Kenneth Sayre

(1903-1998)

Not a member of Rock River Thresheree

EDGERTON -- Kenneth Sayre, age 95, of 719 W. Ladd Ln., died Fri., Dec. 25, 1998, at Memorial Community Hospital, Edgerton. He was born March 4, 1903, in the family farmhouse in Porter Township, the son of James and Ida (Evans) Sayre. He graduated from Edgerton High School in 1919, and furthered his education by graduating from UW-Madison in 1923 with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. He met a pretty schoolteacher, Mary Doane, and they married June 23, 1926; she died in February of 1998. Kenneth went to Chicago and tested the first run of Farmall Tractors (International Harvestor). He was one of the first farmers to replace horses with tractors. During the Depression, he worked at General Motors for 2 years. Kenneth did many different types of custom farm work; silo fill, corn binder, threshing machines, starting with steam engines. He was president of Albion Mutual Insurance and was a supervisor for the Town Board of Porter Township for over 30 years. Ken and John Horton were early organizers of the Thresheree. He served the Rock County School Consolidation Committee and as appraiser for highway land development and helped lead the fight to stop Madison from dumping in the Bad Fish Creek and Yahara River. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. He especially enjoyed tracking fox on foot and enjoyed the challenge of "out-foxing" the fox. He held Evan in his Rock Valley Lumber Co. by stacking boards until he was 86 years old. He invented what is now sold as the weed-eater in the '40s. He invented oars so you can row forward -- while pulling the normal way. He drew up plans for a tree-planter and stump remover. In the early years of radio, he put together several radios for friends and neighbors. He was also a member of the Janesville Rifle Club.

He is survived by 2 sons, Evan (Susan Douglas) Sayre of Edgerton and Howard (Yvonne) Sayre of Denver, CO; 1 daughter, Virginia (Lidge) Gobson of Eureka, CA; 3 grandchildren: Benjamin, Scott and Jim; and a great-granddaughter, Susan. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife and a brother.

A memorial service will be held Mon., Dec. 28, 1998, at 1:00 p.m. at the Fulton Community Church. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be given to the Fulton Church or the Fulton Cemetery. The Albrecht Funeral Home, Edgerton, is assisting the family.

[Kenneth was not a member of the Rock River Thresheree Association.]

[Source: The Janesville Gazette, Sunday, December 27, 1998, p. 2B]

Inventor leaves ideas behind

By Marcia Nelesen, Gazette Staff

EDGERTON -- An original mind stopped working when Edgerton resident Kenneth Sayre died on Christmas.

The 95-year-old left behind ideas and inventions and piles of negotiations with companies and potential backers.

Hone of his ideas ever hit pay dirt, which goes to show that sometimes it takes more than a good one to bake a million bucks.

But he was never discouraged. And he left behind an admiring family who detailed some of Kenneth's inventions in an obituary published Sunday in the Gazette.

He did patent some inventions, but Kenneth could never find anybody to commit money to them, said his son, Evan.

"They'd say, 'It's a good idea, but we're not going to do it.'"

For instance, Evan said his father fashioned a tool similar to today's Weed Eater back in the '40s.

"He bought a little air-cooled outboard motor, pulled the lower unit off, put a flexible shaft on it and a head with a blade."

And about 25 to 30 years ago, he tried to market a machine similar to those four-pronged monsters that dig up trees today.

"His mind was just going all the time," Evan said.

"We were out West one time, and they got all these irrigation ditches running all over the place," Evan recalled. "He thought about that for a while land developed a small water wheel to stick in the ditches to generate electricity."

Kenneth lost his eyesight over the last decade or so, but he lived in his own home until a few months ago, when he had a bad fall.

"He sat around in his dark world, and thought about all the kids getting hurt with these air bags... He had an idea for a graduated air bag to put where kids were so they wouldn't get hurt," Evan said.

"He sent it to Ford; they sent a letter back... and said that it was a good idea. He didn't want any money; he just didn't want kids to get hurt.

"Now we've got different air bags that are not as powerful," he said.

"He developed a clock -- I never did understand how that worked -- inside a ball full of clear fluid. The clock ran all the time through the induction of electricity.:

He loved hunting and fishing but became too frail to turn around and row his boat.

"He wanted to be able to go fishing, and he said he could still see a boat if he was going to row into it," said Evan's wife, the former Susan Douglas.

It took him about three to four months, but he invented oars that propelled his boat in different directions as he stayed in one position.

"They're pretty bizarre looking, but they work," Susan added.

Kenneth was a top-notch mechanic.

"When I was growing up, we didn't have parts available like now," Evan said. "If something broke, you just fixed it. He was always making his own tools."

Kenneth was into radios early on, and he built radios for all the neighbors.

Evan, who runs a lumber company, said watching his dad was a good learning experience.

"I saw how you start with an idea and pursue it. When you have roadblocks, you figure out how to get around them and work it just right."

[Source: The Janesville Gazette, December 1998, pp. 1B & 3B]