Gerald Cutting, Descendant of one of Coaticook’s pioneers

Video of an interview with Gerald Cutting, a descendant of one of Coaticook’s pioneers, discussing the ingenuity and achievements of Frank Sleeper. Seated in one of the Beaulne Museum’s exhibition rooms, he is surrounded by a few models of Norton Jacks, invented by Frank Sleeper. Photos and engravings on the wall explain the story of the well-known inventor’s jacks. The video includes pictures of Frank Sleeper, a drawing of his jack, the first page of the jack‘s patent, and an advertisement for a little cart, another of his inventions.

Transcription:

[Gerald Cutting]

Good day, it is my pleasure to be able to join you today to talk about these marvelous inventions you see before you right now, known as the Norton Jacks. However, there is a story behind every invention,

[A portrait of Frank Sleeper appears on screen, followed by the drawing of his invention, the jack]

[Voice off-screen]

and this time we are going to talk about Mr. Frank Sleeper, who in fact invented what became the Norton Jack, and then

[Back to Gerald Cutting]

sold it to his distant cousin, Mr. Norton.

Now, what we have to understand is that Mr. Sleeper is the son of pioneers, who came here in the early 1840’s. Mr. Sleeper worked for 30 years at low salaries, manufacturing and working in the company that Mr. Norton owned.

Over a period of time, what we must note is that Mr. Sleeper was responsible for

[The first page of the patent for the new jack, as well as an ad for a cart, another of his inventions, appear, along with a blurred portrait of Frank Sleeper]

[Voice off-screen]

over 500 individual patents and over 365 machines.

[Back to Gerald Cutting]

So, at one point in time Mr. Sleeper moved, and took his entire family in 1911 to Worcester Massachusetts. There he hooked up with a financier and manufacturer, name of Hartley, and they founded the Sleeper & Hartley Inc. Manufacturing Company, and they manufactured his second most important invention, “the Automated Spring Machine”, which revolutionized manufacturing still to this day.

Now Mr. Sleeper, in terms of how he went on then into his life, he was always an inventor, always involved in the curiosity that brings people to make changes that in fact shape the world. And, we must not ever forget, that every time you turn on a light, think about Mr. Sleeper, because in fact he invented the first connection that made it possible to have incandescent lighting. A long way from the jack we know, but, for an inventor, he never stopped.

So, he had what may be considered a long and happy life, and eventually died in 1937 in what was then his home in St. Petersburg.

So, what I would like everyone to remember that when we think about invention, when we think about how things happen, sometimes the most unordinary of people do the most extraordinary things, despite their afflictions, despite what may be seen as their station in life. Mr. Frank Sleeper is exactly the person you should be thinking of.