Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary - Jeannine Lawson McFadyen - August 30, 2019
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The list will grow and more contributions are welcome. It is still anniversary if the spouse has not survived. Send via Facebook.
Happy 50th Anniversary, Steve Quick and Susan Ogle,
and God's Blessings.
Monday, February 16, 2026
Jeannine Lawson, MHS 66, Married to Jay McFadyen Since August 30, 1969.
The list will grow and more contributions are welcome. It is still anniversary if the spouse has not survived. Send via Facebook.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Forget Bix Beiderbecke - The Electronic Computer Was Invented in the Quad-Cities - At a Rock Island Roadhouse
Forget Bix Beiderbecke - The Electronic Computer Was Invented in the Quad-Cities - At a Rock Island Roadhouse
Few people realize John Vincent Atanasoff invented the electronic computer, because his plans were copied by another scientist and marketed eventually as the Eniac.
John V. Atanasoff was a remarkable scientist who did valuable work for the US during WWII.
As an applied physics professor at Ames, Iowa, he was looking for ways of doing math calculations, the most laborious part of his work. He kept thinking about it and trying various methods for years. Meanwhile, others were working on a calculating device.
One December day in 1937 he took off in his car and drove to relax and think about the solution. He crossed the Mississippi:
"I had reached the Mississippi River and was crossing into Illinois at a place where there are three cities...one of which is Rock Island. I drove into Illinois and turned off the highway into a little road, and went into a roadhouse, which had bright lights...I sat down and ordered a drink...As the delivery of the drink was made, I realized that I was no longer so nervous and my thoughts turned again to computing machines." Jane Smiley, The Man Who Invented the Computer, The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer, p. 2.
During this stop in Rock Island he thought of four basic concepts to make a computer work. He wrote down his ideas on a napkin, went back to Ames, and asked for funding for this project. He received $200 for parts and $450 to pay his assistant, an exceptionally able Clifford Berry.
The computer worked, so when John Mauchley found out about it, he visited Ames, stayed at the Atanasoff home, took copious notes, asked all about the machine, and stole the idea. Sperry Rand owned the patent rights, because Ames did not pursue the patent case as it should have. Also, Atanasoff seemed especially naive about Mauchley's early intentions. One reason was - everyone but Mauchley ignored him.
The apparent murder of Berry, never solved, made Atanaoff much more involved in the difficult case of overturning the patents owned by Sperry Rand. In 1973, the judge in the federal case gave the credit to Atanasoff and took away Sperry Rand's claims.
Others made significant contributions to the invention of the computer. One method was used to help crack Enigma during WWII, in England. Konrad Zuse, a German scientist, did astonishing work, but he was ignored by the Nazi military.
The first computers were destroyed. The original ABC was taken apart because it was using up valuable space at Ames. The future head of computer science at Ames took it apart. The ABC was later rebuilt for a small fortune!
The English computer was destroyed to hide the evidence about how they read the German Enigma messages in WWII.
Konrad Zuse had his early computers bombed by the Allies in WWII.
Atanasoff will never get a Nobel Prize, because he did not submit a paper for publication, a requirement of the committee. He died in 1995.
Let's quote the Iowa State University Associate Professor of Physics John Hauptman opinion about Atanasoff:
"I came here from Berkeley," Hauptman said. "You know Berkeley must have 20 Nobel prizes and they are proud of them; poets, physicists, chemists... When I found out Atanasoff's story and read his paper... It occurred to me that if Atanasoff had been at Berkeley in 1939 (with the Atanasoff-Berry Computer) he would have gotten a Nobel prize right away. Berkeley would not have waited a minute before going after a Nobel Prize and becoming known as the birthplace of the electronic digital computer. Here at Iowa State, it was just dropped."
Friday, February 13, 2026
Thursday, May 13, 2010 Mary Gail Laverenz Is the Most Popular Post So Far
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Mary Gail Laverenz Is the Most Popular Post So Far
I ran Google Analytics and found that the M-O-L-I-N-E! post on Mary Gail Laverenz was the most read so far. Note the new display of flags from the places where people are reading this blog.
The Line O Type article about Mary Gail is here.
Adam Jones on WQUA was the second most popular.
Mary Gail is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Moline.
Adam is making ceramics with his talented wife. Now they specialize in communion ware. I googled their business and found them being recommended on various liturgical sites.
I hope to post about Dave Coopman's broadcasting books very soon.
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
God's Blessings - Rex and LaWanda's 50th Wedding Anniversary
God's Blessings - Rex and LaWanda's 50th Wedding Anniversary
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Congratulations - Howard Lindstrom and Becky McFarlin - 56th Wedding Anniversary!
Congratulations - Howard Lindstrom and Becky McFarlin -
56th Wedding Anniversary!
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| Howard Lindstrom and Becky McFarlin were married December 30, 1967 |
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Adam Jones and Melo Cream
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| Greg Jackson (son), Homer Jackson (grandfather), Martin Jackson (grandson) |
"Last month I heard from Greg Jackson. His father Homer was a friend of mine when Bob and I (and later, Dale) worked in Moline, Illinois. Homer was a swell guy, a real Cubs fan (win or lose), and the best donut maker in the history of the world, BC and AD. Forget about loose-meat sandwiches, the best thing about living in the Quad-Cities was Melo-Cream Donuts! Does anyone remember "Adam Jones Dilly Bread?" Homer did that for me. He even had bags printed with that on them. The bread was really good – yum! Not quite as good as the Jack Barlow Donut, but very few things are. They were covered in peanuts and if you ate them frozen they tasted like ice cream! Greg has a blog about Moline: http://molinememories.blogspot.com. It was nice to hear from him. (It must be spring; my taste buds are blooming.)"
Adam Jones, WQUA Radio and very popular
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