Perseverance

Perseverance

In December 1914, Thomas Edison’s 10-year project to develop a nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery were proving to be unfruitful. Struggling with finances, Edison was still solvent only because of profits from movie and record production. On that December evening the cry “fire!” echoed through the plant.

Spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room. Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid for records and film and other flammable goods were burning. Fire companies from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that attempts to douse the flames were futile. Everything was being destroyed.

Edison found his son and shouted: “Where’s Mom? Go get her, son! Tell her to hurry up and bring her friends! They’ll never see a fire like this again!”

Early the next morning, long before dawn, with the fire barely under control, Edison called his employees together and made an incredible announcement. “We’re rebuilding!”

He told one man to lease all the machine shops in the area. He told another to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Rail-road Company. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “Oh, by the way, anybody know where we can get some money?”

Later, he explained, “We can always make capital out of a disaster. We’ve just cleared out a bunch of old rubbish. We’ll build bigger and better on the ruins.” Shortly after that, he yawned, rolled up his coat for a pillow, curled up on a table, and immediately fell asleep.