D E C . 16, 1998
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Blacks Put Their Stamp On Modern
Technology And Society II.
to: Editor. Reader Response. P.O. Box 3137. Portland. OR P72QB.
Charles Washington
Publisher & Editor
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in
1“
I ’ lt l Il I s s l III
M l K IM
I V
Hl K I
B y P rof . M c K inley B urt
It is with the very first sentence o f
m y book, ‘B lack In v en to rs o f
A merica’, that I place emphasis on
the connection we make in this series.
“The tremendous influence o f the
Black Inventor upon American in­
dustry and culture is a force which is
still structuring our society.”
In that very mode, we present, this
week, Frederick McKinley Jones, a
self-taught African American engi­
neer whose innovative technology
ranks him right at the top - along with
Granville T. Woods, Elijah McCoy,
Thomas Alva Edison, or Alexander
Graham Bell.
It is to this genius, an orphan who
left school in the sixth grade, that we
are indebted for the modem versions
o f technology that have brought
about fundamental changes in Ameri­
cas infrastructre - from agriculture to
transportation and from urban devel­
opment to grocery shopping.
“The Refrigerated Box Car,” Patent
No. 2,696,086, Dec. 7,1954. “The Re­
frigerated Truck,” Patents from April
2 8 ,1942toFeb. 23,1960: N o’s 132,
182-159,209-2,336,735-2,337,164-
2,477,377-2,504,841-2,509,099-2,526,
874-2,535-68.
... and many more key patents dur­
ing this crucial time period when Mr
Jones changed the shape o f the
world’s m ethodof food handling and
transportation.
But, hold on! W e’ve hardly be­
gun. How about the “Automatic
Ticket Dispensing Machine,” June
27,1939,Patent No. 2,163,754.Today,
when you walk up to the theatre box
office, a button is pressed and your
ticket is dispensed. In the old days,
tickets were peeled o ff a perforated
roll - as at todays carnival or at an
amateur production.
And what about that ubiquitous
“Two-Cycle Gas Engine”, that in­
dispensable device that seems to
power almost everything from chain
saws to golf carts and from pow er
lawn mowers to any o f a hundred
other pieces o f equipment we find
essential to our way o f life; patent
No. 2,376,986, May 29, 1945 and
Patent No. 2,523,273, Nov. 28,1950.
We will stop after listing only a
few more inventions o f this black
genius who became a journeym an
mechanic in a Cincinnati garage at
age 19, the shop foreman - not nearly
enough room, see index o f my book.
Later, Jones moved to Hallock, Min­
nesota, where he w orked at the de­
sign and rebuilding o f farm equip­
ment. His ‘spare tim e” was spent in
building his own racing cars for the
dirt track circuit, w here he broke
many records. Reminds us o f our
own “Spruce Goose” engineer, Don
Rutherford, black Benson gradu­
ate.
Somewhere along the line, Jones
found time to study at the public
library and proceeded to expand his
reach. He designed the first por­
table x-ray m achine and later the
refrigeration systems for Army and
M arine field kitchens. We may
thank military records for this infor­
mation rather than prejudiced aca­
demicians and historians.
It is quite obvious to anyone in
the world that Jone’s inventions in
refrigerated transportation o f food
and produce made possible the de­
velopment o f the states o f C alifor­
nia and Florida as produce markets
to America. And in this economic
equation must be placed related in­
frastructure development: Farms,
ranches, factories, housing, banks,
schools, hospitals, museums, high­
ways and railroads (Maybe “ Disney
Land” as well).
Fundamental inventions do not
stand alone, they are integral to our
entire way o f life. It is evident that
over the years, the inventions o f
Frederick McKinley Jones have cre­
ated hundreds o f billions in wealth
for some Americans - but how many
Americans are ‘allow ed’ to know
his skin was black?
W hen I asked the “Am erican
Society o f Refrigeration Engineers"
for information on Jones (1970’s), I
was mailed a brief photo copy o f his
mem bership card in the society. It
noted that apparently he had died
in the 1960’sand owed membership
dues o f $25.00; that was it!. A curt
and miserable epitaph for a black
man w hose genius and caring
changed the world.
Teenage Girls Give Off Certain Signs
When Pregnant
Teenage girls who are afraid to tell
their parents they are pregnant will
give off certain signs, both physi­
cally and emotionally, about their
condition.
“Pregnant teens may start wearing
pants with elastic waist bands, big­
ger jeans, sweatshirts, and stop tuck­
ing in their shirts,” said Dr. Peggy
Smith, professor o f obstetrics and
gynecology at Baylor College o f
Medicine in Houston. “ Emotionally
the child may become withdrawn.
stop interacting with family and
friends, and develop mood swings.”
Pregnant teens may also stop eat­
ing, frequently become nauseated,
and begin making different food
choices. Many may be slow to show
their pregnancy because their uterus
and entire physiology have never
gone through the experience before.
“A mother should reflect back on
her pregnancy to see if she notices
her daughter going through any o f
the same things she experienced,”
said Smith, head o f the Teen Health
Clinic at the Harris County Hospital
District’s Ben Taub Hospital in Hous­
ton. “Parents should trust their intu­
ition. Ifthey think something is wrong
with their teen, there probably is.”
During a very difficult time in her
life, the most important resource a
pregnant teen will have is her family.
“If your teen eventually comes up
to you and says she is pregnant, first
ask her what makes her think she is
pregnant,” said Smith. "Ifyou deter­
mine she is indeed pregnant, sup­
porting her through her pregnancy,
both physically andemotionally, will
do a lot more good than getting angry
about it.”
T hank Y ou F or R eaping T he P ortland O bserver
E ditor , R eader R esponse
I was very impressed with my
first reading o f the Portland O b­
server when I read the letter in re­
gards to the ill mannered treatment
o f Police C hief Moose. I thought,
h ere’s a change to have my voice
heard, too. Who knows maybe the
public will become aw are o f the
plight o f the airport taxi drivers and
start calling in support o f them.
Taxi drivers have a list o f well
needed rules that govern their ac­
tions to the com pany, fellow driv­
ers and m ost especially the custom­
ers. They know if they break these
rules often enough, they could lose
their right to drive because the com­
pany ow ners will get rid o f them or
John Hamilton, Taxi Commissioner,
will notify them.
A driver with any sense doesn’t
w ant a custom er to call in on him or
her and will usually treat their cus­
tomers respectfully. However, there
are some airport drivers who will
treat a short trip custom er with bor­
der line violence and or rudeness. I
encourage this custom er to report
L etter T o T he P ortland O b ­
server N ewspaper ,
We are two proud students of
Meadow Park A-Hall 8th grade.
We have discovered an article
about M eadow Park M iddle
School in the Oregonian. We are
greatly surprised by the lack of
respect to the students and staff
from Mr. Dellinger and his wife.
We have decided to act imme­
diately and efficiently in response
to the article in w hich Mr.
Dellinger said very negative things
about our school.
We however, are very proud of
our school, students, and staff,
we will try our hardest to stay
positive throughout this difficult
time. We feel the need to raise the
quality of our schools reputation
so that this will not happen in the
future. Thank you.
these drivers immediately to the
company and the taxi commissioner
and the airport. That drive doesn’t
need to be driving.
However, the rules the taxi driver
has to go by, do not apply to the
town car drivers. They are a luxury
car and are to charge a fee that is a
little higher than a taxi driver which
is to be expected. Unfortunately,
there is an over abundant supply o f
them at the airport so, naturally there
aren’t enough fares for them be­
cause a lot o f people prefer the less
expensive taxi ride.
A potential custom er needing
transportation from the airport need
to realize one thing when looking
for transportation out o f the air­
port. They have the right to choose
w hich type tran sportation they
want. Sim ply because it is their
m oney that is being spent and no
driver has the right to spend it for
them. Rem em ber that when you
choose a taxi or town car.
A taxi driver at the airport is not
allow ed to get out o f his are her cab
to talk to potential customers which
Sincerely,
Teal Griffey
8th grade A-Hall
Charlene Lauricella
8th grade A-Hall
Meadow Park Middle School
This is the letter we wrote in
response to Mr. Dellinger’s re­
marks.
D e a r M r. D ellin g e r,
We are Meadow Park students
who are very disturbed that you
feel Meadow Park is less than
adequate for students to learn and
feel safe, You have based this
assumption on the 18% of parents
who have responded to your sur­
vey. We appreciate that you want
your children to feel safe and se­
cure but you cannot say that the
entire Meadow Park School needs
to change to fit your own personal
standards. When you also sur-
is called “hacking”, they are to wait
until someone approaches them or
have one o f the airport starters di­
rect them to a w aiting cab.
This rule doesn’t apply to the
town car drivers because they aren’t
regulated so they can refuse a cus­
tom er if they want with no prob­
lems. A taxi driver has no such op­
tion. They have to take any cus­
tomer that approaches them.
I’ve seen people inadvertently
get in a town car by mistake and
when the driver discovers it is a
short fare, literally throw the lug­
gage out on the ground and order
the custom er out. Then, I get them
and discover it is a short fare. The
custom er is so shaken up with this
rude behavior they are almost afraid
to approach the taxi driver.
The public needs to be aware o f
their rights. Before getting into a
taxi or town car get the name o f the
com pany o ff their door and their
number, remember the time and day
when this incident occurred and
start calling in to the company, the
taxi com m issioner, and the airport
veyed the teachers of Meadow
Park the reason you only got one
reply is because the teachers were
disgusted and appalled that you
would take for granted all the hard
work and dedication they have put
into this school and the students in
it.
We are also frustrated that you
would want the 6th, 7th, and 8th
graders in separate halls. If you
separate us then who can the young
children look up to? The 8th grad­
ers feel they have a responsibility
to the younger ones and we feel
that we need to provide them with
good role models and encourage
there hopes and dreams. If you
separate us we can not be a whole
group who care for one another.
We are very disappointed that
you would put these students
through such shame and indig-
and m ake their com plaints known.
W hy? if you don’t, these people
will continue to m istreat potential
custom ers knowing they will get
away with it. Y our voice needs to be
heard before there will be a change
for the better.
Remember, your time in a taxi or
town car should be relaxing with no
stress and with the full knowledge
and confidence your driver knows
where you’re going and how to get
you there quickly and safely. Ifyou
don’t like the attitude or looks o f
the driver or their vehicle, you don’t
have to get in their vehicle, it’s your
m oney that’s being spent.
No driver is guaranteed a long
trip out o f the airport. The only one
is, if there are customers available
and the driver is first up, they have
a trip out o f the airport, short or
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An Airport Transportation
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nity. I suggest next time that be­
fore you go to the parents or to the
teachers or to the principal that
you would first consider asking
the students of Meadow Park what
we feel. Every child, African-
American, Asian, British, Ameri­
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would just ask them you would
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happy with our teachers our school
and our selves. We are proud to
call ourselves students of Meadow
Park Middle School and to have
teachers who care and respect
our peers and us.
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