When the Great Miami River flooded Dayton Ohio in March 1913, John Patterson wired The New York Times: “Situation here desperate. All people, except on outskirts, imprisoned by water. They have had no food, no drinking water, no light, no heat for two days.” As the floodwaters rose, Patterson converted the National Cash Register factory. It would now mass produce rowboats to reach and rescue the stranded residents. A community leader at his eulogy had this to say: Patterson “turned the force ...

When the Great Miami River flooded Dayton Ohio in March 1913, John Patterson wired The New York Times: “Situation here desperate. All people, except on outskirts, imprisoned by water. They have had no food, no drinking water, no light, no heat for two days.” As the floodwaters rose, Patterson converted the National Cash Register factory. It would now mass produce rowboats to reach and rescue the stranded residents. A community leader at his eulogy had this to say: Patterson “turned the force ...