Shade Tree Wisdom 5/6/10

Many things start in amazing ways. Bess wanted some ice cream. So her boyfriend rowed across a lake outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to get her some.

It was a hot day, sunny, hot, especially so when you are rowing a boat and trying to get back soon enough to keep the ice cream from melting.

But this boyfriend was Ole Evinrude, born Evenrudstuen in Norway, and emigrated at age 5 to Wisconsin. He was a mechanical tinkerer, and invented the first outboard motor for a boat. He started a company in Milwaukee in 1900 which had 300 employees by 1912. He allowed two motorcycle mad teens to do their tinkering in his shop. One of them was name Arthur Davidson, who went on to Harley-Davidson motorcycle fame.

In 1913 Ole sold the company to care for his sick wife. He died in 1924, soon after his wife had died, and his son Ralph eventually became chairman of the new company Ole had started.

So, maybe the reason you and I can speed around on the water is because Bess wanted an ice cream cone.

Well, “to everything there is a season”, said Scripture.

GPD 5/6/10