ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701200137
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MILAN, OHIOO
It could have been lights-out for the museum honoring the inventor of the light bulb.
Strapped for cash, the Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum needs help to pay its electric bill.
Last year, Milan Township Trustees bailed out the museum. This year, American Electric Power is coming to the rescue, donating $2,000.
``We felt it was a very generous thing to do and appropriate considering he started the electric industry,'' museum Director Larry Russell said.
Milan, about 55 miles southeast of Toledo, is beyond the utility's service area boundaries; but when company officials learned about the museum's mounting debt, they decided to help.
``The museum pays tribute to the father of our industry and a great innovator who helped shape the Industrial Age,'' company executive Marsha Ryan said.
Edison is credited with inventing the electric light bulb, the phonograph and the microphone, among other modern wonders. In all, Edison had 1,093 patents to his credit when he died in 1931.
The museum's 1996 electric bill came to about $700, easily covered by the township's $1,000 donation.
About 10,000 people visit the museum each year, down from about 25,000 a few years ago.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB