A Worthy Contraption

What a contraption!

I thought to myself as I assembled my apple peeler to process the half peck we brought back from the foothills yesterday. 

Even so, I appreciated the heft of its cast iron body and the strength of the suction cup that anchored it to the counter. I understood the three-pronged skewer that held the apple and the wooden crank I used to turn the rod and push the apple forward, but certain springs and wingnuts were a bit mystifying. In general, though, the elegance of the machine, the ingenious way it simultaneously peeled, cored, and sliced the apple, was very pleasing, and I made quick work of those apples, some drying in the dehydrator and the rest in apple sauce.

Later, I wondered who had invented the thing; it seemed so old-fashioned, yet irreplaceable. A quick search revealed that it was David Goodell in the mid-19th century. Given my recent trip to the Inventors' Hall of Fame, I wondered if I had seen his name on the wall, so I searched for that next. It turns out that no, he has not been inducted into the NIHF. I did recall that the docent had mentioned that public nominations are accepted, though, and it didn't take long to find the online form. 

A little more research was in order to complete it, but I was up for that. I found out that Goodell founded a manufacturing company based on the peeler, that the company operated until Chicago Cutlery bought it in the 90s, that Goodell was Governor of New Hampshire from 1889-1893, and that he had a co-inventor, E. L. Pratt. 

I also discovered that the invention let one person do work that previously took entire families several days: processing large quantities of apples for winter storage and food. The Goodell Company also designed and built all sorts of other food-processing tools: corn shuckers, cherry pitters, peach and potato parers, bean cutters, and good knives. Their mill building is a historic site in New Hampshire.

I checked that nothing controversial, scandalous, or offensive appeared in Goodell's background or writing (AI assured me there wasn't), so I completed the nomination form and hit submit.