“A Place Where Things Were Happening”

“[Dayton] began as a place where things were traded. It grew to be a place where things were made. From that, it became a place where things were invented. In this, it was the most Midwestern of places” (18).

The Book

Grand Eccentrics: Turning the Century: Dayton and the Inventing of America does something few books attempt; it is a group biography of five men who had an outsized influence on the lives of all who came after them. While they each impacted one area (or more) of daily life and had different personalities, there were common threads to their stories: residency in Dayton, OH and an inquisitive mind. 

John H. Patterson purchased majority control of the National Manufacturing Company in 1884, which included the rights to the cash register (invented by another Daytonian), and renamed it National Cash Register (NCR). Always seeking to one-up the competition, Patterson created the sales convention, sales pitch, sales training, and direct mail advertising. He provided educational opportunities for his employees and believed that better worker conditions would equal better productivity. He was also demanding, frequently fired employees, and operated with a chip on his shoulder. 

The Wright Brothers (Wilbur and Orville) spent fifty-five months, working part-time, to solve the question of flight. They systematically and meticulously tackled the problem and recognized that flight was just as much about pilot control as getting the plane in the air. Their flights at Huffman Prairie, outside of Dayton, drew hundreds of spectators, but they disliked the publicity. 

James Cox purchased Dayton’s The Daily News in 1898, starting him on a path to a media empire that eventually included other papers, radio and TV stations in Ohio and beyond (Cox Enterprises). He served as Dayton’s congressional representative and then three terms as Ohio’s governor. As governor he restricted child labor, created no fault worker’s compensation, and helped unify the state’s highway system. In 1920, he was the Democratic nominee for president, with Franklin D. Roosevelt as his running mate. However, his decision to make entry to the League of Nations his main issue hurt his chances. 

Charles Kettering began working for NCR’s Inventions department in 1904 and soon invented the electric cash register. He would go on to invent the automobile self-starter and quick drying paint. For 27 years, he was the manager of GM’s Research Corporation, where he developed leaded gasoline, diesel train engines, and Freon. Kettering’s mind was always thinking of the next problem to solve. The wealth he earned from his inventions provided the opportunity to found organizations focused on those problems, like Memorial-Sloan Kettering Hospital and the Kettering Foundation (where the author of this blog is an employee). 

In late March 1913, the Dayton region was the victim of a catastrophic flood. “Fifteen square miles of Dayton lay under six to eighteen feet of water” (144) as a result of heavy rain, already moist ground, and levee failures. Dayton’s leadership hired Arthur Morgan to create long-term and conclusive flood prevention. He created the first regional flood control system in the US and invented the hydraulic jump to support the dry dams. The flood control system is still in place today, protecting downtown Dayton and the surrounding areas. 

Grand Eccentrics was truly a joy to read. Bernstein writes in a way that propels the overall narrative forward, while focusing on the five men and their accomplishments (even the chapter titles are clever). Anecdotal stories are woven throughout, for both context and insight, and are supplemented by quotes from the “grand eccentrics”, their contemporaries, and newspapers. The earlier chapters are focused on one man at a time, exploring their ideas and work. The later chapters focus on moments that impacted all of the men and how they were involved (like the Dayton Flood or World War I). Readers of all types will find this group biography interesting and the narrative easy to follow.

The Place

The shadows of the “grand eccentrics” are long throughout the Dayton area. Several places are already featured in this blog* and two more are highlighted in this post. 

First, is the Dayton Inventors River Walk. Located downtown Dayton (northeast corner of Main St. and Monument Ave.) and along the Great Miami River, visitors walk amongst life-sized versions of the inventions detailed in Grand Eccentrics: Kettering’s automobile self-starter, Morgan’s hydraulic jump, the Wright flyer, and Patterson’s cash register. There are additional inventions, from after the time of the “grand eccentrics”: the search engine, pop-top can, and ice cube tray. We visited during Thanksgiving weekend, when the River Walk wasn’t crowded, but the fountains were not turned on. 

Second, is the Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum, where four of the five “grand eccentrics” are buried: James Cox, Charles Kettering, John Patterson, and the Wright brothers. Other notable Daytonians are also buried at Woodland. My family visited after we walked the Dayton Inventors River Walk. Visitors are permitted to drive through the cemetery on their own or can sign-up for a variety of tours (both broad and specific). There is also a lookout section that provides a great view of downtown Dayton. 

*For additional locations see these blog posts:

Dayton Aviators (Jan. 8, 2019)
Lighter than Air (Jan. 7, 2014)