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USA - FLORIDA - FORT MYERS : CITY OF PALMS by Julie Rekai Rickerd   Many of Thomas Edison's most brilliant ideas – he was granted 1,093 patents during his lifetime – came to him as he sat "fishing" with an unbaited line off his dock on the Caloosahatchee River. He relished the opportunity to "just think" in what was, in those days, the sleepy village of Fort Myer, now part of The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel in southwest Florida."The man who invented the 20th Century", chosen Life Magazine's "Man of the Millenium", fell in love with the beauty and perfect climate of the area in 1885. By the following year he had bought acreage and moved into his newly-built winter home, Seminole Lodge, with his bride, Mina Miller Edison. In keeping with his desire to "turn out a minor invention every 10 days and a big one every 6 months", Edison had a full-fledged laboratory on the property where he and his team of associates and assistants conducted the research and development of his inventions.
When Edison invented the carbon filament electric lightbulb, he also developed the accoutrements that go with it: sockets, switches, wiring, transmission lines, meters. The Edison Electric Company he established became General Electric. The Edison-Portland Cement Company supplied the cement for the Panama Canal as well as for the swimming pool at Seminole Lodge. These are but a very few of the enthralling facts one sees and learns at the Edison-Ford Estates. Today they are restored and open to the public. Amidst an abundant botanical garden the two unassuming Edison houses, one in which they lived, the other, joined by a trellised walkway, in which they entertained, evoke the spirit of the great man and his family. The red-roofed, white-walled, green-shuttered buildings have wide wraparound porches and French doors to keep them cool. Wicker settees and rockers provide seating. Edison's presence is palpable in the bright, book-lined library where he would read the four daily New York papers during his midmorning break from the laboratory. Electric brass chandeliers or "electroliers" designed by Edison and handmade in his workshop, grace the ceilings. Mrs. Edison's swimsuit hangs drying in the bathroom. The dining room table is set to welcome guests to the Edison's frequent dinner parties. A feeling of warmth, conviviality and civility emanate from these relaxed surroundings. A nearby garage houses a Model T, a Model A and a Model T truck. For years, neighbour Henry Ford gave Edison the first car off each Ford assembly line. The Ford house is but a short walk through the Friendship Gate of the Edison estate and is similarly unpretentious. The kitchen is filled with vintage GE appliances. A drafting board sits on the porch at which Henry Ford and his secretary worked on the design of the V8 engine. Family photos adorn the elegant furniture in the rooms in which the Fords received their friends. Edison's experimental garden was inspired by his interest in the products and byproducts of plants that he used in his scientific explorations. In time, more than a thousand varieties of vegetation from around the world were planted on the grounds. It is now one of America's most comprehensive botanical gardens. The beehives supplied Edison with beeswax for his experiments with film stock. Mrs. Edison slipped in her roses, orchids and bromeliads for show. In 1925, Harvey Firestone gave Edison a small banyan tree. It has now reached a circumference of 400 feet and fronts the hub of Thomas Edison's life – his laboratory. The tools of the renowned inventor's trade are completely absorbing. All Edison's experiments, equipment, machinery, even his "catnap cot" are just as he left them. He had been working on producing synthetic rubber from the leaves of the goldenrod. The secret to his success, he claimed, was perseverance. After thousands of failed experiments he would say, "Well we're making progress - we know thousands of ways it can't be done". The Edison Museum was built on the property as a tribute to Edison and to house the artefacts, photographs and memorabilia of his long, productive life (he died in 1931 at age 84). There are 200 phonographs that he invented, numerous Edison sewing machines, the Edison talking doll, and children's furniture that he designed and the Edison Little Folks Furniture Company distributed. There is a mimeograph typewriter, the Edison Universal printer, an electric pen, waxed paper, tin-foil and hundreds of examples of other everyday products that Edison invented and developed. A place of honour is bestowed on the first prototype of the Model T Ford, which Henry Ford gave to his friend. Tours of the Edison-Ford Estates are given by professional guides who are experts in their field and display a great love and respect for their subjects in the setting both men cherished so much. They enhance one's knowledge and appreciation of the accomplishments of these two men, their remarkable talents and the extraordinary contributions they made to society. Photo courtesy Lee County VCB/www.FortMyersSanibel.com
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