Edison Ford Estate 2-1-17

We left Kitty’s and went to an anchorage just outside of Legacy Harbor Marina.  We had dinner with friends and visited with others.  Lots of Loopers in that marina.  We anchored there to be in close proximity to our Marina at Edison Ford where we had reservations. We got up early and buzzed into our slip and headed straight to the Edison Ford Estate.  Our Marina was actually connected directly to the property. We left the dock and walked right into history.

Edison was an amazing man with 1093 patents to his credit. As few of them were, related to Phonographs and recording sound, electric light and power, telegraphy, telephony, batteries, mining and iron ore milling, cement, motion pictures, a new process in making bricks, and plate glass. The list goes on.  How does one man have so many ideas and be able to make so many of them come to fruition.

His first patents were with the telegraph.  Edison was a telegraph operator. He suffered from hearing loss. He could filter out the outside noise and was very good at his job. Fun fact:  He taught his wife morse code so they could tap messages into each other’s hands at gatherings and no one would know what they were saying.

Another development was the pneumatic stencil pen which later was developed into a tattoo machine.

Edison did not invent the light bulb, but he did perfect it so it would stay lit longer.  He experimented with all kinds of material to use for the filament, including growing bamboo for that purpose. He developed what we call the power grid.

He made the first batteries.  It was interesting to hear that he made more money from his batteries than from the light bulb.

During the war there was a shortage of rubber. Edison imported many plants so he could test them to make rubber. He needed a source that would grow in the US.  Rubber trees only grow around the equator.  He found that there was latex in the leaves of the the Golden Rod plant.  He hybrid the plant to grow bigger and with a higher percentage of late in the leaves. By the time he discovered and could put this in production, the Russians and DuPont discovered how to make rubber out of petroleum which make Edison’s invention impractical.

Ford started out as a watch repairman, and then became a machinist. He worked for Edison’s company. Edison was Ford’s hero.  Edison believed that electric automobiles would be the future, but Ford had the idea of gasoline engine automobile.  He finally met Edison at a convention where he showed Edison his idea. He told Ford he believed he had something there and encouraged him to keep at it. They became best friends. The camped together and eventually Ford built his summer home next to Edison’s in Fort Meyers. The only way to get there was by boat.  There is a road right through their property and many questioned why Edison would put a road through the middle of his estate.  Simple answer.  When he moved there there were cattle living there and they made the path that eventually became a road carved out by the cattle themselves.

The grounds had so many beautiful and unique plants on it because Edison imported many to experiment with.

Ford was worth much more money at his death than Edison.  The whole history of Ford is another long success story. His first several companies did not succeed until Cadillac and Ford Motor Company.

It was  a very interesting visit.  I hope you enjoyed what I could share.

We are on the next couple legs of the final trip into the Keys.  We may be out of phone, and internet communication for a few days. No worries though, we will get back to civilization once we get to the Keys.

Thanks for reading,

Scott and Karen

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