Sullivan UMC—J. Michael Smith
Today is National Inventors’ Day
Hats off to Josephine Cochrane, inventor of the first mechanical dishwasher. Josephine Garis was living in Shelbyville, IL, with her sister when she married William Cochran. To distinguish herself from her husband she added an “e” at the end of her new last name. The husband was a successful dry goods merchant in Shelbyville and the couple soon moved to Chicago, where they joined Chicago “society” and lived in a mansion there.
One evening, after a large banquet, she noticed that several of her nicer dishes were chipped—too much handling in the washing and drying of them. And so she started working on a design for a mechanical dishwasher.
She tried to hire a man to build the dishwasher according to her design, but they “insisted on having their own way with my invention until they convinced themselves my way was the better.”
She patented her dishwasher in 1886 and took it to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago—and one first prize. Restaurants began to purchase it and her company was later sold to Kitchen Maid.
Around the Church
Two big events happen next week. Mark your calendars:
SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE AND SAUSAGE DINNER 5-7 P.M.
ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 6 P.M. (IN SANCTUARY)
People News
Keep Mardi Gott in prayer as she prepares for surgery next week.
Available
The presentation I gave last night on “Life Cycle of a Congregation” was recorded on Zoom. It gives a deeper description and rationale for all the administrative and program changes I am proposing for our church. Click the link and enter the passcode when asked.
Passcode: 88B0aa.G
Repertoire 