Man With A Million Ideas

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how everyday luxuries work. Who would have known that innovations that we use everyday were invented by a man who lived right next to us in Hallock, MN? The amount of material in this book that relates to my life was great and interesting to read about. Good stories and easy reading.

1 comment:

TrishymouseNovember 2, 2012 at 8:21 AM
Hey, Chris! I grew up in Kittson County, in St. Vincent. I enjoyed your posts here about Fred Jones. I'm researching him myself right now, for my blog I write about local history (St. Vincent, Humboldt, Hallock, Noyes, Pembina, Emerson, etc.) at http://56755.blogspot.com, called ST. VINCENT MEMORIES. Are you writing a book about the Borseth family...?
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Summary

A biography of Frederick McKinley Jones, the black engineer and inventor who is credited with many inventions, including refrigeration units for trucks and railroad cars, portable x-ray units, and ticket dispensers for movie theaters.

Fred grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He did not attend school until the age of nine when his father left him with a Priest to take care of him. At sixteen he found his passion and left the rectory to work in a garage as a automobile mechanic. After hopping jobs and expanding his skills, he found himself working on a 30,000 acre farm in Hallock, Minnesota. His experiments turned into inventions, some examples include an experimental snowmobile and the town's first radio station. His inventions made waves, attracting attention from Joseph A. Numero in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who hired Jones at Thermo King, where he helped build the world's leading refrigeration company selling commercially, and contracting to the Military. Fred died at the age of 68 to Lung Cancer.