Annie’s Journal
by Annie Warner Donnelly
Mar. 10, 2025 – Hello Everyone. In 2017, David Johnston and Tom Jenkins published a book called “Ingenious – How Canadian Innovators Made the World”. This column includes stories from its pages.
“Elijah McCoy’s automatic lubricating cup for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and ships was invented in 1872 and became a boon to railroaders throughout the world. The device supplied lubricating oil to the cylinders, bearings and axle box mountings of locomotives automatically. This method boosted productivity enabling locomotives to run faster and more profitably … Over the years, McCoy refined his signature device and created new ones, ending up with fifty patents related to his lubricating devices … McCoy was the son of slaves who escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad and settled in Colchester, Ontario, near Windsor.” p12
“Canada’s greatest contribution to the design of modern machines is the roller bearing. Created by George Thomas of Digby County, Nova Scotia in 1879, the bearing reduces, if not eliminates, the friction generated by the contact of moving machine parts with stationary ones. The device does so by housing rollers or ball bearings within a rolled cage. Today, roller bearings are more important than ever. They are small, yet critical components of a variety of devices – from bicycles and cars to farm equipment and industrial machinery.” p12
“Theodore Witte didn’t merely find fresh bread and tasty desserts at his local bakery. The Chilliwack, British Columbia, inventor gained inspiration. Watching a baker wield a cake-decorating gun to ornament a sweet treat, Theodore took the idea and applied it to develop what he called a puttying tool. His 1894 creation is what we know today as a caulking gun.” p16
From the book, “One Thousand and One Reasons for Being Proud to be a Canadian”, we learn that ‘the first library in the Western Hemisphere was founded by Marc Lescarbot in 1606 in Port Royal, Nova Scotia, (p1) and Norman Breakey of Toronto, Ontario, invented the paint roller in 1940. (p65)
May God help us continue to be ingenious, and may He keep our land, glorious and free just like our national anthem says. Amen