VOIL DOWNS A WATERVILLE INVENTOR
VOIL DOWNS
In the “days of olde” there was a Waterville man that was a “jack of all trades” Voil Downs (1896-1978) was born near the Neapolis-Swanton and Archibold-Whitehouse roads in a log cabin. He moved to Waterville where he worked on telephone lines. Later in Waterville he worked for C.M. Gray, and as an engineer running the generating equipment at the Waterville Electrical Power Co, where he retired after 28 years. In his free time he wrote articles for Standard, Maumee Valley News and Sentinel Tribune under the name of “Shorty”, but what we want to emphasize was his extra-curricular activities at his home. He had his own machine shop where, in 1940, he designed and built a special air compressor needed by a local doctor. Soon other doctors were coming to see if he could help them. In an old news article in the Blade by Howard E Good it states, “He had 17 physicians and surgeons of Toledo and area towns, also most Toledo hospitals and one in Findlay, plus he completed an order for a Buffalo hospital.” For many years he became known as someone who could redesign medical equipment that would make it easier for medical staff to use. They would bring items for him to recondition or develop a better way to use it. In his shop he made an improved operating table with adjusting mechanism to adjust to any needed positions. Then he created a stainless steel tank with integral pump and positive controls for persons hydrotherapy was prescribed, which was used in hospitals for treating polio victims. The pump built into the unit circulates water at 110 degrees and drains the tank at end of treatment period. Air in optimum proportion was introduced into flowing water by jets near the inlet tube at top. He was also able to make a new way to hang intravenous bottles so a person could walk around. Of course today all of these have been improved but at the time he was living these were all new ideas being used.
All of his jobs and machine shop were not enough. Voil was a volunteer fireman, active in civic affairs and an active member of several fraternal organizations. Voil and Elsie moved to Findlay in 1967 but returned to Waterville to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary March 28, 1976. Voil died in Findlay
November 20, 1978 Author’s Note: The photographs and much of the information for this article comes from Howard Good.