Being an inventor at the dawning of the twentieth century was an exciting time for Weston Fulton, Tennessee's most prolific. The Industrial Revolution was well underway, and technology was changing rapidly. Because of Fulton's numerous inventions and patent requests, the U.S. Patent Office dedicated a room solely to his applications, and the press began calling him the "Edison of the South." His most important invention, the seamless metal bellows, has gone to the bottom of the sea as the triggering device for the U.S. Navy's depth charges and to the surface of the Moon to help supply drinking water for the astronauts. Dewaine Speaks, a longtime employee of the company founded by Fulton, gives a detailed description of the many ways Fulton's inventions have influenced mankind.
Dewaine Speaks worked for thirty-five years for Fulton Bellows, ending his career there as a national sales manager. He made sales calls and attended meetings with engineers in most states and several foreign countries. Some of the projects that the company worked on while he was with the firm are described in the book. During the many meetings with engineers who had applications or problems to be solved, Speaks never failed to notice the respect that Fulton and his products received. He often wondered why Fulton's story had never been told. So, he set out to do just that. Dewaine has authored three other books with The History Press.