Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Retired firefighter who broke color barrier among those being honored
Angel Food Ministries helps stretch grocery dollars
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Fourth-grader took bus ride to historic spots
By Mark J. Price
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Oct 19, 2009
History always repeats.
Here are some interesting updates from the world of This Place, This Time:
What a day!
Our recent articles about author Sara Klippert's history book, The Akron Story, sparked a memory in Robert Cunningham.
In 1966, his daughter Candace went on a fourth-grade class trip at Case Grade School.
On 3-by-5 cards, Candace jotted down the places she saw on the bus tour. Cunningham reprinted the travelogue for us (with his notes in parentheses) to re-create the trip.
Here is what Candace wrote:
''We left at 9:10 for AKRON TOUR. We passed Buchtel High, John Brown's home, Simon Perkins Mansion. Grace School at Akron's biggest inter[section], 26,000 cars in 12 hours. Glendale Cemetery, Perkins Square. Canal Lock 1 — highest lock in canal. B.F. Goodrich — first hose. Clark Hotel. Stone School — first in Akron. Quaker Oats. City Bldg. New jail. Simmons Hall. Akron U. Spicertown. Spicer School. Old Middlebury Ave. First Cabin. First Express Bridge. Crosby Mill Race. N. High. Gorge Bridge, Dam, Mary Campbell's cave.
''Went to Mary Campbell's Cave. To dam. To bus again. We got our lunch and ate at picnic area. Played tag with everyone.
''Left for 2nd Half at 12:30. Took pictures. Counted off. Saw High Bridge glen. Went to bridge where horse and buggy fell through. Cuyahoga Falls. St. John's Episcopal Church. Acme. Saw where Doodlebug crash was. Silver Lake. First mill. Iroquois were first Indians. Sang Ohio songs. Cathedral of Tomorrow. Saw where Chief Pontiac's camp was. Saw where Jim Brown made c. [counterfeit] money. Town Hall in Peninsula. Saw sewage plant. Saw Episcopal Church [Bronson] — Services twice a year.
''Passed Bronson home. Covered bridge, Boston. Walked through bridge. $6,000,000 for Bridge on Turnpike. Boston Town Square. Stone Quarry. Johnnycake Lock. Hale Homestead. Saw a mound. Saw Hale's grave. Ferck [?] grave. Saw lock 24, 25. Smith Road. Saw the stone at the Hot Dog stand. Went on Portage Path. Stan Hywet.
''HAD A GOOD TRIP!''
Back to the jack
So now we know.
Jeff Lewis, a research and development technologist at Goodrich Corp., gave us the inside story about B.F. Goodrich's Newmatic Jack, an inflatable rubber device that promised to make the bumper jack obsolete.
Our recent article wondered why the device didn't succeed.
Lewis probably made the jack in our 1969 photo. He built about 90 percent of them at Goodrich's research center in Brecksville.
''As I recall, the cost killed them,'' Lewis said. ''Originally, these were to be used with an air pump run off the cigarette lighter. The cost for the jack and pump was about $50 to $60. I believe it was Ford we were working with on these, and they were paying $2 to $3 for a bumper jack at that time, and we just couldn't get the cost low enough to compete.''
Former Akron resident C.T. Halfhill was a volunteer firefighter for about 12 years in Kitty Hawk, N.C. He said the department used inflatable jacks on its trucks and emergency van.
''They were great and safe,'' he vouched.
Former Ohio Sen. Kenneth R. Cox still has two Newmatic Jacks in his garage. His neighbor helped develop the product.
After reading the story, he pulled out a jack and discovered it still works perfectly.
''The rubber doesn't even show signs of cracking or aging,'' Cox said. ''Amazing after all these years.''
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
History always repeats.
Here are some interesting updates from the world of This Place, This Time:
What a day!
Our recent articles about author Sara Klippert's history book, The Akron Story, sparked a memory in Robert Cunningham.
In 1966, his daughter Candace went on a fourth-grade class trip at Case Grade School.
On 3-by-5 cards, Candace jotted down the places she saw on the bus tour. Cunningham reprinted the travelogue for us (with his notes in parentheses) to re-create the trip.
Here is what Candace wrote:
''We left at 9:10 for AKRON TOUR. We passed Buchtel High, John Brown's home, Simon Perkins Mansion. Grace School at Akron's biggest inter[section], 26,000 cars in 12 hours. Glendale Cemetery, Perkins Square. Canal Lock 1 — highest lock in canal. B.F. Goodrich — first hose. Clark Hotel. Stone School — first in Akron. Quaker Oats. City Bldg. New jail. Simmons Hall. Akron U. Spicertown. Spicer School. Old Middlebury Ave. First Cabin. First Express Bridge. Crosby Mill Race. N. High. Gorge Bridge, Dam, Mary Campbell's cave.
''Went to Mary Campbell's Cave. To dam. To bus again. We got our lunch and ate at picnic area. Played tag with everyone.
''Left for 2nd Half at 12:30. Took pictures. Counted off. Saw High Bridge glen. Went to bridge where horse and buggy fell through. Cuyahoga Falls. St. John's Episcopal Church. Acme. Saw where Doodlebug crash was. Silver Lake. First mill. Iroquois were first Indians. Sang Ohio songs. Cathedral of Tomorrow. Saw where Chief Pontiac's camp was. Saw where Jim Brown made c. [counterfeit] money. Town Hall in Peninsula. Saw sewage plant. Saw Episcopal Church [Bronson] — Services twice a year.
''Passed Bronson home. Covered bridge, Boston. Walked through bridge. $6,000,000 for Bridge on Turnpike. Boston Town Square. Stone Quarry. Johnnycake Lock. Hale Homestead. Saw a mound. Saw Hale's grave. Ferck [?] grave. Saw lock 24, 25. Smith Road. Saw the stone at the Hot Dog stand. Went on Portage Path. Stan Hywet.
''HAD A GOOD TRIP!''
Back to the jack
So now we know.
Jeff Lewis, a research and development technologist at Goodrich Corp., gave us the inside story about B.F. Goodrich's Newmatic Jack, an inflatable rubber device that promised to make the bumper jack obsolete.
Our recent article wondered why the device didn't succeed.
Lewis probably made the jack in our 1969 photo. He built about 90 percent of them at Goodrich's research center in Brecksville.
''As I recall, the cost killed them,'' Lewis said. ''Originally, these were to be used with an air pump run off the cigarette lighter. The cost for the jack and pump was about $50 to $60. I believe it was Ford we were working with on these, and they were paying $2 to $3 for a bumper jack at that time, and we just couldn't get the cost low enough to compete.''
Former Akron resident C.T. Halfhill was a volunteer firefighter for about 12 years in Kitty Hawk, N.C. He said the department used inflatable jacks on its trucks and emergency van.
''They were great and safe,'' he vouched.
Former Ohio Sen. Kenneth R. Cox still has two Newmatic Jacks in his garage. His neighbor helped develop the product.
After reading the story, he pulled out a jack and discovered it still works perfectly.
''The rubber doesn't even show signs of cracking or aging,'' Cox said. ''Amazing after all these years.''
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
