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Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Weekly News August 23, 2024 Edison and Ford Winter Estates to Remain Open During McGregor Boulevard Construction A portion of McGregor Boulevard including the section at Edison and Ford Winter Estates is closed due to construction. The Estates will remain open during the roadwork. Click here to view the map for detour directions. Traf- fic from US-41 will not be impacted. For tour times or to purchase tickets, visit EdisonFord.org. Upcoming Events  Blood Drive Rescheduled to August 26, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Shift your community’s focus toward the greater good at our next blood drive! Your donation through the Lee Health Blood Center will stay in Lee County and benefit local residents and visitors in need. All donors will receive a limited-edition beach towel and wellness checkup, including blood pressure, temperature, iron count, and cholesterol screening. For more information, call 239-343-2333. Digital Discussions  Step into History Digital Edition: Painted Phonograph Horns in Interior Design September 4, 10:30 a.m. Envision your décor inspired by classic design concepts with all sorts of magical pur- poses! Historian, Cristina Mayor, will be discussing the history of the painted phono- graph horn and its place in American interior design. Explore the ways these painted horns reflected the growing trends of the early 20th-century and marked the brightest point of the Edison phonograph. Click here to register for this free virtual presentation. Just for Kids  Homeschool Series – Historical Engineering Marvels: Ancient Egypt Grades 1-3: September 4 and 12, 10 a.m. Grades 4-6: September 5 and 11, 10 a.m. New vistas will appear that reveal the unique customs of Ancient Egypt! Classes are for grades 1-6 and facilitate homeschool or virtual science education. Advance registration is required. Register online at edisonford.org. Edison Ford members: $15; non-members: $25 Membership  Membership “Madness” Special deal through September Explore more with membership galore! Participate in our Membership “Madness” through September and be entered into a drawing to win a Family membership and an Edison Ford cap when you join or renew. You can keep the membership for yourself (your membership will be extended at the family level for a year), or you can give it away as a gift! Become a MEMBER and get unlimited free visits, discounts on purchases in the Garden Shoppe, retail stores, special events and adult education classes! Join today! Ongoing Programs  Piano Performance Takes place every Wednesday 1 p.m. Time stands still when classical music is performed by Curatorial Registrar, Chet, on Mina Edison’s 1932 George Steck piano in the guest house. Included with admission.  Step into History Presentations Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Cool off inside with our Site Historians. This program is held in the 15,000-square- foot museum. Included with admission.  Yoga by the River Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Class will be held in the River Pavilion (weather permitting). All skill levels are welcome. This class is taught by Bonnie D’Angelo, a certified yoga instructor. Edison Ford members: $15; non-members: $20 per class. Tickets may be purchased online or at the ticket counter. Bring a yoga mat, water, and towel. Admission to the site is not included. Help restore our beautiful gardens. Donate today! What’s Blooming  Pond Apple The Pond Apple, Annona glabara, is adorned with green patterned fruits that blend into the beauty of nature! This deciduous tree can reach heights be- tween 15 to 20 feet tall. It is native to Florida. In spring, this tree produces small white to yellowish flowers with a red inner base. After blooming, edi- ble pear-shaped fruits will emerge that turn yellow when ripe. The fruit was an important food source for early Native Americans and settlers and can be eaten raw, boiled, or made into jellies. Plant Pond Apple in moist to wet soils in areas that receive full sun or partial shade. This was one of the trees that Edison tested in his search for a natural source of rubber. Visitors can find this tree in the native garden, near Edison’s pier.  Rain Tree The Rain Tree, Samanea saman, is scattered with brushes of light pink! This deciduous tree is native to Central and South America that can reach heights up to 100 feet tall. In the spring and summer, this tree will produce clusters of showy pink flowers with pink and white stamens and resemble the blooms of a Shav- ing Brush Tree. The blooms are known to attract bees. They are complemented by green compound bipinnate leaves that fold up in the evening and on rainy days, which inspired its common name. After blooming, hard, bean-like seed pods that are roughly eight inches long will emerge. Its wood is used to make furniture and bowls. Visitors can find this unique tree in the lawn across from the Edison main house. News  We were rated Trip Advisor’s 2024 Travelers’ Choice We were awarded the Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice for 2024! This award recognizes businesses that consistently receive great reviews from travelers and awards are based on ratings collected over a 12-month period. Our site would not be what it is today without our sponsors, donors and visitors who help sustain our historical and cultural elements that make this area so wonderful and valuable in the tourism industry. By tak- ing the time to write a review of your experience, you share the authenticity of South- west Florida and the importance in maintaining its beautiful offerings into the future, encouraging positive growth in a sector that brings the world together, unifies us and encourages balanced living. Those reviews also help us get to know our customers better and what they are looking for, so we can tailor our offerings toward something that resonates with them. Thank you to everyone who has visited our site and left a re- view. If you visited us recently and had a wonderful experience here, please go to TripAdvisor and let us know about it. We hope to see you soon! On This Day in History  On August 24, 1891, Edison executed patent applications (U.S. Pats 493, 426 and 589,168) for the kinetoscope and kinetograph. In 1888, photographer Eadweard Muybridge visited the world-famous inventor’s West Orange Laboratory, which helped inspire Mr. Edison to invent a motion picture camera. To protect his invention, he filed a caveat with the Patents Office on October 17, 1888, with details of his ideas for a device that would “do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear” – record and reproduce objects in motion. The name “Kinetoscope” originates from the Greek word “kineto,” meaning “movement,” and “scopos,” another word for “to watch.” The initial experiments on the Kinetograph were based on Edi- son’s conception of the phonograph cylinder; however, that proved to be impractical. The updated device consisted of an upright wooden cabinet that featured a peephole with a mag- nifying lens on the top (the kinetoscope) and a camera (the kinetograph). Inside the box, there were roughly 50 feet of 35 mm film arranged around a series of spools, driven by an electrical- ly powered sprocket wheel that passed under the camera lens. An electric lamp and a revolving shutter underneath the film allowed viewers to see a rapid series of still frames that appeared as a moving image. A prototype for the machine was shown at a convention of the National Federa- tion of Women’s Clubs on May 20, 1891. Visitors can see this artifact in the Music and Movies Gallery, located in the 15,000-square-foot museum!      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