National Historical Park National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

The Lab Notebook

Servants’ Wing Gets New Old Look NEWS FLASH: In 1926 the Dreadnought Flooring Edison Site Has New Name, Company installed its “Interlocked New Address Sectional Flooring” in the dining room at a cost of $137.00. The unique flooring was made of cork and other A glance at the masthead above will materials and then cut into pieces that show you that Edison National fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Mrs. Historic Site has a new name. Edison must have been pleased with the President Obama recently signed the result because she soon hired the Omnibus Public Lands Management company to extend the floor covering Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), one into other rooms of the wing. provision of which changes the name Installing Glenmont floor tile piece by piece. Cork linoleum is becoming more of this National Park Service unit to popular as a durable and “green” Thomas Edison National Historical Since the 1950s most of the floors in product, but only a few manufacturers Park. The designation “National the Glenmont Servants’ wing have make it today, and those mostly in sheet Historical Park” is generally given to been covered with sheet linoleum. form. Replicating the original design parks that extend beyond single Contractors have just finished required custom work to approximate properties or buildings; Edison, which installing a reproduction of the the unique shape and green and yellow includes both the Laboratory complex original interlocking tile floor in the colors of the original. and the Glenmont estate, certainly laundry room, the pantry, the kitchen, qualifies. The two parts of the Park and the hallway. The servants’ dining Returning these rooms to their historic have different but compatible room retains its original flooring. appearance will give them a distinctive interpretive themes, cultural resource Naomi Kroll, an architectural look not seen in decades. Certainly management issues, and operational conservator, supervised the project. Mrs. Edison would be pleased. challenges. In separate news, Park discussions Sprucing Up the Chemistry Lab with the U.S. Postal Service have resulted in a new street number for our vats, scales, burners, and pipettes. mailing address: 211 Main Street. This Heavy artifacts and those at- change will ease mail delivery and tached to worktables were pro- assist visitors who use GPS technology tected in place with wooden in pinpointing our location. shells.

The major part of the project was Upcoming Events the cleaning and repainting of walls and ceilings. Naomi Kroll, April 25 Junior Ranger Day an NPS architectural conservator

based in New York City, super- Kids are invited to earn their Junior vised a team of students who Ranger Badges. Make a drawing of steam-cleaned and painted the Glenmont and create your own postcard. interior. Finishing touches in- Plus: a tour just for kids. Naomi Kroll cleaning the Chemistry Lab ceiling. cluded the patching of stucco

around windows, repointing of June 6 Edison Day Rehabilitation of the chemistry lab is near- mortar and replacement of ma-

ing completion. Staff packed and stored a sonry, and cleaning and repair of Activities for the whole family. wide range of artifacts including bottles, the concrete floor.

The official newsletter of Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Spring 2009, Volume III, Issue 4.

Edison Welcomes Volunteers Message from the Superintendent Nine new volunteers have recently invention process and business

joined our ranks at the Park. They history. At the second, a trio of “The laboratory complex is now open.” are helping staff move and organize experts at Glenmont discussed the

We have all been waiting a long time to say artifacts in the Machine Shops, clean Victorian era, historic landscapes that. It’s not true yet, but we’re getting close! the Stock Room, research the and gardens, and women’s domestic As proclaimed in the previous issue of the history of collections at Glenmont, culture. newsletter, we are heading toward our and prepare spaces at the house for opening. Even the most skeptical among us exhibit. Other volunteers will soon Many volunteer opportunities exist can see the end of the renovation work later begin setting up rooms at the here at Edison, from working with this spring. Laboratory in preparation for our public opening. visitors in public programs to Our initial enthusiasm for this challenge of gardening and groundskeeping, opening the laboratory complex will be This increase in our volunteers is the preparing artifacts for storage and focused on a “soft opening” on a date yet to be result, in part, of two successful display, or assisting in the determined. We plan to schedule a “grand workshops last September. At the administration office. If you are opening” sometime after that. first, Bernard Carlson of the interested in volunteering, contact University of Maryland and the Michelle Ortwein at 973-324-9974. A “soft opening” is quiet, informal and will Smithsonian Institution, introduced include a variety of tours, programs and potential volunteers to Edison’s services for groups and individuals by reservation. We will test tour size, ticketing, visitor circulation, carrying capacities, accessibility, noise levels, safety and security concerns, parking, signage, and staffing needs. Left, Tim Pagano learns to clean a cylinder pho- nograph under the Audio tours will be tested with different supervision of Sound audiences including individuals, families, and Recording Curator Jerry school groups with teachers equipped with a Fabris. leader headset.

The Museum Shop in the Visitor Center will be open in conjunction with scheduled Below, Dave Ault pre- activities, depending on Eastern National and/ pares a listing of the or NPS staffing availability. sheet music collection at Glenmont. Fees will continue to be waived during the soft opening period but will be charged after the grand opening. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior At a later date staff will determine when the curatorial division will be able to accommodate researchers by appointment Thomas Edison National Historical Park was prior to the grand opening. established to preserve and protect Thomas Alva Edison’s West Orange Laboratory, home, and collections for the education and inspiration of On behalf of the entire staff, I thank you for people worldwide. your patience and support. Thomas Edison National Historical Park 211 Main Street Please check out our web site – West Orange, NJ 07052 Web site: www.nps.gov/edis www.nps.gov/edis for future news and Email: [email protected] updates. Visitor Information 973-324-9973 Fax: 973-736-8496

The National Park Service cares for the special Greg Marshall places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

2 The Lab Notebook Master Gardeners at Glenmont An Edison Memory

teers to earn their “Master Constance Cicalese Chew, who Gardener” designation. lives in Clearwater, Florida, writes us: “I have a little story about Popular as a garden plant Edison's kindness that I have told my since the Victorian period, the children, my grandchildren, and now canna produces large leaves my great grandchildren. and large, bright flowers. “Mr. Edison often went for a walk down Lakeside Avenue hill from his lab. One day Mom gave my oldest Left, the canna bed at Glenmont. brother ten cents to go to Church's bakery to buy a loaf of bread. Ralph Below, something to look forward to: a canna plant in bloom. dilly-dallied along the way, tossing the coin and catching it in his small About a dozen volunteers working un- ten-year-old hand. He usually der the auspices of the Master Gar- caught it, but he pushed his luck and deners of Essex County will soon be lost the coin! Not wanting to go rehabilitating the giant canna bed at home without the bread and not Glenmont. The bed faces the rear knowing what to tell Mom, he just lawn, and borders the house from the walked past the bakery and sat on Conservatory to the dining room. the curb at Main Street and Lakeside Avenue. Mr. Edison, coming out of The gardeners will be testing and aer- the lab, approached Ralph and asked ating the soil, weeding, and re-planting why he was sitting there all alone! the bed. The project serves as their Ralph told him what had happened. internship and will permit the volun- By this time it was getting dark and Mom and Dad were worried about their boy and were ready to call the police. We all knew who Mr. Edison was and often said hello, so when he This image from took Ralph's hand and walked to the the Park Archives bakery, there was no fear of a shows the giant "stranger." He told Ralph to get the canna bed at bread and to pick out some cookies. Glenmont in July With Ralph's hand in his, Mr. Edison 1949. Taking in led him safely home to the front the view is Henry door, where Mom and Dad thanked Horsey, who had him.” been Mrs. Edison’s butler from about Ms. Chew adds that by 1940 her family lived next to the Orange 1910 into the Armory, and she remembers waving 1920s. Even after to , Rita Johnson, and his retirement, when they came to Horsey would town for the gala openings of the occasionally rejoin biographical films Edison the Man the staff for big and Young Tom Edison. events. Lynn Givens, Mrs. Our thanks to Ms. Chew. If you Edison’s secretary, have a family story or a reminiscence recalled, “He was a of life and work at the labs, the real honest to God factories, or Glenmont, please share butler.” it with us. The editor’s e-mail address is edward_wirth @nps.gov.

The Lab Notebook 3 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Thomas Edison National Historical Park 211 Main Street West Orange, NJ 07052

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA

Volunteers-In-Parks Coordinator We’re Looking for a Thomas Edison National Historical Park Grafonola Michelle Ortwein 973-324-9974 x2 phone [email protected] Jerry Fabris, Sound Recording Cura-

www.nps.gov/edis Click on “Support the tor, has been busy furnishing the Mu- National Park Service” sic Room and nearby spaces in prepa- ration for the opening of the third

floor of Building 5 to visitors. “The Lab Notebook” is a quarterly publication of Thomas Edison National Historical Park. One item no longer in our collection, Printed on recycled paper. however, is a Columbia Grafonola Editor (such as the one pictured at the left in a Edward Wirth detail from a 1917 photograph). A Grafonola would help complete the Contributors Music Room display . A Model 125E Constance Cicalese Chew or 150E is preferable, but a spring mo- Gerald Fabris tor 100 model would be adequate, Greg Marshall Michelle Ortwein since the machine would be for display Karen Sloat-Olsen only, not for playing recordings. Edward Wirth If you have one of these machines (or Comments? Write to: know someone who has one) and Greg Marshall, Superintendent would like to donate it to the Park, Thomas Edison National Historical Park 211 Main Street please contact Jerry Fabris by phone at West Orange, NJ 07052 973-736-0550, x 48, or by e-mail at [email protected].

4 The Lab Notebook