See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Jonas Salk Story.
Life Lesson #25 – Learn About Cause and Effect.
When Gail Borden was born, in 1801, there was a lot of unsettled land to be surveyed, measured, and divided into lots. That’s what Gail’s father did, and by helping his father, that’s what Gail learned how do, too. When he finished school, however, he became a teacher, because he also enjoyed helping students learn to read, write, and work math problems.
It wasn’t long, though, before Gail moved to Texas, and right away, he helped Stephen F. Austin by surveying the new land. Gail Borden was always thinking about ways to help people, sometimes inventing things to make their lives better in some way.
Once, he took a trip on a large ship to Europe, and that’s when he had his very best invention idea of all. You see, it really bothered him to see those little children on the ship who did not have any milk to drink. Of course, there were no refrigerators in those days, so there was no way to keep milk fresh on long trips. Gail Borden thought and thought about it until he invented a machine that could condense milk and put it into cans—cans that didn’t need to be refrigerated. Soon, he built a milk canning factory and a dairy company, and Gail Borden became very wealthy. He was then able to help people even more. In fact, he spent the rest of his life helping to build churches and schools for poor people.
Today, Borden’s milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, and other products can be found in almost any store. All because of a very helpful little boy who grew up to be a very helpful HERO!
– Jim Lord