World's Largest Lamp?

We were leaving Edison's Lab in Ft. Myers when I saw this crate on top of a closet with the words "World's Largest Lamp." I am immediately drawn with anything that says "World's Largest" because my friend is the definitive authority on WLTs and I am always looking to put Florida on the map by finding something really, really big here.

In the museum next door are two huge bulbs, one a 50,000 watt, the other a 75,000 watt giant.

I also found this shot in the state archives of little Tommy Dodgen, age 4 at the 1947 Florida State Fair in Tampa. So clearly the 50,000 watt bulb was the world record holder at one point.

My friend, the founder of World's Largest Things, Inc., found this old article about the bulb created for the top of the Edison Monument in Menlo Park, NJ. And Roadside America lists the same as the World's Largest Bulb.

To me, however, this clearly appears to be made up of many smaller bulbs, and is not one giant single bulb like the 75,000 watt lamp in Ft. Myers.

I also found this article under the heading World's Largest Bulb from the Coqulle Valley (Oregon) Sentinel in 1940 under the headline "World's Largest Lamp." Please note it is a mere 50,000 watts.

Might the world record holder be in Florida after all?

Walk of Fame 2

Sometimes I forget just how few people lived in Florida at the beginning of the last century. It was really a vast land with a small population and the few hardy souls who lived here must have rubbed elbows with each other. So there are many interesting instances of well known Floridians crossing paths with other well-known Floridians. For instance, Zora Neale Hurston stayed in the St. Augustine hotel owned by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and spent time in the Ft. Pierce studio of Beanie Backus, who shared painting tips with entrepreneurial African Americans who later became known as the Highwaymen. So I shouldn't be surprised that Thomas Edison bought his property from Sam Summerlin, son of one of Orlando's original pioneers or that Edison knew Hamilton Holt, president of Winter Park's Rollins College.

Holt was the gentleman who created the Walk of Fame at Rollins College in 1929. And apparently he didn't stop there. He gave Thomas Edison a stone with his name carved on it and Edison started his own "Walk of Fame" at his Winter Estate in Ft. Myers. The Ft. Myers version is not nearly as large and complete as the Winter Park version, and on the rainy day I was there, I couldn't find many outstanding stones. It was reported that the stone from Henry Ford's homestead was left uncarved, because Ford said he was "just a simple country boy."

Perhaps, Edison, Holt and Ford found themselves to be kindred spirits in the early days of the 20th century. Consider these quotes by Holt, Edison and Ford extolling the virtues of hard work:

"Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results, it produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last."
– Hamilton Holt

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
– Thomas Edison

"Opportunity will not overlook you because you are wearing overalls."
– Henry Ford

Edison's Gardens

Just across the street from Thomas Edison's lab and the adjacent museum lie the Winter Estates of both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Edison bought the land for his home on the Caloosahatchee River from Sam Summerlin, the son of Orlando's "Cattle King", Jacob Summerlin. The Summerlins drove cattle all the way from the Caloosahatchee in Southwest Florida to just south of thte Georgia line, a trip of forty days. The elder Summerlin supplied much of the confederacy with beef during the Civil War and donated the land to Orange County for the courthouse, now the History Center.

Edison kept the Summerlin house in Ft. Myers and added on to it, and it ultimately became his Caretaker's House. Eidson's main house was built to the south (called Seminole Lodge) and beyond that was the home ultimately owned by Henry Ford (called The Mangoes.)

The houses were wonderful, but even on a damp rainy day Edsion's tropical gardens were glorious. Originally began as an experimental garden, Edison brought in exotics from all over the world. Bamboo first attracted him to the site; it was instrumental in the development of the lightbulb as he experimented with bamboo filaments. The tropical plants were supplemented with roses, orchids and bromeliads of Mrs. Edison. Today the garden boasts over 320 varieties of plants including 5 champion trees, the amazing Banyan originally given to Edison by Harvey Firestone plus 13 other ficus varieties, palm trees from 6 of the 7 continents, and mature tropical fruit trees. The garden is balanced so that there is something blooming every month.

Edison Museum and Laboratory

Fourth grade was the year I really fell in love with reading. My favorite thing to read was biographies. In my head I can still see the biography section of J.J. Finley Elementary School's Library. And the subject of my favorite biography was Thomas Edison.

So when we visited Thomas Edison's Winter Home in Ft. Myers on a family vacation, it was the first time I remember visiting someplace I had read about in a book (that wasn't for school). It was fascinating to me and perhaps helped to make me the history nut I am today.

So it was a thrill to visit the Edison museum again and see how my perceptions have changed as an adult. My favorite memories from my childhood visit were the huge Banyon tree out front, loads of colorful old phonographs, his stuffy little lab and the above ground swimming pool he built at his house.


Today it is a very well run attraction, and a perfect place to go on a rainy spring day. The Banyon tree, once the largest in United States, was trimmed down for liability reasons, making it second largest. The huge tree still takes up over an acre. The museum has loads of interesting artifacts and wonderful vintage graphics. In addition to owning over a thousand patents, and inventing hundreds of items that became mainstays of modern life, Edison became a brand with his name on everything from batteries to cement and from movies to baby furniture.





There was a wonderful photography exhibit from the Smithsonian and an informative documentary from the History Channel. Volunteers led discussions through the lab and about Edison's home across the street (more on this in a future blog.) The original lab was moved to Greenfield Village in Michigan, this lab replaced it and was used for botanical research, mostly to try to find an inexpensive substitute for latex to make rubber. They settled on the Goldenrod plant as a source of the latex, and for a time actually used it to manufacture products like hot water bottles.



The lab is dark and dusty and I don't believe it was air conditioned. It looks as if it was never cleaned, but left exactly the way it was used when Edison worked there. You can see the cot he used to take naps on and his old fashioned phone. And he obviously had a sweet tooth as there is a giant Baby Ruth box stuck in a closet. For me it was intriguing to share the same space where one of the world's greatest inventor labored. Perhaps I was hoping some of his creative energy would rub off on me. Here is a great quote from Edison that seems to be extremely relevant today:

"Be courageous! Whatever setbacks America has encountered, it has always emerged as a stronger and more prosperous nation.... Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith and go forward"
–Thomas Alva Edison"