Mile Marker 83: World Contributors resting in Utah

We've had some folks eternally resting near the Rebel At Large headquarters on our radar for some time now. The 24th of July is a big holiday for the state of Utah so over the holiday weekend we set out to visit some folks that have made major contributions to the world. In this episode we talk about what we found. There are cookies, diapers and lights, not necessarily in that order.

Transcript

Key: Drifter, Male voice. Gypsie, Female voice

Uplifting rock/western tune plays for 15 seconds, music begins to taper down then:

(Drifter) Welcome to the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. I’m Drifter

(Gypsie) And I’m  Gypsie

(Drifter) Talking about Ghost towns,

(Gypsie) Graveyards,

(Drifter) Outlaws, Heroes

(Gypsie) And Ladies of the night.

Music tapers to an end

(Drifter) Howdy folks, Thanks for joining us for yet another episode. We went out over what is considered locally a Holiday weekend to find the resting places of some folks that we’ve had on our radar for some time now.

(Gypsie) This past week Utah celebrated Pioneer day. July 24th is the day that the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah and claimed the territory as a safe place to live and raise a family. Every year Utah has a major celebration with parades, picnics, rodeos and fireworks. Throughout time Pioneer day has been referred to as Pie and Beer day where local pubs offer a slice of pie with a pint of beer! Gotta love Utah and the funky ways it's going. We thought this would be a perfect time to tell you about some of the great men either from Utah or are buried in Utah that invented products that changed the world. 

(Drifter) The first person we want to share with you didn’t invent the product but rather improved its function. Dr. Frank Carlyle Harmon was born on January 17, 1905 in Sugar City Idaho. His father was Frank Milton and his mother was Sophia Jones. Because he and his father shared the same name he went by Carlyle throughout his life. He was the couple's second child but the first to live to adulthood, his sister Thelma passed away as a baby before he was born. 

(Gypsie) Sometime during his childhood, the family moved to California where Carlyle attended and graduated high school in Santa Clara. He went on to college at Stanford University where he obtained bachelor's and doctoral degrees in chemistry. After graduating he got a job working for the Marathon Paper company in Wausau Wisconsin. While working there he resourced lignin sulfonate. I tried to look up what that was and from what I can understand it is a water soluble polymer that is a byproduct from the production of wood pulp. 

(Drifter) Carlyle was able to come up with a process that used lignin waste as a tanning material and disbursing agent for deep well drilling. While working for Marathon he was also able to help in the development of vanilla extract from lignin. He also worked on a lignin disbursing agent that improved the efficiency of storage batteries as well as a plastic board composed of paper fiber from lignin sheets that was used in business during the great wars. 

(Gypsie) In 1947 he got a job working for Johnson and Johnson in the fabric research department. Here he was able to develop a nonwoven fiber fabric that was used in homes and hospitals for wipes, gowns, sheets, and female sanitary products. It was during his time here that he discovered a peculiar polymer that could absorb up to three hundred times its weight in water. He wanted to put his idea to use in disposable baby diapers. 

(Drifter) Disposable diapers were invented in 1957 by Victor Mills and put into production by the Proctor and Gamble company. At that time they were made of layers of thin tissue paper and rayon. The layers were then covered by a plastic cover. Though they meant parents did not have to wash and reuse diapers it also had some down sides. If enough pressure was applied to the diaper the fluid would leak out and give the baby diaper rash. 

(Gypsie) After researching his product, Carlyle knew this could change the way diapers were made. It could also bring down the cost making it so more young families could afford diapers. In 1966 he filed for a patent on the material but soon found out that Billy Gene Harper who was working for Dow Chemical had filed for pretty much the same patent at the same time. For the next 17 years Carlyle had to sit on his idea waiting for the patent to expire. 

(Drifter) In the mid 1980’s his idea was put to use. They started with placing the product between sheets of nylon. It was a surprise to find that not only did the product absorb the waste but it also kept it in place making it so babies were not suffering from diaper rash as much. The new diapers made a huge difference with families across the United States as well as manufacturing. They were able to cut costs which made them more affordable, meaning they were selling more products. With the reduced size and weight of the diapers they were able to ship more products further and faster making them more available. The diapers were smaller, more cost effective, and safer for a newborn baby. 

(Gypsie) By the time the diapers hit the market Carlyle had retired from Johnson and Johnson after working with them for 23 years. During the early 1970’s he started working for Brigham Young University. In 1973 he founded the Eyring Research Institute where he worked on developing a flight simulator, communications equipment, and coal gasification projects. He also helped develop a computer for the Minuteman missile. This missile is a strategic weapon that allows the military the ability to fire the missile at a target and land exactly where they want it to go. 

(Drifter) In 1985 Carlyle sold the Eyring Research Institute and enjoyed his retirement in Utah. Dr. Harmon was not just an inventor, he was also a husband and a father. On March 22, 1929 he was married to Delta Arbon in the Salt Lake Temple. The couple had a daughter that passed away a day later then adopted a 3 year old son in 1937.(Gypsie) They had another child Norma May but I could not find when she was born.(Drifter)  His wife Delta lived to be 84 years old before she passed away on September 15, 1987. She was laid to rest in the Provo City Cemetery. 

(Gypsie) On December 2, 1988 Carlyle married Cleo Larence Humphreys in the Provo Utah Temple. He lived in Provo Utah with his new wife until he passed away in his home on March 28, 1997. He was laid to rest next to his first wife Delta in the Provo City Cemetery. They share a wide red granite upright grave marker with both their names as well as their wedding date etched into it.  At the time of his passing he had two living children, three grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. He also had nine step grandchildren and four step great grandchildren. Though he was never fully credited for his invention of improving the diapers, parents around the world are very appreciative of what he did to improve such a simple product. 

(Drifter) The next person we are  going to share with you is a man that invented something in 1912 and we still use it to this day. Lester Farnsworth Wire was born on September 3, 1887 in Salt Lake City Utah. His father was Frank and his mother was Eliza. Lester was the oldest of 4 children and he was the only son the couple had. His sister Zeita was born in 1889, Ora was born in 1892, and Edith was born in 1899. 

(Gypsie) While Lester was growing up his mother stayed home and took care of the children, his father worked as a police officer for Salt Lake City. Though the family lived in a predominantly Mormon community the children were raised as Christian Scientists. In 1897 all 4 of the Wire children came down with an illness. Based on the families new beliefs their children were not taken to see a doctor. On February 19th 8 year old Zeita passed away, 14 days after her birthday. According to The Salt Lake Tribune (Drifter) “An Inquiry was at once made, what caused the little one’s death, and it was announced later that the disease was diphtheria and that the girl had been ill for a week or more and had been in school part of the time. Moreover, the sergeant has been at his work and no quarantine has been observed.” 

(Gypsie) Two days later the local doctor went to the house to check on the rest of the family. He discovered that all three of the children were sick and he placed the family in quarantine. On February 26, 1897 4 year old Ora Grace passed away. A meeting was held to determine what should be done to Sargent Wire. A motion was made to charge him with manslaughter for not seeking medical attention for his children. The Wire family didn’t feel like the children needed medical attention because they felt their children just had the mumps. Ultimately no charges were filed and Frank continued to work for the police force until April of 1899 when he retired. 

(Drifter) Lester and his sister Edith recovered from their illness and the two of them continued to live healthy lives. Lester went on to attend high school at Wasatch  High School. In 1902 he won an award at  the Y.M.C.A for being the all around athletic champion for boys basketball between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. Not only was he involved in basketball he was a star football player in high school as well as a wonderful piano player. 

(Gypsie) After high school Lester went on to enroll in college at the University of Utah where he wanted to work to become a lawyer. He wasn’t in school long before he realized how much money it was costing him. No longer able to afford it he had to drop out and get a job. Wanting to work in law in some fashion, Lester got a job as a police officer. 

(Drifter) Like his time as an athlete he excelled at being a police officer. He was also a member of the First Battery National Guard pistol team where he was regarded as a fine marksman. He was even able to puncture the bullseye four times in a row in the same spot. During one competition they had, Lester out-shot the lieutenant.  On February 21, 1910 he was appointed as patrolman for the Salt Lake City police. He was then placed as head of the first ever traffic squad in Utah. 

(Gypsie) During this time, the Model T invented by Henry Ford and been around for 2 years, the streets also had a trolley system, horses pulling wagons and buggies were still on the street, and you could see the occasional bicycle as well as pedestrians. The streets were filled with mayhem and chaos. Lester, wanting to help solve the problem of who goes first when they get to the intersection, he placed several of his well trained men at some of the busiest intersections in Downtown Salt Lake. But this was not enough, they had more intersections than men to cover them. Also it was very dangerous having the men stand out in the middle of the intersection directing traffic. 

(Drifter) As he stood there directing traffic he had a literal light bulb moment. The trollies ran on a track with an apparatus on the top that connected to the power lines above. He came up with the idea to place a box that hung from the power lines. Inside the box he placed a red light for Stop and a green light for go. On the corner of the intersection an officer could stand safely there and flip a switch allowing traffic to flow more freely. 

(Gypsie) It is unsure when he started working on his invention and what the true inspiration was for the color of lights. Some say he got the inspiration from a section of the bible that talks about not hiding your candle under a bushel but placing it on a candlestick for the whole world to see. They also say that he built the concept during the Christmas holiday and that the red and green lights for the holiday were his inspiration. Either way it is known throughout the world red is stop green is go! What we do know is that at the intersection of 200 South and Main Street in Downtown Salt Lake City in 1912, the first traffic light was installed. 

(Drifter) This was not only the first traffic light for Utah but possibly the first traffic light ever installed and used in the world. Lester did not invent the first traffic light but he did invent the first electric traffic light. It took a while for the city folk to catch on to the idea of having a traffic light, and some even made fun of it saying it looked like a bird house suspended on a pole in the middle of the street. As people were beginning to catch on to it Lester joined the Army and left Utah. Unfortunately he never applied for a patent for his invention and he did not receive any money for it. 

(Gypsie) He was sent to France to fight in World War 1 in 1917 as part of the ambulance corps. He did not return until 1919. Upon his arrival back to Utah he joined the police force again, this time he was appointed as detective. Even though he was no longer a part of the traffic squad he still spent his free time perfecting the light. He eventually built one out of an old smokestack from a locomotive engine. His new invention looked very similar to the lights we use today. 

(Drifter) During world war 2 he gave 5,000 hours to work with the FBI and Fort Douglas Military Intelligence section. For his work he received a citation from Governor Herbert B. Maw. 

(Gypsie) After serving the community for 35 years he retired from the police force on January 1, 1946 at the age of 59. He was instrumental in solving 43 murder cases as well as worked on several national murder cases. He lived to be 70 years old, passing away on April 14, 1958 from a heart attack at his home. Requiem high mass was held for him at the Cathedral of Madeleine.

(Drifter) He and his sister Edith lived together in the house that they grew up in. Neither of them were married and she was the only surviving relative he had when he passed away. The house they grew up in is still there today as well as the Cathedral of Madeleine. 

(Gypsie) Lester was laid to rest in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. He has a beautiful above ground headstone with his name Lester Farnsworth Wire on top, below that is September 3, 1887 to April 14, 1958.Then it states Inventor, Electric Traffic Light. He has another small in ground headstone  that has his name and lists he was part of the SFC 343 AMB CO 86 Div World War 1.

(Drifter) His sister wanted to carry on his legacy and in 1963 she started the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association in the family home. She turned the upstairs of the house into a museum for guests to come learn more about him. She also tried to obtain the original traffic light that was now being used in the Tracy Aviary as a bird house but unfortunately it disappeared after he passed away. His original metal traffic light was on display in Syracuse, New York. Edith wrote a letter asking if she could have it back and received a letter stating that it had been thrown out only a few days before they received the letter. 

(Gypsie) Edith did what she could to carry on his legacy but when she passed away on June 26, 1973 there was not enough money to continue the museum. Her trustees presented the problem to the courts and a solution was made. The Utah State Department of Transportation agreed to use the assets of the estate to create and maintain a memorial for him. In his memory they created the Lester Farnsworth Wire Memorial Library in the new Department of Transportation building. Today if you go inside the UDOT Traffic Operations center you will see a replica of the first traffic light Lester built. 

(Drifter) We figured since we just told you about a man with the name Farnsworth, let's talk about the most famous Farnsworth in Utah. According to his headstone, Philo Taylor Farnsworth was born on August 19, 1906. But the familysearch.org website lists his birthday as May 19, 1900. He was the youngest of 9 kids. His parents were Moses Franklin and Clara Canfield. His family were devout Mormons and came to Utah with the pioneers in 1853. His father was a polygamist and had 5 wives. (Gypsie) Philo’s mother Clara was Moses’ 4th wife and though he had 9 children with her he had a total of 32 children, so I think it was easy for Philo to blend in with the family and do as he wished. (Drifter) He did work on the family farm during the day and at night he would read science magazines as well as science books. 

(Gypsie) By the time he was in high school, he had started to take apart the families appliances and converted them to run on power. He wanted to push his mind and make something for the world to enjoy. It was during this time that some of the great inventors were producing some life changing devices. You had cars, telephones, and light bulbs just to name a few.  At the age of 15 Philo was able to create a concept that would change the way televisions were made. 

(Drifter) Back then if you were fancy enough to own a television the inside of them used a disc with holes cut into it and a light shining through. The disc would spin around and the light would be able to create an image but it was a very grainy and difficult to see image.  Philo came up with an idea called an “image dissector”. It was a vacuum tube that could reproduce images electronically by shooting a beam of electrons, line by line, against a light sensitive screen. 

(Gypsie) When he showed his idea to his science teacher he had not even heard of a television let alone seen one. In 1922 he started college at Brigham Young University. He went there for two years until he dropped out. In 1926 he was married to Elma Gardner on July 14th, in Logan Utah. That same year he moved to California where he got a job working at the Crocker Research Laboratories in San Francisco. 

(Drifter) In 1927 he was able to perfect his invention and on September 7th he made his first electronic television transmission. That same year he filed a patent on his creation.  He spent the following year perfecting his invention and was finally able to demonstrate his television to the press by projecting an image of a dollar bill. This helped him get more funding and he was able to push his new design more into the public's eye.

(Gypsie) By 1930 he received his patent for his all electric tv. That same year he was visited by Vladimir Zworykin who worked for RCA. Philo’s financial backers wanted to sell his idea thinking they would make more money that way than by funding him. Vladimir Zworykin had created a far more superior kinescope than Philo, but Philo’s image dissector idea was better than Zworykin’s. RCA offered Philo 100,000 dollars for his idea but he turned it down. (that’s over $1.8M today)

(Drifter) He had invented a television that used a cathode ray tube in 1928 and an all electric camera tube in 1929. This led to a patent battle between the two companies that lasted over 10 years. In all the result was RCA had to pay Philo 1 million for patent licenses for TV scanning, focusing, synchronizing, contract and control devices. During this time Philo left the company he was working for and started working with the radio manufacturer Philadelphia Storage Battery Company. This relationship only lasted for 2 years. 

(Gypsie) He went on to start his own business in Fort Wayne Indiana called Farnsworth Television. He partnered up with American Telephone and Telegraph, later known as AT&T.  Even though he was in a lawsuit with RCA they were still producing televisions with his ideas. In 1939 the stress of everything was too much for him and after he had a nervous breakdown  he moved to Maine to rest and recover. 

(Drifter) When he returned to Fort Wayne in 1947 his company was able to produce and sell its first television set. But by this time the company was in major financial trouble. In 1949 he sold his company to International Telephone and Telegraph company, also known as IT & T. He continued to work on inventions creating a baby incubator as well as a gastroscope, he also created the first cold cathode ray tube, the first simple electronic microscope, he was able to convert radio waves to get directions, later called radar, and he also invented black light for seeing at night. But his major passion was nuclear fusion. 

(Gypsie) With little money left to his name and suffering from stress related depression he moved back to Utah in 1967. Upon his return he got an offer to run a fusion lab at Brigham Young University. In 1968 the lab moved to Salt Lake City and began operating as Philo T. Farnsworth Association. After two years the company started to run out of funding. This set Philo back mentally and physically as well. In order to deal with his loss he turned to alcohol and on March 11, 1971 at the age of 64, he passed away from pneumonia while in Salt Lake City, Utah. After his passing he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame as well as the Television Academy Hall of Fame. 

(Drifter) During his marriage to Elma not only was he focused on his invention but he also managed to start a family. On September 23, 1929 the couple welcomed their son Philo Taylor Farnsworth. Familysearch.org also lists a second child that was born on July 4, 1943 named Gloria Farnsworth. Elma stood by his side every step of the way when testing his television on people. It was Elma who was the first person to appear on t.v. alongside her brother Cliff Gardner. Philo was laid to rest in the Provo City Cemetery and shares an upright granite headstone with his wife along with another flat stone stating Philo T. Farnsworth, father of television, friends at Brigham Young University. His wife Elma lived to be 98 years old and passed away on April 27, 2006. 

(Gypsie) The last person we want to share with you is someone that played a major role in making something iconic we all still enjoy today. William Adelbert Turnier was born on March 29, 1908 in Edgewater New Jersey. He was the only child to Adelbert and Emma Somerville Turnier. Throughout life he was called Bill so we will continue to call him that throughout this segment. At a young age he contracted polio which left him with a noticable limp. At the age of 16 he dropped out of school because his classmates were being mean to him about the limp. 

(Drifter) Knowing that in order to survive in the world he either needed to continue his education or go to work. Bill, not wanting to go back to school, got a job in 1923 working in New York as a mail boy for the Nabisco company, which is where his father was working at the time. This could have had something to do with him getting the job. Throughout his time there he started making friends in the design team. 

(Gypsie) This was a major inspiration for Bill. He went back to school during the evenings and was able to get his GED. He then spent his free time working with the design team where they taught him drafting and engineering. (Drifter) Over time he was able to work his way up the company and become a part of the design and engineering team. 

(Gypsie) While working in his new position he was able to come up with new designs for cookies we know and love today. According to an interview indyweek.com did with Bill’s son he (Drifter) “put his touch on some of Nabisco’s better-known products. He created the waffle pattern on the peanut butter snack sandwich known as the Nutter Butter, which launched in 1969.” (Gypsie) He also designed the pattern that is still in use today that we all know and see on the oreo cookie. 

(Drifter) The oreo was invented in 1912 and for those of you that do not know what an oreo is, it is two chocolate wafers that sandwich a sweet vanilla cream center. It is the best selling cookie of the 20th century. There have been more than 491 billion oreos sold worldwide. The first design was very simple; it had the name oreo on it with a wreath around the edge. In 1924 it was changed to accommodate the new name of the cookie. Then in 1952 it was changed and designed by Bill to what we see today.  

(Gypsie) People today still speculate as to what the design means. They say the double cross came from the Cross of Lorraine, which was carried by the Knights Templar during the first crusade in the 11th century. The geometric pattern made of four triangles and a dot in the middle resembles a Cross Pattee, another symbol of the Knights Templar. Others see it as a four leaf clover. They even go so far as to question the amount of notches around the cookie. 

(Drifter) There is even debate as to how to eat the cookies. (Gypsie) Some break the cookie apart, then eat the filling first followed by the cookies individually. Others just bite into the cookies. Some prefer to dunk theirs in milk and let them get a little soft. With that being said, I have some oreos here for us so we can see how we eat these delicious cookies. 

(Drifter) Nabisco has continued to improve on the cookie creating new flavors like vanilla cookies with vanilla filling, red velvet cookies with vanilla filling, and even making double stuffed. They attempted to make Lemon flavored Oreos in the 1920’s and every once in a while you will see that flavor in the grocery store. (Gypsie) My kid gets excited when they come out with new flavors for the holidays like mint or orange filling for halloween. I was excited when they came out with Gluten Free Oreos, because now I can enjoy the cookies again. (Drifter) Either way you enjoy them, oreos are not going anywhere. 

(Gypsie) Let's get back to Bill. On June 22, 1935 he was married to Irene in the St. Matthew’s church in Ridgefield New Jersey. The couple had three children, one daughter and two boys. Bill retired from Nabisco in 1973 after working there for 49 years. In 1981 he and his wife moved to Salt Lake City. The two of them enjoyed their retired life working in their garden and going to the Utah Jazz basketball games. 

(Drifter) Bill’s wife Irene passed away on May 31, 2003 and was laid to rest at the Mount Calvary Cemetery. Bill lived to be 96 years old , passing away on August 27, 2004. He was laid to rest next to his wife. (Gypsie) The two of them share a flat headstone with Irene on the left side and a carving of a dove on the corner. Bill is on the right side and in the uppermost corner he has a carving of an Oreo. Though he did not create the Oreo we still thank him for the role he played in the Oreo cookie. 

(Drifter) Alrighty folks, I think that wraps up our tour of infamous contributors to the world eternally resting in Utah. Are you gracing us with one of your famous Gypsie Dad Jokes?

(Drifter) Dad Joke…………..

(Gypsie) Where do ghost like to go to cool off in the summer heat? Lake eerie 

Why was the boy excited for summer? After hearing dad jokes all winter, he couldn’t want to retaliate with some son burns 

(Drifter) Alright then. Thank you all so very much for joining us and supporting the Rebel At Large adventure podcast. As alway’s, if we're active at all, we’re most active on the Instagram (Gypsie) @rebelatlarge. You can find links to our email, patreon, merch store in the show notes and on any of our social deals. (Drifter) We’ll talk to ya here in a couple of weeks, (Gypsie) Safe Travels, (Drifter) We’ll see ya down the road.

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.