Dayton's Children

For over 100 years remarkable, intertwined individuals have reshaped the way we live our lives, from the keys in our pockets to the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Dayton was the Silicon Valley of its time, and these "grand eccentrics" in the small Midwestern city of Dayton, Ohio changed our whole world. Wherever we live we're all "Dayton's Children."

The book's twenty profiles include...

The folksy "Boss Ket," second only to Thomas Edison in inventions

The legless black man who bootstrapped himself to the sky

The woman who beat out Amelia Earhart

The nutty cash register tycoon who rescued half a city

Plus an insider view of the swanky club that corralled them under one roof

Their legacy includes an array of innovation styles worth reviving. No two worked the same way, not even Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Mark Bernstein, noted author of "Grand Eccentrics," contributes chapters on Charles Kettering, Arthur Morgan and John H. Patterson. LCD inventor John Janning and 1913 flood survivor Charlie Adams help tell their own tales. Kate Hagenbuch Martel conducted two interviews while Lauren Heaton of the Yellow Springs News profiled Hardy Trolander.

Mark Martel wrote the balance of "Dayton's Children" and illustrated each chapter, drawing upon his career in advertising. A first-time author, Martel is also a third-generation history buff.

Praise for "Dayton's Children":

The book humanizes the larger-than-life men and women from Dayton who helped create the world of today. I really love the fact that you don't have to have an engineer's degree to understand and enjoy "Dayton's Children." It should be required reading for every high school student in Dayton... and beyond

-Curt Dalton, Dayton historian and author

To say "Dayton's Children" "changed the world" may be the understatement of the 20th and 21st centuries. My great-granduncles, Orville and Wilbur Wright, are two sterling examples of Dayton sons who pioneered a new technology, aerospace, that would one day deliver mankind from our earth to the moon.

-Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of the Wright brothers

Martel tells of the Wright brothers' accomplishments during the inventive heyday of Dayton, Ohio. A century ago, the new Engineers Club of Dayton created a nurturing atmosphere for men and women of vision. Is Dayton willing to reinvent itself?

-Dan Patterson, aviation history photographer

"Dayton's Children" reminds its readers that plenty of historically important people who weren't named Wright had strong links to the Gem City.

-Edward Roach, Historian at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

"Dayton's Children" is available at Dayton History's Carillon Park, Amazon.com and other retailers.

Based on the website DaytonInnovationLegacy.org, with 50% new material and all-original illustrations

"A few minutes spent searching other much better funded websites dealing with Ohio state and local history will underscore just how good DaytonInnovationLegacy.org really is."

-Tom Crouch, Senior Curator, National Air and Space Museum

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