler farm nearWall Lake to watch the strange machine pick corn.Neighbors were amazed as the horse-drawn pickerpoured out a stream of husked ears.
A Chicago manufacturing company offeredLawler money for the rights to produce his machine,but he and Barry wanted to manufacture the cornpicker themselves. They purchased a blacksmithshop and built two machines but were unable tosell them. Lawler's first corn picker was sold forscrap in 1932.
A little boy standing inChristian Nelson's icecream shop in Onawa in1920 couldn't make uphis mind. Should he buyice cream or a chocolatebar?
Nelson's sweet treathas been in productionfor almost 80 years!
Inspired by the child's dilemma, Nelson ex-perimented with chocolate and cocoa butter untilhe found just the right mixture for a coating thatwould freeze on a slice of ice cream. He patentedhis creation, originally called the "I-Scream-Bar."
PHOTOS: SHSI (lowA
-apples, berries and -flo ers,could do curious things like graft-ing several varieties of fruit on onetree. He planted a new type of redraspberries that bore fruit evenin hot summer months. Then hediscovered what would becomethe most popular apple varietyin the worldby accident. Hiatt's tree
Hiatt found the unusualseedling in his orchard near Peru in MadisonCounty. Each time he tried to chop it out, the stub-born seedling grew back. So he let it grow, later dis-covering qualities he liked in the fruit. Hiatt calledthe apple variety "Hawkeye" and entered it in a fruitshow at the 1893 Missouri State Fair. When a judgebit into the apple and proclaimed it "delicious," thename stuck. A descendant of the original tree stillstands just north of Peru.
in 1922
Eskimo G2t;
Soon he teamed up with Russell Stover to producewhat became known as the Eskimo Pie.
The Eskimo Pie be- 74came a national sensation. U "Kids used toMore than one million sold hang around, justdaily at the height of its popu-larity. Demand for the frozentreat was so strong that ithelped lift cocoa- and choco-late-producing countries outof an economic depression.Not bad for a simple idea from an inventor in Onawa!
to eat hisfailures."
Mrs. Fred Otto, January1955, recalling Nelson's
ice cream shop. rz-zu
7 The Goldfinch 5
MOINENNE.
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Frank-A-Matic
0.6
EVIEESZLIalltrEfrankfurters-and sausag s.c onsumed-around ta 1,yorlddIced niablling creat d dnIO1 entorj
iRlaito4riserid1-$0444tihei4r1411-4.-MaFic in-11964.,
vention stuffed and linked 30,000 frankfurters and sausages per hour.This machine was one ofTownsend's many innovationsto boost the meat-packing in-dustry. Born in Des Moines in1913, Townsend is the inven-tor or co-inventor listed onmore than 70 U.S. patents.
This Frank-A-Matic is in the SHSI(Des Moines) Collection.
En 1892, John Froelich built thefirst gasoline-powered tractor thatpropelled itself backward and for-ward. His invention helped pavethe way for modern farming.
John grew up in Froelich, aClayton County town named afterhis father, Henry. John ran a feedmill and elevator, and tinkeredwith machines. Mounting a gaso-line engine on a well-drilling riggave him the idea to mount aninternal combustion engine on atractor. A few weeks later, the trac-tora forerunner of today's JohnDeere tractorswas shipped toSouth Dakota, where it threshed6 The Goldfinch
eimTvoelici?
72,000 bushels of w eat in 52days.
Froelich, with other inves-tors, founded the Waterloo Gaso-line Traction Engine Company in1893. This company eventuallybecame the John Deere TractorWorks.
Like many inventors,Froelich received little recogni-tion for his work during his life-time while others profited fromhis creations.
8 PHOTOS: SHSI (Iowa CirY)
IMMIPIMIMMIIMIMMINUMB
Helicopter
August \Verner had a vision. Hewanted to be the first person toinvent a heavier-than-air craftthat could actually flywith a per-son in it!
In 1880, Werner and hiswife, Martha (Mattie), moved toImogene, a settlement withfewer than 200 people. Wernerbuilt and operated a boarding-house and a restaurant. He alsoserved as the town's furnituredealer, cabinet maker, and un-dertakeroccupations that oftenwent together in the 1880s sincethe town cabinet maker had theskills needed to also make cof-fins.
But Werner lost interest inhis work. He didn't finish coffinstime, the restaurant ran short offood, and he neglected ordersfor cabinets. Instead, his atten-tion was focused on the smallmodel helicopters he designedand built in his carpenter shop.Werner believed he could builda full-sized helicopter that wouldcarry him into the air.
Driven by a wooden crankand spring that powered a pro-peller, the helicopter modelsflew up to the ceiling of his work-shop. For months, Werner se-cretly worked on his inventions.Finally, early in 1886, he an-nounced plans to build a full-
cde-t-ed-f-4
sized helicopter and fly to Wash-ington D.C. to have lunch with thepresident of the United States!
On July 4, 1886, Werner anda passenger, Imogene residentJohn Barker, got into the helicop-ter. As they worked the handcranks and foot pedals, the heli-copter blade began to rotate fasterand faster. Finally, according toseveral witnesses, the machinerose about four feet off of theground before one of the woodencogs gave way and the helicoptercrashed into a heap. Depressedand humiliated, Werner neveragain attempted to fly.
Although Werner's flight didnot take him to see the president,it represented a great accomplish-ment. His four-foot flight tookplace seventeen years before theWright brothers took their his-toric first flight at Kitty Hawk.Werner's vision and couragemade him a pioneer in aviation.
-by Jan Wolbers
W henRebeccaJohnson'shusbanddied, theMaxwellwoman had to support three young children on her own. Clean-ing houses and sewing did not pay enough, so Johnson usedher small inheritance to buy a house, eight acres of land, twocows, a few pigs, and several dozen hens. She raised chickensyear-round, paying careful attention to their needs. She built ahen house that was so warm her hens laid eggs all winter. Shelater wrote, "I fed them cabbage, beets, turnips, squash, on-ions, for I knew to produce eggs in winter I would have to makeconditions as near like those of the warmer months as pos-sible.... I never let them out on cold days."
Soon she made enough money selling eggs for 18 centsper dozen to pay her living expenses and feed her animals. Inthe late 1800s Johnson made her first incubator.
Using incubators, Johnson hatched 5,000 chickens in oneseason. Later in her poultry career, she hatched half that amountin a single day! Eventually, she made $300 monthly during thebusy part of the year. Newspapers wrote about her skills. Shereceived so many letters asking for advice that she wrote a book.Johnson published How to Hatch, Brood, Feed and PreventChicks from Dying in the Shell in 1906.
In 1907, Johnson received U.S. Patent No. 894,835 for anincubator alarm. The device alerted farmers to changing tem-peratures within the incubator. Later, she refined her inven-tion so the thermostat raised and lowered the wick of a heatlamp.
Rebecca Johnson's poultry business (and inventiveness!)supported her family PHOTO: SHSI (Des MoiNes)
3by Katheline House The Goldfinch 7
1tt,
1
__ Johnston @ a;lailluV Machine Attachments--I 1E1i Illirli,
A n Jpi rIstoin srld spiringpiachines to-earn isIimway- hrough-dentablapprentieeship-in-thie 1860klitl_wil 1,1 1 1 14--1--1-4--4_ _ _, _ i_ _ _ -, _
1
ments in his spare time, creating devices that wouldmake his sewing machines better than those soldby competitors. Seamstresses used his attachmentsto decorate clothing and curtains with ruffles andfancy stitching popular after the Civil War. His gad-gets saved hours of tedious handstitching andearned Johnston recognition as an inventor. But itwas his childhood that had prepared him for hiscareer.
Johnston grew up on a farm in Wapello Countynear Blakesburg. His family didn't have money fortoys, so Johnston built them himself. He fashionedsleds, ice skates, wagons, and bows and arrows frommaterials he found around home. When Johnstonneeded a baseball he wound yarn in a tight ball thenused squirrel skin he tanned himself for the cover.If he didn't have the tools he needed, he made them,too.
Bliss submitted this drawingwith her patent application.
(1,1 osephine Bliss ofPrimghar must havebeen a very organizedwomanor at least shewanted to be! In 1878,she was granted a patentfor a kitchen table that
had a series of boxes with hinged lids, a reversiblemolding board for shaping pastries, sliding endgrates, and front storage drawers.8 The Goldfinch 1 0
enJohnston's
childhoodprepared him
for a careeras an
inventor.
PHOTO COURTESY: WAPELLO COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Johnston built a machine for cracking hazel-nuts (hulling them by hand was slow, hard work),turned his mother's spinning wheel into a drill tobore holes in metal and wood, then adapted thespinning wheel again for use as a lathe.
"Many a night have I sat up and sewed a ballcover together so that I could take it to school thenext day," Johnston wrote. It's not surprising thatthis child became an inventor who received 129 pat-ents from 1870 to 1925.
0 bstacles on railroad tracks created collisionhazards for trains speeding across the countryside.James Mitchell of Osceola patented this early de-velopment in locomotive cow catchers. The device,mounted on the front of the engine, helped removelivestock or debris from the tracks without derail-ing the train.
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111IIMIIP11111111111111111M1.W 111111111
PIM Merry-go-roundiii";NonJuly 5 71 '11
. .: chneider of iienport wa i ued a pa en for his i erry-golroun esign. is inven ion attracted crow s ochildren but wasn't successful financially.
Schneider built a two-story merry-go-roundfor public demonstration shortly after receivinghis patent. Kids crowded aboard. They especiallyloved the second-story seats!
"Within each compartment may be placeda sofa, imitation horse, or other suitable seat,"Schneider wrote in his patent. A staircase led tothe second level. Schneider's carousel could bepushed by hand from a platform in the upper level(an awful job!) or powered by horses. Eventuallygas and steam engines were adapted to poweramusement devices like Schneider's.
7
308,33 0
UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,
WIELIIELid SCHNEIDER, OP I:TART:PDC/AT; IOWA,
IMPALEMENT 1-tf C-AEROUSEL S. '
Sri... Rind. 1.t0 Lattnnauttlts.Itt,..t, &awl ttet. .
To on trlow i01911.1. it known that 1, 1Vditnuat Renxttiottn,
of Davenport, in tho tonally of Stott nal Mateof born, have invaded a and 1o100,01 ear.ronscl; I do hereby tlitelttra that the Toilet,ing o MD clear, ood maid description thi.reaf,which .11 amt. utile. Um art totoLt ahd rise tho satin refer.. httag hod-totthe acanntionying drawmg naming port or this
mFigure I reprroontro vett itn1 centml roction of
my immured Unpinsel,t.linenrig tho ptano of eeation. Fig. 0 is riroltiol, of
an Mverted plan view of the .1111e.,Similar letteniof referowe intik-ate eonexpotil,
ing parts.Illahmsttion tn efor 0000 g.500t Of
ottrtinuterorrutery pavilion otwolimmblie pArkeand oth. 120070 of tonttellnott. nnol 1312, rot' itsolirect to provide ample atvonoundation for on,etwantt, sobstontin1 mode of const] o01itm,00.1coutrmient unDual of guiding it liming motion.
The Invention consist, 1r makiog tha oirrousel.io two 0000,and in providing a stairomeeithinthe tented solyetting-ftwne to andhll persons toreach the recentt story.
A ha the doming lopremsdstheatottonary mop.porting-post of my imiatttrilf Itjloo
ZrZ,170.T107,..Bracer U 0 extend Rom Om hare A t upper10,01 of the post, Anil moody it. They oho aorreto hold a dial: or dreelar platform, 0, which em.braces the talst, as sheen, and entailer Upperphttfornre. D is the rotary frame of the car..mos& It Is renetructett ot 0 rorireef nprightposte, ej, horizontal beano y A ft inclined brio.jj, aud roofritubeni 1, all dispowd aubstantially
Militated tu Fig. 1, to constittne two Morten,Baud P, or annular chamber. Tbelow. largerMory or chamber B eaten& to Ate height of the.
Iditlfaint e. Ito litiOR-diameter ill 81.1 to themiter dinuteter of the opper.eltreolier or story F,wham, Itnor Ls in lineeith o and its ceiling LineIan, 11111 idatfbnu It. Th.:enter of the roof, eon.Mitnt. air inverted socket, /, which the small1111kr rod Or MP 1001 enters, as shown. 0 0ant'frictiottrollera, tgodied to the floorof the'violin'. It, owl working spinet the edge of thoplotfann r, to stoutly the 08n010801 lotto rotation.
Octoon or oppatuttet for Coming the carrouselnttott the platform d mot ratites rhe
amerce. 1.t. Radial partitions may be a...etawithin the nannlar chambem to divide the sameinto cares of small apartment. Within eacheunkartment may ho pineal a eot13,1mitetionher., or other emit:Mkt seat. Smiles.. II IIare tntlit along the Unitas 0 Of the stationarysupport ta enable pentune to enter and Nave theupper stony. tort bolt, npillica to the base 13,to lank Into on eye or staple at the bonito. ot therutrourol, to picot01 rotation of the Mime Planoever 11121,011,1 to leave it at rest. The inkstier of cool, npartntent may be furnished Intilembellished In euitoble manner, and also the outaide of the tiarrottsel.
Iinsing.thos decanted mv intention, I claim'An non and deal. to seam by Letters Patent.. I. The camonsel, mode In two stories, E ena
the loner eutbrocing the upper, as specifier!.1. The staircase Et, applied to the stationary
Ammo of the two-story carrousel, substantianyifs nod fur the purpose herein chi...tr.:ma dc,erribill.
, 0 The pont rt, provided with the platform,.d mill etain.so II, to constitute the sepport of'0 .Asitniel, hi the manner deseribed.
WILLEIEL)I SCHNEIDER..
..Witnerres:JO. WITS,P. klarlis..
. ,
i 1 1 1 I
c f A; r
-oni
f4k411'r;10:
It was I;ackthat e Davenp4;rl'inventor,
Willhelm Schneider, filed hisplans in the patent office.
These drawings appearedin the Des MoinesMorning Register onAugust 21, 1949,illustrating an articlewhich described WillhelmSchneider's invention.Schneider's patent(bottom left) was issuedfor an improvement incarousels.
Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers was born in Burlington on April27, 1898. He died April 29, 1937just 20 days after applyingfor Patent 2,130,948 covering the production of nylon yarn.
Carothers taught at the University of Illinois and atHarvard before joining the DuPont Company in 1928. He re-searched polymers (long chain molecules) and contributedto work on synthetic rubber. In 1937, Carothers patented thematerial that would become known as nylon and differentmethods for creating it. Carothers died before the new mate-rial was named.
Nylon hosiery first went on sale in May 1940. Todaynylon is used in many more products.Cav yoh varpe soiTe nylon rreethe4s yeix hse?
ilLThe Goldfinch 9
Obstacles
ac -rna iobs acle -alon them d-o discoverySome mes th ir-ide s ar -ah ad-of- }heir-ittme and-no-one
ill listen Gr w rs , every ne 1 1W1 1 1 1 1 I I I Iaug .
Sometimes it's hard to turn a good idea into somethingthat really works. Often inventors have to fight court battlesto protect their creations. Inventors are people who over-come obstacles.
George Washington Carver knew all about obstacles.You may know that he developed 300 uses for peanuts andthat his innovations revitalized the dying agricultural indus-try of the South. But did you know he was born a slave?
George was an infant when heand his mother were kidnapped nearthe end of the Civil War. His motherwas never found, but a rescue partyexchanged him for a racehorseowned by Moses Carver. Moses andhis wife raised George (who adoptedthe Carver's last name). They taughthim to read and write and later senthim to school. He earned a collegescholarshipbut when he arrivedon campus, he was denied admissionbecause his skin was black.
Carver was discouraged, buthe didn't give up. He worked and saved money for his edu-cation. In 1890, Simpson College in Indianola welcomedCarver. The following year he transferred to what is nowIowa State University to pursue an education in science. Heearned an undergraduate degree in 1894 and was appointedto the faculty to teach agriculture and botany while studyingfor a master's degree, which he received in 1896.
Carver left Iowa State to head the agriculture depart-ment at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he conductedthe plant research that made him famous.
George Washington Carver
10 The Goldfinch 12
The GoOdfinch asked JeanStrong, who grew aup on a Varmnear Marion in the 1930s, torecall the invention with thegreatest impact on her child-hood. Here's what she said:
rrhe power lift on our tractorI was the most memorable in-
vention of my young life. Thefarm where I grew up, one milefrom Marion, had electricity longbefore most Iowa farms. But thepower lift became popular duringmy 1930s childhood and was amarvel.
The power lift empoweredmea mere child and a girl atthatto cultivate corn, two rowsat a time, when I was 12.
Before this advance in farmmachinery, my father used asingle-row, two-wheel cultivatordrawn by a team of horses. Mylegs and arms were not strongenough to push the plow sharesinto the ground on either side ofa corn row and, at the same time,guide the team across the fieldlike my father did.
Our two-row corn cultivatorwas attached to a Case tractor,and could be lowered into the soilat one end of the corn rows andpulled back up at the other end.This marvelous feat was activated
by Jean Strong
by the touch ofa boot heel tothe power-liftbutton, locatedbeneath theoperator'sseat, whilesteering thetractor. I wasable to help myfather "lay by" (cultivate) our cornacres during the growing season.Weather permitting, we hoped to de-feat the weeds and see knee-high cornby the Fourth of July.
With the tractor's hydraulic de-vice, farmers completed heavy workwith speed and ease. Unlike horses,the tractor did not get tired nor needfrequent rest stops.
Like many farming implements,the device had its down side. Powerlifts could be dangerous. Before pro-tective power-drive guards were in-stalled, many children were maimedor killed when clothing caught in themechanism.
Tractors in those days did nothave cabs to protect the operator fromthe scorching sun. My dad, who oncesuffered heat stroke in the barn hay-loft during haying season, created hisown shade. He attached a frame ofwood to the fenders, then nailed bur-lap to the frame. Dad pioneered his"invention" long before air-condi-tioned cabs became options.
Jean, Doris, George,and Eileen Strongwith their pony, Lady.Jean was 11 yearsold when this photowas taken on theirfarm near Marion in1936.
wprnlIMMEENSETI E.
I.hat
c aHeng . nt'v thingsin a new wa or to improve curren meth-'Hiods for getting things done. Accordingto Allen B. Sharp,
66There are plenty ofthings left to invent.We just haven'tthought of them yet.PP
ds-to-do
Sharp is co-founder of Al-jon, an Ottumwacompany that produces car-crushing andrecycling equipment. He is also the great-grandson of another famous Ottumwa in-ventor: Allen Johnston.
Maybe you don't recognize the name Mildred Day. But you'veprobably tasted her invention. Day developed Rice KrispiesTMbars in the late 1920s as a fund-raiser for a Campfire Girlsgroup. Kids of all ages still enjoy the gooey blend of cereal,marshmallows, and butter she created.
Born in Marion County, Day was a 1928 graduate of IowaState University in Ames. She worked at Kellogg Co. in BattleCreek, Michigan. Rice KrispiesTMcereal went on the market in 1928,but Rice Krispies Treats' weren'tintroduced to the public until the1940s. The recipe first appeared oncereal boxes in 1941. Today, youcan make them yourselfor buythem prepackaged.
13
i
C)V (th111111j1111111111111M1110111111111111111manim..111.1111
1-988Tartis c Shmer-BroI11 .4er-of_ .ewelLwas experimenting.m.her
siudrol.-§lire[Yested-l-intylpejofink made from soybean oil. Un-fortunately, this ink did not dryat all and was hard to clean up.Next, Brower visited scientists atIowa State University and otherlabs. After more experimentation,she created a formula for fasterdrying soy ink. Brower liked us-ing this ink because farmers growsoy beans throughout Iowa.
After some publicity, Browerreceived phone calls from print-ers wanting to know more abouther discovery. "As an artist, Ididn't intend to invent anything,"she said. "I think that's how inven-tions happen out of necessity. Iwas trying to do something differ-ent." She talked to officials of alarge ink company about produc-ing her invention, but they werenot interested.
-
,
142,0
Sharen Brower
In 1991, Brower obtainedpatents for formulas for soy news-paper ink, artist's ink, paint, andother products. Later, she learnedthe ink company that hadn't beeninterested in her invention wasselling a product a lot like hers.The company told her theywanted to negotiate a licensingagreement so they could continueto manufacture the ink. Whenthey couldn't reach an agree-ment, the company sued Browerclaiming her patent was invalid.
./..-byKatherine House 111111
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NM MI..11..
Browe -fough -bac -hela. L.4.4.L...LJsuft-took-s 0 -much-of her-time
1 i . 1 1 . 1 1..that.shEirtall I
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settled out of court. Brower can-not discuss how much money shereceived from the ink company,but she is "very happy with thesettlement." She now lives on aranch in Wyoming with her fam-ily and has resumed painting.
Your local newspaper mightbe printed with soy ink. Manyprinters place a special seal ontheir products to show readersthat they use soy ink. The SoySealis available from the National SoyInk Information Center inUrbandale. Soy inks are better forthe environment than petroleum-based inks because they havefewer volatile organic compoundswhich react with other pollutantsto form smog. Also, experts sayit's easier to remove soy inks frompaper when recycling.
Cedar Rapids native George ENissen loved to bounce. And heknew that most kids do, too. As akid, Nissen's heroes were circusacrobats. As a college student inthe 1930s, Nissen was a nationalintercollegiate tumbling cham-
12 The Goldfinch
pion. Nissen invented the moderntrampoline, building his firstmodel in 1931. By 1940, he pro-duced trampolines full-time at hishome. The business grew, andNissen moved production to aCedar Rapids factory site in 1947.Nissen sold his trampoline manu-
facturing business to a New Jer-sey company in 1981.
In the mid-1980s, Nissenformed a research firm to developathletic products. In 1991, at age76, Nissen was back in the busi-ness of inventing with new devel-opments in bleacher seating.
Sometimes ideas forinventions splashdown with the rain.Just ask Maggie Boyd,12, of Burlington. As asixth-grader at OakStreet Middle School,Maggie demonstratedthe Rain Rider Helmetfor Invention Conven-tion judges on March 12, 1998. Weather was her inspirationshecame up with the idea while riding her bicycle and trying to hold anumbrella at the same time.
VtaaWashing clothes used to beback-breaking work. Water had tobe hauled in buckets and heated.Then clothes were rubbedagainst a washboard by hand,rinsed in a tub of clean water, andhung out to dry.
By 1873, more than 2,000patents had been granted for ma-chines to lighten the burden onwash day. One of those patentswent to Silas Streetor of
Machine
Smith land. Would you have rec-ognized this contraption as awashing machine?
IIIIIIuIIIIIHhIuIIII7 '// 1,,o,
minalusarmeed-a-snack?-Plug IT
NI some change intoa vending machine andyou'll be using an Iowainventor's creation.
In 1931, F. A. Wittern in-vested his last $12.50 to buy someused tools and start a companythat became one of the nation'sbiggest vending machine manu-facturers. Today, Fawn Engineer-ing Co. is located in Clive.
Wittern was always good atturning ideas into mechanicalmodels. He was 16 when, duringWorld War I, he came up with theidea of magnetic mines. Im-pressed with Wittern's ideas,President Woodrow Wilson of-fered the young inventor a posi-tion in the War Department's ex-perimental division.
Wittern held 30 patents bythe time he opened his businessin a Des Moines garage in 1931.The first machine his companyproduced was a coin-operatedbaseball game. Wittern alwayslooked for new and better waysto build his machines. Soon FawnEngineering earned the reputa-tion for producing the best de-signed machines available.
The Goldfinch 13
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Alexia Abernathy of Cedar Rapids was 14 yearsold when she was among the first inventors chosenfor the National Gallery for America's Young Inven-tors in 1996.
Her invention, the Oops! Proof No-spill Feed-ing Bowl, began as a project for Invent, Iowa! whenshe was a fifth-grader at Johnson Elementary Schoolin Cedar Rapids.
The Oops! Proof bowl has an 8-oz. inner bowlwhich fits into a 16-oz. outer bowl. A rim fits overthe outter bowl, directing potential spills into it. Shegot the idea while watching a 2-year-old who oftenspilled his cereal.
Alexia convinced Little Kids, Inc., of East Provi-dence, Rhode Island, that her invention was a mar-ketable idea. Little Kids produced the bowl from1994 to 1998. "They just took it out of production,"
2oped the first digitalcomputer in the 1930s while teaching at IowaState University. Read "The Dream Com-
puter" beginning on page 28 tolearn more about his invention!
Young Inventors!
Alexia explained, "when the company went to alltoys." The license to produce the Oops! Proof bowlwill return to Alexia. But she's headed for collegein the fall and hasn't decided whether or not she'lltry to find another company to manufacture her in-vention.
"When I invented (the Oops! Proof bowl), itwasn't to market and make money from it. It wasfor fun," Alexia said.
Zis for Zfiltanig of Iowa ideas, inventors, andinventions throughout historyand even more tocome. Want to know more? Iteep AReadtrigi14 The Goldfinch
Alexia Abernathy in 1994mama - -MM/g, =1..
/
,rabIL.
ry Brian Page,
o appl cation. Thrw_ciets allor
Sixty-tho Sand.----That-ls-about--0 make-anLinventors-to-proi-frm-their in-
oath--as-to the- .Puth ventions, ieither-by-putting-themfiOhow many Iowans have receivedpatents for their inventions since1836. For the nation as a whole,the number of patents grantedstands at about six million andcounting!
The United States began is-suing patents in 1790 under the di-rection of Thomas Jefferson, thenSecretary of State. In 1836, Con-gress revised the patent applica-tion process and established theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office(vro) to administer the new sys-tem. The main type of patent is-sued by the Fro is a utility patent.Utility patents are granted to per-sons who invent new industrialprocesses (that is, new ways ofmaking things, new machines,new manufactured items, or newchemical compositions). To bepatented, such inventions mustalso be usefulthey must actuallywork! One cannot receive a patenton merely a good idea.
A patent application involvesseveral parts. An inventor must:
0 submit a written document de-scribing the invention in detailalong with a claim for why it isnew and distinct,
fulness and accuracy of allstatements made in the appli-cation,
0 provide drawings of the inven-tion, and
0 pay filing-related feesranging from a few hundred toa thousand dollars.
Many inventors hire special-ized patent agents or attorneys tosearch patent records and pre-pare documents for filing with thevro. It takes the pm about ayear to examine the patent appli-cation and make a decision.
Ever heard the term "patentpending?" It indicates that an in-ventor or company has an appli-cation on file with the PTO and iswaiting for a decision to be made.Patents are granted to about twoout of every three applicants.Once an invention is patented, in-ventors must pay additional peri-odic maintenance fees amountingto several thousand dollars overthe life of the patent.
Obtaining a patent gives aninventor the right to exclude oth-ers from making, using, or sell-ing the invention in the UnitedStates for 17 years from the date
to use themselves or by sellingtheir patents to others. In return,inventors are required to disclosetheir inventions so that societymay benefit through other inven-tors' attempts to improve upon ordesign around the inventions.
It is important to remember,however, that a patent does notguarantee the commercial suc-cess of an invention. There areover 130,000 patents issued everyyear. Many of the new inventionsnever make enough money tocover the costs of applying for pat-ents! It is also important to re-member that revolutionary inven-tions are extremely rare. In fact,most patents are issued for verysmall improvements to existingtechnologies. Economically suc-cessful inventions like automo-biles or computers, for example,were not patented in their en-tirety. Such technologies seldomemerge fully developed from themind of a single inventor at asingle point in time. Instead, theyare built up gradually from abroad range of smaller inventionscoming from hundreds, eventhousands, of creative people. :s
The Goldfinch 15
$0'00\H4eynTen or'sCrossword
uzzle
8 10
11
12
6De-sAry2. Christian Nelson
invented the pie.4. The lift empowered
Jean Strong to cultivate corn.5. The man who invented
died before he couldname his discovery.
7. Get a fromEA. Wittern's invention.
8. Charles A. Robbinsinvented a better
9. John Froelich built thefirst tractor.
10. Hiatt's apple.12. Phebe R. Lamborn
patented a fiy-screenattachment for this.
14. Patrick Lawler invented amachine to pick this crop.
17. Invent, ! is a contestfor creative kids.
16 The Goldfinch
13 14
16 17
8
15
Ang(9%%1. E.E Lindquist invented the
Iowa of Basic Skills.3. Walter Sheaffer patented a
lever-fill pen.6. The next great Iowa inventor
could be !
8. Willhelm Schneider wasissued an early patentfor a
11. Inventions often start withone person's
12. Thank Ray Townsend nexttime you eat a hot
13. Patent 18,348 went toJames Mitchell for the
cow catcher.18
15.
16.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Sharen Brower patented aformula for soyAugust Werner'sflying machinewas heavier thanOne of the toysAllen Johnstonbuilt for himself as a kid.Rebecca Johnsontinkered withIowa town with afamous ice cream shop.Mildred Day inventedthe recipe forRice Krispies
by Millie Frese
-by Diane Nelson
More than 50 Iowa women received patents in the 1800s.Can you match the women listed with their inventions?
Lucinda Humphrey, Tipton Attachment for pants (1881)
Matilda Fletcher, Des Moines 1 Fly-screen-door attachment (1884)
Annis Hurd, Waterloo U Clothes drainer (1891)
Mary R. Barhydt, Burlington
May A. Start, Cherokee
Viola J. Augir, Spencer
Phebe R. Lamborn, West Liberty
Mary Coup lin, Thornburg
Mary E. Tisdale, Cedar Rapids
Louisa J. Schelley, Keokuk
Dora Mitchell, Ottumwa
Cornelia C. Wood, Sibley
Ida Smith, West Union
Anna L. Eversmeyer, La Porte City
Annie R. Chittenden, Osceola
Elma M. Mitchell, Salem
Nell 0. Westberg, Sanborn
Annie C. Cook, Council Bluffs
Margaret E. Jehu, Estherville,
Milk-can elevator (1884)
Portable trunk (1874)
Toasting device for stoves (1891)
Road cart (1891)
Bunk for railway cars (1887)
Hair-puffing pins (1876)
Band-cutter and feeder (1893)
Skirt protector (1862)
Egg-boiler and caster (1885)
Apparatus for cooking, broiling, baking, etc. (1894)
Chart for drafting garments (1882)
Plow (1891)
Guard for bedsteads (1885)
Vegetable-slicing machine (1894)
Album for photographs (1883)
Picture-hanger (1886)1-9
owa women mixed creativity andimagination with the desire to solveproblems and make life easier in the
1 00s. Their efforts often produced usefulinventionsand more than 50 patents.One example:
69r'y POI'S was a 20-year-old homemakerin Ottumwa in 1871 when she made a difficult choreeasier for herselfand women around the worldby improving the sadiron.
Before Potts' invention, the entire sadiron, in-cluding the attached metal handle, was heated on astove. Women used pot holders to keep from burn-ing their hands as they ironed. Potts designed awooden handle that detached while the iron heatedon the stove, keeping the handle (and her fingers!)cool. Her invention, available through the Sears,Roebuck & Co. catalog, remained popular until elec-tric irons became popular in the early 1900s.
Now back to the History NALucinda Humphrey (Tipton) may have been thefirst Iowa woman to receive a patent. Her skirt pro-tector was registered in April 1862.
We don't know ifMatilda Fletcher (DesMoines) liked to travel,but we do know she re-ceived a patent for a por-table trunk in 1874.
Women in the 1870sdidn't have electric hair-styling gadgets. Perhaps
portable trunk
MRS. POTTS' SAD IRONSWith Forged Stretcher Handle.
The only Potts' sads having forged stretcherhandle. Admitted by all to be the best sad iron made.Set consists of one iron with rounded end, weight4pounds; two with regular ends, one weighs 5%pounds and one 5% pounds; one detachable woodhandle with forged stretcher. This handle will notbreak if you happen to drop it on the floor; one ironstand.
No. 23R345 The original genuine Mrs. Pott's SadIron, in sets of three, with detachable wood handle.having forged stretcher as described above and ironstand, finely polished. Price, per set 137e
No. 23R346 Set of three genine Mrs. Potts' Sado,as above, finely polished and nickel plated.
Price, per set. 73eNo. 231/350 Extra handle with forged stretcher,
won't break, If you happen to drop it on the floor.Price, each 11SeNo. 23 g353 Extra handle with cast stretcher.Price, each Sc
If by mall, postage extra, 10 cents.No. 23R360 Mrs. Potts'
Solid Sad Iron, nickel platedwithout handle. LI and leNo. 251050 or 2312.353 fits thisIron.
Weight, lbs... 4 5 8 7 8 9 10Price, each ....18e 23e 27o 32o 36a 410 450
This ad for Mrs. Potts' sadironsappeared in the 1902 Sears,Roebuck & Co. catalog.
W9r Case Solved!some of them used the hair-puff-ing pins patented byAnnis Hurd(Waterloo) in 1876.
No doubt many women de-vised new methods for their sewing tasks. MaryR. Barhydt (Burlington) combined elastic stripsand buttonholes in what she called an attachmentfor pants. It received a patent in 1881. May A. Start(Cherokee) patented her chart for drafting ladies'and children's clothes in 1882.
As photography became more popular, peoplelooked for creative ways to display their photos.
Viola J. Augir (Spencer)patented her photograph al-bum five years beforeGeorge Eastman introducedhis simple box camera. Metal clips held the photos
in place.Phebe R. Lamborn
(West Liberty) didn't wantthe flies and other insects thatsat on her door to come in-side when the door wasopened. Herfly-screen-door at-tachment received a patent in1884.
When Mary Coup lin(Thornburg) patented her milk-can elevator she in-cluded a six-step description of how the rollers, pivotarm, and shaft worked.
Mary E. Tisdale (Ce-dar Rapids) patented an eggboiler and caster in 1885. Ahandle on the central stem al-lowed the two rings fittedwith egg-holding cups to belowered into and then raisedfrom a kettle of boiling water.
To avoid falling out of bed, you might want totry the guard for bedsteads patented by Louisa J.Schelley (Keokuk) in 1885.
If you've ever struggled to reach the nail whenhanging a picture, you might appreciate thepicture-hanger patented by Dora Mitchell (Ottumwa) in1886.
Only 17 years after the first settlers reachedher county, Cornelia C. Wood (Sibley) registeredher patent for a bunk for railway cars.
Decades before electric toasters became avail-able, Ida Smith (West Union) received a patent for
co"fibili`4111
ea *lira .0,ir
egg boiler
-by Diane Nelson
her cooking, toasting, and shielding device for stoves.It had an adjustable toasting rack and a removableshielding plate.
To make it easier to remove clothes from thewash water, Anna L. Eversmeyer (La Porte City)patented a clothes drainer in 1891. The lidded ves-sel had holes in the sides, handles, and a remov-able support system.
Many people experi-mented with different typesand shapes of p/ows. In theearly 1890s, Elma M. andJohn E. Mitchell (Salem)patented at least four. Thefirst, in 1891, had a series ofparallel curved bars with disconnected lower points.
Later that year, Annie R. Chittenden(Osceola) received apatent for a road cart inwhich the seat andfootbox were connectedto a spring.
Trying to find aneasier way to do a rou-tine task, Nell 0.Westberg (Sanborn)devised a complicated-looking band-cutter andfeeder intended for use with a threshing machine.
Margaret E. Jebu (Estherville) received apatent for her apparatus for cooking, broiling, bak-ing, etc. The separable parts included two hot airchambers with open tops and bottoms, a deflector,a griddle, a broiler, and a lid.
In 1894, Annie C. Cook (Council Bluffs) re-ceived a patent for a vegetable-slicing machine thatused a rotary platform and a disk carrying radialputt ers attached to a shaft with a handle..:.5-
Oufthinch gg
Write-Q4Jomen-Melinda Pad ley won first place in the Women In Science andEngineering category of the 1998 Write Women Back into HistoryContest with this essay about her innovative great-great-aunt.
CilTertrude Sunder lin, my great-great-aunt, was born1 elmar, Iowa, on August 27, 1884.
She started school in 1899 and graduated in 1913as valedictorian of Ames High School. After that, sheentered Iowa State University. In college she belongedto Kappa Delta, the literary society, and was in a play,too. Before she graduated from ISU, she taught inMarathon, Iowa, and West Branch. In 1919, she gradu-ated from ISU, where she was the honor student ofthe College of Home Economics.
Gertrude received free tuition to go to any Iowacollege as a prize for being Ames High School Vale-dictorian. Money was always a problem in her family,and she was very generous with the money she madefrom teaching. She even helped put her two sistersthrough college. Later, it is believed by the family,she provided funds anonymously for Gertrude Mae(her niece and my grandmother) to go to IowaWesleyan College when Gertrude Mae's Purduescholarship was lost due to illness.
In 1921, she went to a Garrett Theological Insti-tute, but she got ill and couldn't continue her studiesthere. After recovering, she taught at a college inBrookings, South Dakota. In 1926, she got a Masterof Science degree in household bacteriology fromISU. Then in 1928, she became the first woman toreceive a Ph.D. in bacteriology and food and nutri-tion from the College of Home Economics at ISU.While getting her Ph.D., she received funding fromthe Ball Fruit Jar Company.
After that she taught at Louisiana State Univer-sity from 1928 to 1931. In 1931, she went to teach atthe Purdue College of Home Economics. She taughtand experimented with foods while she was there.
In 1948, she and one of her students invented
Mellndastudentteaeher,
Paciley,Linn-Mar
SusanRosemary@ft
HtOtHuffman
Thornsonreceived
Sehool Marion.Nno ftik?
VlaQ waaeenter)award
G.te
MELINDA
EnglishRepresentative
Melinda91cot Governor
*ughBranstad
Master Mix. This was the first mix of this kind (it is alot like Bisquick now). Her students and she published1,500 copies of the Master Mix book and traveledaround the world distributing the books and food madefrom Master Mix. This mix was the forerunner for allmixes. She didn't want to patent this idea, so PurdueUniversity sold it to different food companies.
After the Master Mix, she worked on recipes forfreezing jams, jellies, batters, and dough. In 1958, shewas given the Centennial Citation from the Alumni As-sociation of ISU. One of her students invented StoveTop Stuffing.
Gertrude was a master weaver, an excellentbridge player and enjoyed gardening. She was veryactive after retiring in 1954 and moved to Iowa City,quietly helping some yAupg people financially throughcollege. 2' '
20 The Goldfinch PHOTO COURTESY: MELINDA PADLEY
-v-I=1
0
Nicholas Schrunk, 13, of Spt Lakedescribed his irwentive interests
for The Goldfinch.
got interested in inventing because of a guineapig named Freckles.
It all started during first grade when a teacherannounced the Invent, Iowa! corn-petition. My parents said theywould help me if I came up with anidea. I knew that all inventors startout with a problem to solve. My firststep, then, was to come up with aproblem.
My guinea pig, Freckles,needed exercise. But my momdidn't like the idea of Freckles run-ning all over our house. I used aconstruction set that included mo-tors, gears, and batteries to inventa solution. After working out bal-ance problems and adding new fea-tures (such as my mom's kitchentimer), I came up with my first in-vention: the Motorized Guinea PigWalker. The battery-operated machine rolled acrossthe kitchen floor. Lettuce (his favorite food) on a hooklured Freckles to follow. I prepared a poster, practicedmy oral presentation, and entered the local Invent,Iowa! contest. I advanced to state competition withmy Motorized Guinea Pig Walker and won! I receivedan honorary patent, signed by the governor, and a$50 savings bond. That was great!
Some of my friends ask me how I come up withso many ideas. For me it's always easiest when I canjust identify an everyday problem and just go fromthere. I add to or modify my ideas until I'm satisfied.I keep a detailed notebook as I go along. I like to buildmy inventions, but often I sketch and label them as Ithink of new things. For the Invent, Iowa! competi-
tion, it is important to be able to
okas arcl r\reckckes
PHOTOS COURTESY: NICHOLAS SCHRUM<
present your invention wellthat's part of the judging. I role-play my presentations with mydad or mom before the compe-tition. I always try to shake thejudge's hand, speak clearly, andbe organized. Prior to judging, I.always take my inventionsaround to businesses and getopinions about whether or notmy ideas would sell. I includethat information in my presen-tation.
Support from my familyhelps a lot. My dad is always will-ing to help me build my inven-tions. My morn helps me with
materials for making posters. My whole family (mythree sisters are inventors, too) bounces ideas off eachother when we're in the car or eating dinner together.
For anyone even a little bit interested in invent-ing, I would strongly encourage you to try. It can be alot of fun! '
tkead \-rloYe about 'Invert,Iowa) or (3k9e Gl.ct!
The Goldfinch 21
alter Sheaffer didn't like the messy job of refillingfountain pens. It took a steady hand and either an eyedropper or a coin pressed into a slot in the barrel to add
ink to most fountain pens of the day. There had to be a simple, cleanplution to this inky dilemma. Sheaffer was determined to find it.
While flipping through a newspaper one evening in 1907,Sheaffer got an idea for a new kind of pen. Working in the back roomof his Fort Madison jewelry store, he invented a lever mechanismthat fit smoothly into the pen's barrel. A single stroke of this slim,metal lever filled the pen's internal reservoir with ink directly fromthe bottle. No more eyedroppers or coins!
Sheaffer worked on a model of the first practical self-filling foun-tain pen, and on August 25, 1908, he obtained U.S. Patent No. 896,861for his revolutionary design.
His instinct and experience as a salesman convinced Sheafferthat he had a great idea. He assembled extra models of an improveddesign, patented in 1912, and had friends try them out. They lovedthe pensbut advised him against going into the pen business.
Why take a chance on losing everything? they cautioned. Sheafferwas 45 years old and supported his family through a successful jew-elry business. He'd have to risk his business and borrow money tocompete with at least 58 companies already in the field. If his pencompany failed, he'd lose everything.
In the spring of 1912, the jewelry store workshop became a penfactory. Seven employees, including Sheaffer's son, Craig, crowdedinside to fashion the first Sheaffer pens.
Sheaffer's company fought life-and-death legal battles to pro-tect his patents and product designs. The company survived the GreatDepression and World Wars (Craig shifted manufacturing from pensto military supplies during World War II). When Sheaffer died in1946, his pens were in the hands of people around the world.
Control of Sheaffer Pen stayed in Fort Madison until the com-pany was sold in 1966. Sales declined in the 1960s as consumerschose cheap, disposable pens over more expensive Sheaffer designs.The company struggled financially while it continued producing top-
TKS sann0.47. RRRRRR 0 .02,
TO BRING TRUETHE DREAMS OF YOUTH
"*ntrztrzer m repthen
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110nr wapoin 0.rrn Moirpes H EAFFERS ii(h2lez.ILS_HEAFFERS it isn't a 4414. 4,:fie -Know /he Fin Ch. the lade DOE-7.,'
This ad appeared in The SaturdayEvening Post on August 24, 1940.
Sh r Per
TkCiat Roo&
PHOTOS AND ADVERTISEMENT COURTESY: SHEAFFER PEN CORP.
e-t9e13:Owner: Walter A. SheafferFactory: 10' x 14' workshop inthe back of Sheaffer's FortMadison jewelry store.Employees: 7Sales: $100,000
6Dt1 yex Vie-V? Sheaffer
4 workers produced 3,690900019971
writing instrumentsin
of-the-line products, but slowed in introducingnew items.
The Goldfinch visited Sheaffer Pen in themidst of a $5 million renovation by the company'snew ownersBic Corporation.
"Our product line did not change much formany years," said Owen Jones, Sheaffer's chiefexecutive officer. "Now we have introduced new de-signs, and more new products are being developed."
The company's New Product Development Groupis back in the business of invention. Employees fromproduction lines help identify problems, generate solu-tions and develop new products and ideas. Customersalso share their ideas for new products.
In addition to Sheaffer's more expensive models,the company is producing more pens priced from $2.50to $10, including inexpensive pens for kids. Some comein fluorescent colors, and others, like the SchoolTM pen,are clear so you can see how they work without takingthem apart!
Today, almost all Sheaffer pens are produced inFort Madison, then distributed to more than 150 coun-tries. Company headquarters returned to Fort Madisonin 1990, where it all began with Walter Sheaffer's bigidea. ' '
UtrP.64 Oire1-99E9Owner: Bic Corp. acquired Sheafferin 1997Factory: 259,000 square feet,located at 301 Avenue H, FortMadison.Employees: 450Sales: more than $50 millionMost expensive pen: $5,200Least expensive pen: $2.49
Fres e
Born: July 27, 1867 inBloomfield to Jacob Royer andAnna Eliza (Walton) Sheaffer.Siblings: 4
Died: 1946Occupations: jeweler, salesman
(he sold pianos, organs and sewingmachines in addition to watches andjewelry), farmer, chicken breeder, inventorand entrepreneur.As a kid: Sheaffer went to work whenhe was 11 to help support his family. Heworked as a printer's devil (a helper whooften did the messy work!) for $1 a weekthen for a local grocer for $7.20 a month.He dropped out of high school to work ina jewelry store in Centerville, earning $15per month plus meals and a place to stay.Sheaffer's bed was on a shelf under acounter in the store, so he doubled asthe store's night watchman!
tuVP Otsa
Sheaffer's Gold Molter has beenpreparing their secret 14- and 18-karat gold alloys for 20 of his 35 yearswith the company. He is one of onlysix people in Sheaffer's history whohave melted and poured gold forfountain pens and pen nibs. Skilledworkers perform more than 300steps to create each Sheafferfountain pen.
0,11A"' I
0.)tj ry Eleanor Armstrong was 16 years old whenshe started keeping a diary. "I thought I would keepmemoranda of my doings," says her first entry, datedOctober 19, 1891. She described daily life in ruralJones County, where she cooked, sewed, raisedchickens, picked and husked corn by hand, andattended church, school, and dances. She recordsbirths, deaths, her marriage to Claude Peet, andstories of their family in notebooks and tablets (witha few interruptions) until 1961.
Mary wasn't an inventor, but she wrote aboutinventions. Read her diary to find out how one innova-tion-the telephone-changed her life!
Sunday, Aug. 19th, 1900Our phones-have come.
gidcnulay, Aug. 20th, 1900Picked two pails full tomatoes.Canned 4 qts. Terrible warm & Iworked hard all day. Roy Peetcalled this morning.
Wed, Aug. 22nd, 1900About 1 o'clock the telephonemen ... came and put in ourphone & let in a handful offlies.... The phone is "just allright." Claude talked to Harryawhile and I talked to Katie. Welistened awhile in the eve. HeardDrummont's clock strike 8o'clock and heard music.
'Thursday, Aug. 23rd, 1900I have got over being afraid of
24 The Goldfinch
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135104y Armstrong)December
Ecoll
1915Claude PGGA,
talking at the phone. A goodmany rung up our phone thisa.m. but couldn't hear us forsomeone else would talk too.We could hear them telling eachother how they had tried to getus but failed. At last Mrs. RoyPeet telephoned to me and wetalked. They wanted her to letus know that Matt would threshat Kohl's ... & someone elseclicked in and began to callMary! Mary! Oh, Mary!I washed this forenoon, the
biggest washing I have had. Mylines all full & some on thefence & grass. Mrs. Roy camerunning down ... to tell me thatsome woman at Martellewanted to talk to me & as I wasout doors & in the wood house Icouldn't hear the ring. So I went
& rung up Willis. He had heardsomeone ringing for me butdidn't know who it was.
Friday, Oct. 19th, 1900Listened to the phone awhile.Played I was central. I talkedwith Lizzie this p.m. Mixedbread at night.
Friday, Lov. 231d, 1900I am 25 years old today. Ironedand worked a cross-stitch.Claude finished picking corn. Ibaked a cake. Cora telephonedto me.
yanuary 3, 1901Something wrong with thistelephone line. The bells won'tall ring.
17` "Th')
--Be-a diary detectIve! by Millie Frese
ary (Armstrong) Peet's diary often names_ V _ people who called or whom she called-even before her August 22, 1900, entry notingtheir phone had been installed. It's just one ofthe mysteries Mary's diary raises for Goldfinchdiary detectives! Read these entries fromMary's "memoranda" again, then see if you cananswer the following questions!
How did people call before they hadtelephones?
List some of the new uses of words that thetelephone added to Mary's vocabulary. Are theywords that you still use when talking abouttelephones?
4.
5. What did Mary mean when she wrote about"listening" to the phone? To learn more aboutparty lines, ask a grandparent or older friend !
(Here's a hint from another entry:Saturday, August 25, 1900...Ma, Eve andLorene came up for a call after supper.Does a different wording help you figure it out?)
* Have you ever lived without a telephone?Now, imagine having a phone in your home forthe first time. Would you be afraid of it? Why doyou think Mary was afraid at first?
0 Why could Mary hear other people talkingon the line during phone conversations?
gstair
II
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othercallers.
telephone switchboard.
9The Goldfinch 25
NMET0 ,yoorfpooThfloffeV
fnvent, Iowa! wants toknow.Invent, Iowa! is a state-wide
program that teaches creativethinking and problem solv-ing through the inventionprocess. This year, local andregional conventions at-tracted 38,000 inventors ingrades four through eight.Winners advanced to thestate convention at the PolkCounty Convention Centeron April 18. The state con-vention featured 275 inven-tions. Young inventors rep-
Rusty Ross, Lawton, in-vented an electronic toilet paperdispenser. Rather than pulling onthe toilet paper roll, you push abutton that used to be a doorbell.Rusty, 11, named his invention theRoss Roller.
"There was another buttonbesides the doorbell one," Rusty
quires putting glow-in-the darkcraft paint on the frames ofglasses.
"First we had the idea to puta magnet so it would stick to your
1
resented more than 100Iowa cities.
"It's very much ahomegrown program," saidDebra Johnson, Invent, Iowa!coordinator.
Inventors keep journals trac-ing the development of their in-ventions. They start with a prob-lem, then brainstorm solutions,build and test models, and do re-search to make sure the productdoes not already exist. As someinventors found out, even solu-tions have problems of their own.
1
Dan Haverkamp and Philip Shiu
introduce Phantom Phrames.
said. "It was like an on-off switchlike a light. The problem with thatwas it wouldn't shut off fastenough and it'd always give youtoo much. But it was just enoughfor me to win in the contest atschool, then I changed it for thisone."
Iowa City residents DanHaverkamp, 9, and Philip Shiu,10, found a way to keep track ofeye glasses in the dark. Their in-vention, Phantom Phrames, re-
The Emergency Escape Pac forvehicles includes scissors, fuses,a flashlight, and glow stick.
1(-11(vI've learned how to be safer,9Chris Stanford, 10, Bonaparte
table but then it looked reallytacky," Dan said. "And then itmight fall."
Breanne Hunold, 12, andJessica Mueller, 12, inventedSecura Calf-eteria, a bottle feed-ing station for calves. They addeda chain and hook to a regularbottle holder. The chain loops
26 The GoldfiTr
28
bi2 ftuftl
around fence rows and hooks tosecure the bottle holder to afence.
"When you go to feed thebottle calves, normally you have
Breanne Hunold and Jessica Mueller,Donnellson, have competed inInvent Iowa! for three ears.
dirty, they can get sick from it,"Breanne explained. "[Secura Calf-eteria] cuts down on vet bills andthe cost of supplies."
Jenny Plagman, 10, andAbby Rosenthal, 10, made theirCedar Rapids homes more pleas-
ued. "It's really convenient touse."
Some Invent, Iowa! partici-pants thrive on the competition.Others, like 11-year-old ChrisWienhold from Manson, enjoycreating inventions and gettingthem to work.
Chris's invention, LazyDesk, adds some conveniencesto the regular school desk. It in-cludes an arm that raises (so youdon't have to raise yours), a wa-ter bottle holder and a fan.
Many of the young inventorsunderstand the role that inven-tions play in history.
History shows how peoplehave "gotten smarter over theyears and figured things out,"Chris said.
"[An invention] could bepart of history, I think, because ifpeople need to use it, then they'regoing to be using it from centuryto century until it just dies downand nobody knows what it is any-more," Jenny said.
"It has a really big impactbecause everything was inventedat one time or another and if ithadn't been, we'd all be living incaves," Breanne said.
vrsr
66It's really fun. You get to stayin a hotel with your friends andgo swimming ... you meet a lotof new people. it's fun to comeback the next year and seesomebody you recognize.99
Breanne Hunold
to hold onto it so it takes longerto do chores," Jessica said. "Nor-mally the bottle calves just suckit off. With this invention, you cango do other chores and it won'tfall off."
"If [the bottle] falls off, it canget into manure and calves canstep on it and break it, or if it gets
64It can be used in publicrestrooms or in hospitals 41for people with disabilities?'
Rusty Ross
ant with Stink Stopper. The inven-tion attaches air freshener to thetoilet.
"Sometimes the bathroomstinks and you can't really dare togo in there," Abby said. Their in-vention automatically sprays airfreshener when the toilet flushes."You don't have to go searchingfor the air freshener," she contin-
PHOTOS: MATTHEW J. PALMIOTTO
29The Gailfiiia 271
Goldfinch fiction:
oo
e DrepamUmputrbyien Golay
'm never going to get thisdone!" sighed fourteen-year-oldAlysia Duncan. She stared blanklyat the computer screen in front ofher. Its bluish light cast an eerieglow around her room. Alysia's al-gebra book lay open on herdesk. Thespreadsheeton the screenblurred as hertired eyelidsbegan to sink."Why does mycomputerhave to besuch a dino-saur? If I had anewer one, Icould finishthis assign-ment!" Alysiadropped herhead onto herfolded arms. As she lay on hertextbook looking up at the com-puter screen, she felt hypnotizedby the blinking cursor.
Moments later, Alysiajumped. The screen was no longerthe grid of numbers that made upher spreadsheet assignment; in-stead, it had become a mass of
twinkling red and blue lights.Alysia shook her mouse trying toget her work back on the screen.She pounded the enter key."What's the matter withthis dumb )1-
/1
and took a swallow of the warmpop sitting on her desk.
"I must be really tired," shesaid to herself.
Still thecomputerbeckoned toher, "Followme. Followme." Alysiasat down infront of hercomputeronce again.Hesitantly,she put her
hand on themouse. The ar-row on her com-puter screenmoved towardthe flashingbulb. Slowly she
28 The Goldfinch
thing?" she cried. Just when shewas about to flip the power switch,one white light bulb appeared inthe center of her screen.
"Follow me," an electronic,monotone voice repeated. "Fol-low me. Follow me."
Alysia shook her head, gotup and walked around her room,
double clicked.The room became dark as theblinking lights on the computerscreen faded.
"What is happening?" Alysiawhispered to herself.
t....,lifford, did you wire that lastcircuit?" someone asked. Alysiadidn't recognize the man's voice
30
in this ivti photo, Glifford 6.
erry holds vacuum tubes
that were part of the
iki3Computer."5 m&rnory.
"Yes, Dr. Atanasoff," repliedanother man's voice.
"Let's try another equation,"the first voice said. Alysiasquinted into the darkness.Slowly, light illuminated a small,cool room. All around her, Alysiasaw tables and shelves with wires,tools, glass tubes, and small pa-per cards. At one end of the room,two men stood with their backsto Alysia. One of them stood nextto a machine the size of Alysia'sdesk; the other one was kneelingnear the bottom of the machineand jiggling some wires. The manstanding next to the machinePHOTOS COURTESY: IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
4),
The original Pe.Gomputer was
produced at Iowa State
University from icpci to Igo...
flipped a switch. The whirringsound of a motor reached Alysia'sears. The man fed a paper cardinto the machine. Alysia staredwith fascination as minutes later,the second man watched a smalldevice click and reveal a number.
"That's it! It's correct!"shouted the second man. "Itworks!" The two men heartilyshook hands.
"What works?" Alysia heardherself ask. The two startled menturned to face her. Alysia was sur-prised as well. She hesitantlymoved toward the machine."What works?" she repeated, in-
31
Tohn Vincent Hanasoff in the
classroom on May 22, Icisi.
trigued by the maze of knobs, di-als and glass tubes. "What kindof machine is that?"
"Our computing machine,"replied the first man slowly. "Whoare you?"
"I'm Alysia Duncan," shereplied with a grin. "Who are you,and where am I?"
"I'm John Vincent Atanasoff,and this is my assistant CliffordBerry," replied the first man. "Youare in the basement of the phys-ics building at Iowa State Univer-sity It's 1942."
Alysia's eyes got big. "Ohboy," she whispered.
The Goldfinch 29
"Would you like to see ourproject?" Professor Atanasoffasked. `We're pretty proud of it.We can use it to calculate algebraproblems. It's much faster thandoing it by hand."
Alysia's brow wrinkled inconfusion. "You mean like a cal-culator or a computer?" sheasked.
"Yes, I guess you could callit something like that," said Mr.Berry. "Let me show you how itworks." Mr. Berry led Alysia overto the machine.
"This machine is special be-cause it uses electricity to solvemathematical equations, not justsimple ones like 5 + 5, but com-plex ones that require a personseveral hours to figure out."
'We tell the machinewe want it to calculate,"said Professor Atanasoff."It converts the numbersinto a form of mathematicsthat uses only l's and O's.This is easier and fasterelectronically than thenumbers you use to domath."
"The machine can'think and remember' byburning small spots onthese cards," said Mr.Berry. "The machine
30 The Goldfinch
what
reads these cards using electricimpulses. And when the calcula-tion is complete, the answer, con-verted back to regular numbersappears on these dials." Mr.Berry pointed to a small read-outpanel that looked like the odom-eter in Alysia's parents' car.
"Can I try it?" asked Alysia."Go ahead," replied Profes-
sor Atanasoff smiling."Ask it to figure 9- (3x2) =X,"
said Alysia remembering part pfher homework assignment. Pro-fessor Atanasoff and Mr. Berrygave the machine Alysia's re-quest. Minutes later, the dials inthe read-out panel clicked to thecorrect answer-3. Alysia wassurprised
Stephen Frest,
studies a replica
of the Ptanasoff-
15,erry Gomputer
on display at the
State Historical
5uildin9 in Des
Moines. To find
out where you
can see the
replica, checi: out
this web site:
it took the machine as long as itdid to figure the simple equation,but she noticed some pretty longand hard looking equations on asheet of paper next to the ma-chine. Suddenly, her homeworkdidn't seem so difficult, and hercomputer didn't seem so ancient.
`We hope this machine willhelp our college students savetime on long, hard math prob-lems," said Dr. Atanasoff.
Alysia smiled, "Oh, I thinkyou can be sure it will help evenmore people than that."2 /--
Manasoffs computer wasn't usedmuchbut he introduced funda-mentals that are the foundation forevery computer in the world today.
http://www.scl.ameslab.gOv/N3C, 32
,
This is the last page of the issue,but I'm hoaed on inventors
and I want to read more!
It may be the end of the magazine,but there's more to learn.we're going to the library!
ow it's your turn! Head to the librarywith Wild Rosie and Goldie and readmore about your favorite inventors and
inventions, or look up some of the inventors wedidn't have room to cover. Or pick a commonitem (don't forget: you are surrounded by inven-tions!) and find out who invented it and learn thestories behind the invention. Take the tooth-brush, for instance. You use one every day, butdo you know who invented it? Imagine life with-out one! How would you clean your teeth? I don'tknow who invented the toothbrush, but I do
know that the bristles are made of nylon fibersand that nylon was invented by someone fromBurlington, Iowa. An invention (like nylon) maybegin as one person's idea, but it doesn't stopthere. Other people make improvements on aninvention or find new uses for the product. His-tory is full of creative Iowans whose innovationsleft their marks on our stateand the world! Theirstories are waiting to inspire the next generationof curious minds. Who knows? Maybe one of thenext great, life-changing inventions will beYOURS! /-
-The Editor
The Goldfinch 31
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This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket) form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.
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