Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2006, during Mattie's fourth birthday party. The theme that year was dinosaurs. Mattie just loved them. This was the first birthday party we actually held outside of our home (Riverbend Nature Center) and invited friends to. A naturalist introduced the children to all sorts of animals, of course Mattie was most intrigued by the slithering and creepy crawling ones! The kids even went for a walk in the woods and got to do a pretend dinosaur dig in the sandbox. It was quite the adventure for a four year old with preschool buddies in tow.
Quote of the day: Your greatness is measured by your kindness; your education and intellect by your modesty; your ignorance is betrayed by your suspicions and prejudices, and your real caliber is measured by the consideration and tolerance you have for others. ~ William J.H. Boetcker
Today we ventured to the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. What an incredible experience this was and a must see if in this location! We spent HOURS touring the museum, both estates, and the gardens. We even took an hour and 15 minute guided historical tour of the property. Our tour guide, JT, was incredibly gifted and brought Edison and Ford alive for me. As I told him as a child I strongly disliked history as a subject matter. Mostly likely because of how history was taught to me.... all facts and dates. History wasn't presented like JT's tour..... in stories, real life examples, and in context. I am quite sure if I ever had a history teacher who brought history to life, I most likely would have LOVED studying history because in essence history is truly a lot like studying psychology, but in a slightly different context.
However, that only touches the iceberg regarding the talents of either of these men. They were both inventors, entrepreneurs, and in a way were constantly working and brainstorming. Edison had 1093 patents in his lifetime on all sorts of items. Frankly there was nothing Edison did not or couldn't create, from toasters, fans, concrete, generators, talking dolls, phonographs, and rubber. What many people may not know was Edison was practically deaf. He lost his hearing from Scarlet Fever, but did not want people to know this fact. Instead he made up a story about losing his hearing in a train accident of some sort to make himself look larger than life. He did not want people's pity nor did he want them associating him with having a disability. He claimed to view his hearing loss as something that forced him to become more sensitive and heightened to his other senses, but at the same time he could tune out unhelpful distractions in his life.
The curious part of this house tour is there are TWO ESTATES in one on this property. I have to admit I had no idea that Edison and Ford were friends, much less collaborated on projects together. But they did! Edison was 16 years older than Ford and I learned today that Edison was Ford's mentor. They eventually became friends, they established the Edison Botanical Research Corporation together in 1927 and Ford even moved into the winter house next door to Edison's in 1916.
Now what brought Edison to Florida in the first place???? Well just like anyone who lives in a cold weather climate...... he was looking to escape the winter months!! Thomas Edison purchased the land for his winter estate in 1885, when he first visited
Florida, looking to escape the cold from up North. His home, was completed in 1886 (ONLY A YEAR LATER), and was nicknamed "Seminole Lodge." It served as a
winter retreat and place of relaxation until Edison's death in 1931. Edison’s
good friend Henry Ford purchased the adjoining property, "The
Mangoes" (because of all the mango trees surrounding the property) from Robert Smith of New York in 1916. Ford's craftsman style
bungalow was built in 1911 by Smith. In 1947, Mrs. Mina Edison deeded the
property to the City of Fort Myers in memory of her husband for the enjoyment
of the public. It was opened for public tours soon after.
Largest Banyan Tree outside of Maui! It stands right by the entrance to the visitor's center. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone were working to find a natural source of rubber that could be grown in the United States. The banyan tree was one of over 17,000 plants sampled that were tested for Edison's rubber research. Historical documents reveal this tree was planted around 1927 and is understood to be one of the largest in the continental US. This type of tree produces a while milky sap (latex) that can be used to create rubber. There are over 13 types of ficus trees throughout the Edison and Ford Estates.
This is the dining room of Edison's house. You may notice an electric wire hanging from the chandelier. This is where the only electrical outlet in the room was located!
At one time this library was the family's dining room. But the Edison's decided they did not need two dining rooms. They had one in their main house and one in their guest house. So instead they kept the dining room in their guest house and transformed this space into a library.
This is the Edison's Bedroom. This bedroom was at one time the kitchen. But when the Edison's decided to consolidate down to one kitchen and one dining room, this changed the layout of the house. Thomas Edison married twice. His first wife, whom he married when she was 16, died in her 20's. He had three children with his first wife and three with his second wife. He only lived in this winter retreat with his second wife, Mina. There was clearly a twenty year age difference between them.
The wrap around porch of the Edison's home. As JT explained so well, this house was originally made out of spruce wood from Maine. A real No No in Florida. Termites love spruce. So the exterior of the house has been restored from the original. In addition, the family only used the house in the cooler months, like the fall and maybe March at the latest, before mosquito season took over. Back then there weren't screens and other ways to protect one's self from these bugs and the diseases they carried.
Edison had his own fire system set up in his house. Hoses were right outside the kitchens! At one time his house had two kitchens, so there was a hose at each location. He was prepared because he knew given the lack of roads and infrastructure in Fort Myers at the time, he had to be prepared to deal with such crises if they arose.
Edison's Kitchen
Edison's study is actually located outside of his house in a separate structure. Edison's original 1886 laboratory was moved in 1928 from this site to Henry Ford's Museum, Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford agreed to build this study in its place for Edison. Combined with the Moonlight Garden, for Mina Edison.
Moonlight Garden was one of Mina Edison's favorite places. Designed with fragrant white flowers and a small pool to reflect the moonlight.
Lily ponds were added in 1929 and at one time they included Mina Edison's favorite plants such as irises, water lilies, and papyrus.
Constructed in 1910, and built from Edison Portland cement, the pool was one of the first residential pools in Southwest Florida.
I snapped a photo of Peter in front of this enormous bougainvillea. I have never seen a bush of bougainvillea so large. This plant was added to the garden by Mina Edison.
I love this poster because it captures how Ford and Edison started their relationship. Ford and Edison attended a conference together in Long Island, NY. At the conference, Ford was featuring his Quadicycle that he invented. Mind you at that time Ford was young, I believe JT said he was a teenager and very impressionable and a great admirer of Edison. Edison was 16 years older than Ford and when Edison told Ford that he was onto something and to continue working on his invention, Ford was inspired. After that chance encounter Ford began sending letters to Edison asking questions and seeking guidance and input. Edison wrote back and the mentorship role began. It was only years later did the relationship change and did they become colleagues and friends.
Ford's House called Mangoes -- Ford purchased this house in 1916, so those good friends could enjoy fishing, boating and exploring Southwest Florida together.
Unlike Edison's house, Ford's house used local woods and therefore there was never a termite problem at this house. This is a photo of the interior of Ford's house. Though the furnishings are NOT originals, the replicas are supposed to be close to what existed within the house at the time.
Edison Botanical Research Laboratory
Edison, Ford, and Harvey Firestone were concerned about America's dependence on foreign sources for rubber for industrial use. As a result they formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in 1927. Under Edison's leadership, the corporation sought a source of rubber that could be grown and produced quickly in the US in the event of a shortage in the foreign supply. After testing over 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually discovered a source in the plant goldenrod (many of us know goldenrod quite well in the spring, because it causes major allergies!!). That large framed stalk like plant on the right is goldenrod!
This laboratory, built in 1928 was the headquarters for Edison and his staff and was operational until 1936 (five years after Edison died). The layout of the interior contained a chemical processing area, machine shop, grinding room, office, and dark room.
The 1886 laboratory contained equipment for mechanical and
chemical experiments. Compared to the $12,000 that was spent building and
furnishing the homes, $16,000 was spent on the laboratory. Many of the elements
inside the laboratory came from Edison’s various companies including the
dynamo, which was powered by coal fired steam boiler and provided electricity
for the estate in 1887. Which was actually 11 years before the city of Fort
Myers became electrified in 1898.
There is a Museum on the grounds of the complex. One could spend HOURS in that alone. I will only highlight a few photos from the museum. This Phonograph has bite marks in the upper left hand corner. Why? Well remember Edison was mostly deaf. So he couldn't hear the sounds coming out of the phonograph he created. So instead he would bit down on it to feel its vibrations to tweak the instrumentation. Also note that when he created the phonograph it wasn't for entertainment purposes. It was for work purposes. He thought it would be used like a dictation machine at a workplace. However, he eventually determined that it would have more marketability for the public and of course through his inventions Edison was one of the wealthiest men in the US for his time.
His generators and Edison believed in solar power and advocated for it.
Both Edison and Ford loved music, movies, and dance!
"Music next to religion is the mind's greatest solace, and also its greatest inspiration. The history of the world shows that lofty aspirations finds vent in music, and that music, in turn, helps to inspire such aspirations in others." ~ Edison
"I am not thinking so much of teaching children to dance, but of teaching children courtesy and conduct that goes with dancing." ~ Ford
Edison created the first Movie Studio in the US called the Black Maria in 1894. He created 4000 pictures and integral equipment to the movie industry. Edison became the first honorary member of the academy of motion pictures in
1929.
Ford appreciated dancing so much that he even hired instructors to teach his employees in his Dearborn laboratory. In fact, Ford felt it was important to write down music and capture dance steps on paper for posterity, since some of these folk pieces ONLY existed in the heads of the artists.
Phonographs Edison created
Edison's Talking Doll -- he was ahead of his time. This doll recited nursery rhythms
These two displays caught our attention because Peter and I went to Union College, which is in Schenectady, NY. Anyone who knows anything about Schenectady knows that it was once the home of General Electric (when Edison Machine Works merged with Thomson-Houston it became GE). They had an enormous plant there. The plant existed there when we were in college. It was what kept Schenectady growing and thriving... which is in part to Thomas Edison who moved his operations from New York City to Schenectady after a labor strike in 1886.
Schenectady Works -- which is what General Electric once looked like in Schenectady, NY
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