Perhaps boys that read science fiction shouldn't grow up around machine shops. Young Simon Lake had read Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, when he later worked in his father's maritime-focused machine shop he built his first sub. It was only 14 feet long, but Lake was only 18. Before the turn of the century Lake had built a larger sub which attracted attention when he took it from Norfolk to New York through a storm that sank about a hundred conventional boats. Mr Verne himself noticed, and wrote a congratulatory letter that predicted submarines would play a big part in the next war. This was true, although it was mostly German U-Boats that fulfilled the prediction. Lake hoped for a wide range of commercial uses, including cargo and passenger transport through the Arctic Ocean and other ice-blocked waters, but the market really came down to a single customer, the US Navy. At the end of World War I this market dropped off, and there were those in the Navy who wanted to build submarines hemselves. One procurement officer said, "We got vessels which would pass acceptance tests but were not efficient fighting machines." Of course, that really means that the Navy's requirements on paper didn't match their requirements at sea, building the boats themselves meant there would be no more embarrassing and expensive changes in the contracts. The Lake Torpedo Boat Company closed its yard in 1924, and the Navy is still buying submarines from Electric Boat, although the complexity of today's vessels suggests that the specifications are much better written.
Cars are important in America, perhaps never more so than in the late '50s and the '60s. But not just every car could be a success, and the car with the greatest ambitions came to be seen as symbolic for failure. The Edsel was conceived in 1954 when horsepower and chrome ruled, it had lots of both. Distinctive styling was crucial, it stood out. But the market had temporarily run out of gas, the humble Rambler outsold the seven exciting new models in the Edsel line. Ford even preempted Ed Sullivan with a TV extravaganza hosted by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Dozens of features (starting with the dual headlights) showed up on other models, and Edsel owners still keep them running. It was probably a good car, just pushed too hard at the wrong time.
We also have the founding of a large west coast city, the first paperboy, and the end of the Indian wars in the US. Today's quotes are in honor of Barney Flaherty, the world's first newsboy.
I have to admit that eastern US geography is not my strongest suit. Contrary to yesterday's train story, Hoboken was in New Jersey in 1931, just like it is today.
1781 - The Pobladores, 46 members of 12 families recruited from the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa to establish a pueblo to reinforce Spain's claim to California, settle in and name their community El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula. This was later shortened to Ciudad de Los Angeles, then Los Angeles, now we just call it LA.
1833 - Barney Flaherty, age 10, answered an ad in The New York Sun and became the first newsboy, what we would call a paperboy today. Ignoring the question of whether or not 10-year-old boys read newspapers anymore, this was an impressive result for the ad as the New York Sun's first edition was the previous day.
1886 - Legendary Chiricahua Apache Chief Goyathlay, better known as Geronimo, surrenders to General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, ending the last significant Indian guerrilla action in the US. Geronimo band was reduced to 16 warriors, 12 women and 6 children. They were imprisoned by the Army first in Florida, then Alabama, and finally Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
1957 - Ford Motor company introduced the Edsel, a completely new car to be sold through a new division. Unfortunately, this top-of-the-line product was introduced during a major recession, every existing brand saw a significant drop in sales. It was named after Henry Ford's only son, Edsels three sons all opposed the name. They did better with names for the models, Pacer, Citation, Corsair, Ranger, and for the three station wagons, Roundup, Villager, and Bermuda. A wide range of new features were introduced, most of which were later adopted for other cars. Edsels were made on Ford and Mercury assembly lines with different parts, quality was very poor as the line workers "forgot" to use them. Sales goal was 200,000 per year, total was 110,847 in three years. Officially discontinued 19 November 1959.
Looking For the Boundaries, Guatemalan Highlands - Cuchumatan Indians remove boundary markers around their township, processing with Mayan chants and Christian prayers for those both inside and out. Presumably the boundaries are restored at the end of the festivities.
1866
- Simon Lake, US inventor - Born at Pleasantville, New Jersey to
Christopher and Miriam Lake, high school at Toms River, New Jersey, attended
Clinton Liberal Institute at Fort Plain, New York and took a "mechanical
course" at Franklin Institute at Philadelphia. Went to work for his father's
foundry and machine shop from 1883 to 1894, invented equipment for fishing
and oyster boats on Chesapeake and Delaware bays including steering gear
and a dredge. Built "Argonaut, Jr," his first experimental submarine,
in 1884, which had a wooden hull and large wheels that were turned by
hand cranks to move on the sea floor. In 1897 his Lake Submarine Company
launched "The Argonaut" with a 36-foot steel hull which was the first
submarine to navigate in the open sea, notably a 300-mile trip from Norfolk
to New York in 1898 in a heavy storm which sank a large number of more
conventional craft, the Argonut had a dual-hose air system that allowed
it run submerged under power from a 30 hp gasoline engine. Received US
Patent No. 581,213 in 1897 for the submarine, in 1910 received a patent
on welding steel plates in shipbuilding instead of riveting. Founded the
Lake Torpedo Boat Company for military work in 1901 - he was president
until 1916 and VP and consulting engineer until the company closed in
1924. Also was involved in the Merchant Submarine Company and the Argonaut
Salvage Corporation which operated submarines, and the Lake Heat Engine
Company which built large reversible diesel engines. Built a 60-foot boat
called Protector in 1906, Congress rejected it and Lake sold several hulls
of this design to the Russian navy, spending several years at Vladivostok
outfitting these boats and training crews. During World War I his company
built over 100 submarines, 23 G-1 models and 22 other hulls for the US
and the remainder for foreign navies. For safety, Lake's designs all kept
an even keel rather than going noe down during dives, a feature that did
prevail in competition, but he also developed the periscope, twin-hull
construction, ballast tanks, and divers' compartments. Despite innovations,
most US Navy contracts went to competitor Electric Boat, particularly
as the Navy developed its own shipbuilding facilities, and the submarine
building company closed in 1924. Died at Bridgeport, Connecticut on 23
June 1945.
A newspaper is not just for reporting the news, it's to get people mad
enough to do something about it.
- Mark Twain
Of course the government and the newspapers lie. But in a democracy,
they're not the _same_ lies.
- Steve Jackson
Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without
newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate
a moment to prefer the latter.
- Thomas Jefferson
People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news.
- A. J. Liebling
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