PresentsThe History of W. C. Dillon, inventor of the Dynamometer and much more! Links
W.C. Dillon Home
Page 2
Page 3
Today's Family Business
Email us!
|
Reprint of article appearing in October 1966 issue of ISA JOURNAL Portrait of an Instrument Engineer WILLIAM C. DILLON When W. C. Dillon was nominated this year as a Fellow of the Instrument Society of America, part of the documentation received by the Admissions Committee was a biographical letter written by his son. A copy of the letter came to the attention of ISAJ. We were so impressed by the message lauding this pioneer instrument engineer that we publish the letter in full here. To the Admissions Committee — It was kind of you to favor my father with the possibility of membership as a Fellow in the Instrument Society of America. Should this honor actually be bestowed upon him, I know that it would be a crowning moment in his colorful life. As you may know, Dad is 88 years of age. Most men at this point in life have numerous deficiencies and have retired at a much earlier stage. Not so with Dad. He is just as vital and alert today as he ever was. In fact, as president of the San Fernando Gun Club, he holds his own championship shooting particularly with western type six shooters. These offer quite a kick, but he manages to place an average of 8 out of 10 shots in the black. Naturally, Dad’s experiences date back into much of the earlier history of America. He has a wealth of stories on Indian lore and remembers many of the exploits of Geronimo, Al Jennings the outlaw, Barnum and others. His youth was spent in a small Kansas town where the horse and buggy were the only means of transportation and where self-made men were the only ones who ever had the opportunity to break away and make their mark in life. Dad did not have the opportunity to attend a university or to obtain higher learning—one of the drawbacks of growing up in a small town. However, he spent many days poring over text books and examinations from the International |
Even at age 88, W. C. Dillon takes a personal look at daily production and developments. Correspondence Schools, and by this method he managed to obtain much of his basic knowledge of mechanics and electricity. Possibly you may not know that graduation from this well known mail order school, which still functions to this very day, was considered a sizeable achievement back in pioneer days. While learning in this manner, Dad managed to secure a job as manager of the local steam generating plant while he was still about 17 years of age. From this, he went on to become the manager of the telephone exchange when telephones were still considered “new fangled.” Dad has the distinction of being the oldest living member of the Pioneer Telephone Association of America! He has a 50 year gold pin to prove it. Things of a mechanical or electrical nature fascinated Dad and have held his interest all of his life. He has a keen, inquiring mind. There is literally nothing in which he cannot become interested and find something of value. As a young man, with the spirit of wanderlust, he would ride in the caboose of freight trains from town to town, wherever he might be called, to install telephone switchboards and set up complete telephone exchanges. His knowledge of telephony perhaps outdates most men alive today. From the most rudimentary equipment available in the early days to highly sophisticated carrier Page 2 ©2003 Dillon/Quality Plus, Inc. |