DAYTON — America is turning 250 this July 4, and the Dayton region has helped shape what it is known for today.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
“It’s amazing how many ways Dayton has given gifts to the country over those 250 years, and given gifts to the world in many cases,” Brady Kress, president and CEO of Dayton History, said.
From the LCD screen, Cheez-Its and even Huffy bikes, there’s an argument no other place in the country is as influential as the Miami Valley.
“These are all gifts from Dayton, Ohio, and things that put Dayton on the map,” Kress said.
Kress is a fifth-generation Daytonian.
His job speaks to him personally because of what he can give to future generations.
“We don’t want them to leave without knowing. That their little town, Dayton, Ohio, changed the world,” Kress said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- 86-year-old man dies after crash on I-75 in Shelby County
- Local village cancels fireworks ‘due to technicalities’
- Woman injured after being shot in Dayton neighborhood, police say
We start with possibly the most famous gift Dayton gave to the world — aviation.
“The only airplane designated a National Historic Landmark, the Wright Brothers’ 1905 Wright Flyer III,” Kress said.
Created in Dayton, it now sits at Carillon Park.
“When you talk about the fabric of the country, we think about the fabric on a Wright Flyer,” Kress said.
Fabric from Dayton, showcasing our ingenuity.
Two other Daytonians already made history in 1879 with the cash register.
“From two Dayton bartenders, two saloon owners, restaurant owners that were worried about their bartenders stealing from them, how do we track these sales transactions?” Kress said.
Kress said the ring of the register was to tell the keeper in the back that someone was opening the till.
The National Cash Resgier Company in Dayton also gave us the paper receipt.
“NCR that was their slogan, ‘get a receipt,’ because it protected the customer,” Kress said.
The system also made scanning products possible because of the barcode.
Giving the world a better way to conduct business.
If you like your Chick-fil-A sandwiches, Dayton has a connection to that too.
“They’re all produced in a Henny Penny; Dayton invented pressure fryers,” Kress said.
Now an industry worldwide.
Kress believes our past success gives future generations motivation to continue putting Dayton on the map.
“The experiment, the American experiment, is still evolving and it’s not finished,” he said.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
