Eagle Feathers #283 – The Creators

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Thomas Alva Edison, the father of over one thousand patented creations, gadgets and devices was said to be a genius. His own description of that word was “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” His initial inventions, first a municipal vote counter, and second the ticker-tape machine, came to life in the electrical shop of Somerville’s Charles Williams.

Another discovery born in the Williams shop was Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone with its first telephone number 1 awarded to the Williams home at #1 Arlington Street. Bell was a prolific inventor who once said “There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his hows and whys about things”.

Throughout history, millions of people have had a ground-breaking spark or idea that was never developed. It takes ability, will and time to bring an invention to fruition, and most people lack one of the three. Through the years, many people who have touched or resided in Somerville have had their ideas and inventions brought to fruition.

Here is a sampling:

• Daniel Stillson – He was the creator of the famous pipe wrench that bears his name. He was a Naval Civil War veteran and a Somerville Alderman.
• George Cove – He created the first solar-powered house in the nation which was powered by his solar electric generator.
• Somerville’s Reverend Augustus Russell Pope – He invented and patented the first home burglar alarm in 1853. He lived at the corner of Central and Summer Streets.
• Alvin Fuller – He planted the seed for The Fuller Brush Company in the basement of 21 Windham Street near Davis Square. It has been a household name for over a century
• Governor John Winthrop – He set in motion the first ship built in Massachusetts. Enchantingly named “The Blessing of the Bay,” it was launched on July 4, 1631 and became the forerunner of our Navy.
• William “Willie” Nickerson – He was a Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained engineer and co-inventor of the Gillette Safety Razor blade. When naming the company, Gillette won. The name Nick-erson for a safety shaving blade would obviously not be appropriate.
• Somerville’s United States Navy Admiral Alfred Pride – He grew up on Hudson Street. He was the second man to land an airplane and the first to land a helicopter on the deck of an aircraft carrier. He designed airplane catapults and tail hooks to catch them.
• Assembly Square – It owes its name to Henry Ford. In 1926 his Model “T” began the parade. In 1958, 400 distinctive Edsels, named after his son, rolled off the production line to end the parade and the plant’s auto history. During the plant’s lifetime, 1,338,652 automobiles were produced there.
• Dr. William T.G. Morton – He publicly administered ether for the first time on October 16, 1846. The following day, the Boston Evening Journal reported the successful, painless operation that took place at Maclean Hospital. A dentist had taken the first giant step in eliminating surgical suffering.

There are many more, but to end on a sweet note:

• Somerville’s Professor Russell Conwell – He invented the name Root Beer.
• Somerville’s Archibald Query – He created Marshmallow Fluff.
• Steve Herrell – He opened Steve’s Ice Cream in Davis Square fifty years ago this year, making old fashioned ice cream, fashionable again throughout the country.