1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, Hello, 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a show 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: that proves it's never too late or too early to 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: make history. I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: looking at how one boy's quest to warm up his 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: ears helped put his town on the map and keep 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: his neighbors employed. The day was March thirteenth, eighteen seventy seven. 8 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: Amateur inventor Chester Greenwood received a patent for his new 9 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: and improved style of earmuffs. Growing up in the foothills 10 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: of mainez Western Mountains, Greenwood was no stranger to cold 11 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: winter weather. In fact, he was an avid ice skater 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: and spent many an afternoon out on the frozen ponds 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: of his hometown of Farming. Unfortunately, Greenwood was never able 14 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: to skate for as long as he would have liked, 15 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: for two reasons. First, he had sensitive skin, which meant 16 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: his ears were more susceptible to frostbite than others. And second, 17 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: he was allergic to the knitted wool ear caps that 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: people typically used to shield their ears from the cold. 19 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: Over the years, the extent of Greenwood's ear sensitivity was 20 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: greatly exaggerated by the press. For example, the Wall Street 21 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: Journal once reported that his ears were so sensitive they 22 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: quote turned chalky, white, beat red, and deep blue in 23 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: that order when the mercury dipped The truth, though, at 24 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: least according to his grandkids. The truth, though, at least 25 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: according to his grandkids, was that his ears were quote 26 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: just cold, just big and cold. But whether they were 27 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: multi colored or just big and cold, Greenwood's ears were 28 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: a constant source of discomfort during skating season. He tried 29 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: wearing hats and scarves, but since most of them were 30 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: also made of wool, they made his ears itch just 31 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: as badly. Finally, one December afternoon, when he was just 32 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: fifteen years old, Greenwood decided to take matters into his 33 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,359 Speaker 1: own hands. He shaped two pieces of thin, flexible wire 34 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: into ear shaped loops, and then asked his grandmother to 35 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: sow some fabric pads onto them using a less itchy material. 36 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: Exactly what she used is still debated, but the prevailing 37 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: theories are that it was either beaver fur or flannel wool, 38 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: though why either material would have been less itchy than 39 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: knitted wool is unclear at any rate, The first version 40 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: of the ear coverings still needed improvements. Greenwood added a 41 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: steel band to connect the two loops and hold them 42 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: in place. Then he covered the ear side of the 43 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: pads with black velvet for added comfort. When the boy 44 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: first wore his ear muffs out on the ice, the 45 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: other kids made fun of it, but after seeing how 46 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: much longer he could stay outside while wearing them, they 47 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: quit laughing and started trying to make their own pairs. 48 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: Before long, every kid and adult in town was sporting 49 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: their own set of ear muffs based directly on Chester 50 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: Greenwood's design. A few years later, once he had come 51 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 1: of age, Greenwood filed a patent for what he called 52 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: a quote improvement in ear mufflers. As his wording makes clear, 53 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: Greenwood did not invent the concept of ear muffs, but 54 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: he did improve it and make it into what we 55 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: recognized today. His innovations were to secure the ear flaps 56 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: to a metal band worn over the head, and to 57 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: add a hinge so that they could fit more snugly 58 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: over the ears. Those features were a market improvement over 59 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: previous designs, and for that reason, Chester Greenwood was awarded 60 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: a patent on March thirteen, eighteen seventy seven, at the 61 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: age of nineteen. Over the next few years, he worked 62 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: non stop to get his ear muff business up and running. 63 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: In the early eighteen eighties, he opened a factory right 64 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: there in Farmington, employing eleven workers to produce what he 65 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: called Greenwood Champion ear protectors. They proved a strong cellar, 66 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,160 Speaker 1: and by the time Greenwood turned twenty five, the factory 67 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: was cranking out as many as fifty thousand pairs each year. 68 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: He continued to grow the ear muff's business over the 69 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: next several decades, and along the way he added further 70 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: refinements to his design, including small hinges that allowed the 71 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: product to be folded up for portability. Greenwood also tinkered 72 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: with other innovations unrelated to ear muffs, and managed to 73 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: secure patents for many of them, such as a wide 74 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: bottomed tea kettle, a folding bed, a steel tooth rake, 75 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: a new type of spark plug, and a doughnut hook. Eventually, 76 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 1: the entrepreneur also became Farmington's biggest employer. That's because, in 77 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,719 Speaker 1: addition to his ear muffs factory, Greenwood owned a bicycle business, 78 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: a machine shop, and the town's first telephone exchange. He 79 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: had built quite a little empire for himself by the 80 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds, and while he struggled a bit during 81 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: a nationwide recession, the First World War delivered his biggest 82 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: client yet, the US Army. Greenwood made a small fortune 83 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: supplying ear muffs to American soldiers, and once the fighting 84 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: was over, his sales remained sky high thanks to the 85 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: booming post war economy. In nineteen thirty six, the ear 86 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: muff factory had its best year, with annual production exceeding 87 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: four hundred thousand pairs. Sadly, that high point was quickly 88 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: followed by a low as the very next summer, Chester 89 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: Greenwood passed away at the age of seventy eight. The 90 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: factory closed not long after, but greenwood It's legacy as 91 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: an innovator and faithful employer lived on so much so 92 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: that in nineteen seventy seven, forty years after his death, 93 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: the main legislature declared December twenty first as Chester Greenwood Day. 94 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: The date was chosen because it's often the first day 95 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: of winter or earmuff season, but since the twenty first 96 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 1: is a little close to Christmas, Farmington now celebrates its 97 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: native sun earlier in the month as well, on the 98 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: first Saturday of each December, the town holds an Earmuff Parade, 99 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: where humans, animals, and vehicles alike take to the streets 100 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 1: and their finest pair of ear muffs. There are plenty 101 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: of other festivities as well, including a charity run, a 102 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: craft fair, a chili cookoff, and a holiday tree lighting ceremony, 103 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: but since the town prides itself as the self proclaimed 104 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,720 Speaker 1: earmuff Capital of the world, you can rest assured that 105 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: ear muffs feature prominently in those events as as well. 106 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe blues Yay, and hopefully you now know a 107 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 108 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: you'd like to keep up with the show, you can 109 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 110 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free 111 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: to send them my way by writing to This Day 112 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazb Bias for producing 113 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 114 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History Class.