1897

We all, I feel sure, turn our minds back to some experiences which stand out as red-letter days in which the unusual has taken place. One of these which I recall with a great deal of satisfaction was a visit with the great inventor, Thomas Edison. This was at the time of the great fire at the Edison plant in New Jersey.

As a member of the Concrete Institute, to which a good many engineers working in reinforced concrete construction belonged, I was able to arrange for a group from this association to study the results of the great fire in concrete buildings at the Edison plant.

We paid our respects to Mr. Edison who received us in his small office where we found him at his rolltop desk, beside which was a simple bed where he had quite recently taken a rest as was his custom. He greeted us and asked if we would like to accompany him in a walk through the ruins and less damaged buildings. With him was an engineer sent from Detroit with authority to reconstruct the plant with funds provided by Henry Ford.

He invited us to his Experimental Laboratory which had not been damaged by the fire. As we stood with him at his experimental table, Mr. Edison picked up a glass rod, lighted a Bunsen burner and with tongs heated the glass rod (about the size of a lead pencil) to a white heat, then immediately quenched it in a beaker of cold water with no damage to the glass rod. He explained he had made this glass since the fire. It was his first invention since the tragedy. "Gentlemen," he said to us, "I think this kind of glass would prevent damage by fire."

We requested Mr. Edison to allow us to make a complete survey of the effects of the fire on the concrete. The survey was carefully made and the resulting report was widely distributed.

The fire had been especially hot because of large quantities of celluloid (desks and raw material for making desks) in many parts of the plant. The temperatures were established by their effect on metals and by measuring expansions of columns and walls. The largest building had lengthened about five inches and grown taller 2½ or 3 inches.

Our report is on file in many laboratories and I feel sure has helped concrete engineers to improve building laws and given designers of reinforced concrete data for improving methods.

I have always cherished the memory of those several hours with Mr. Edison as one of my big days. I wish each of you would send me your big day memories.

Secretary, Treasurer and BequestChairman, 114 State St., Bridgeport 3, Conn.