Henry lived in a small city in the southern part of New
Jersey. His father had come to this country from Europe and
could not speak the English language very well. He worked in a
machine-shop. When Henry was two years old his mother died,
leaving four little mother-less boys. The father did the best he
could for them. He worked hard in the machine shop by day, and at
night and on Sundays he made the home as comfortable as he could
for the boys. Each boy was taught to help around the home and to
do his share of the work.
The boys started to attend the Sunday school in the First
Baptist Church. In that church there was a wonderful old man,
named Doctor Putnam. He took special pains to know all the boys.
They all loved him because he loved them, took them canoe riding
and taught them how to paddle a canoe, took them on long hikes
into the country, and on rare occasions invited them on long
hikes into the country, and on rare occasions invited them to is
own home for a dinner of planked shad or fried oysters. The old
doctor soon became well acquainted with Henry.
Henry attended the public school until he was old enough to
work, then he was hired as an apprentice in a foundry. One day
Doctor Putnam noticed that something was troubling Henry. He
made up his mind to find what was the cause of his unhappiness.
Upon inquiry he found that Henry had been apprenticed to the
foundry to learn the trade of iron-molding. He hated this work
not so much because it was hard and dirty and hot, but because he
wanted most of all to be a machinist like his father. He was
even thinking of quitting his job and going somewhere else to
find another job. Doctor Putnam found out all these things, and
then secured for Henry a position as an apprentice in a machine
shop. Henry loved machinery. The day after he had finished his
four-years' apprenticeship, he started in business for himself.
In his little shop he made an engine, making all the parts
himself.
Near the city where Henry lived were the oyster-beds of
Delaware Bay. Many of the oyster captains lived in his city. He
had often been on their boats and seen the hand-dredges which
were used to gather up the oysters from the bottom of the ocean.
One day he thought, "I believe I could make an engine that would
work those dredges." Se he began to work on it in his little
shop. After a while he went to an oyster captain and asked
permission to make a test of his new engine on his oyster-boat.
This permission was given. So Henry and a few of his friends
fastened the engine on the boat, sailed out to the oyster beds
and tried his new machine. It would not work. Some laughed at
him and said, "I told you so. You cannot dredge oysters with an
engine." Henry, who was a quiet young man said nothing only
studied carefully the engine until he discovered why it would not
work. Then he went back to this shop and worked on his engine
until every difficulty had been overcome. Now he was ready for
another test. This time it worked perfectly. Now he was ready
for another test. This time it worked perfectly. Immediately
every oyster-boat wanted an engine because it would do the work
of four men and do it more easily and quickly. Henry enlarged
his shop, employed more mechanics, and developed a big
business.
But that is not all. He remembered Doctor Putnam and his
kindness to him when he was a boy and needed a friend. He
remembered his Sunday school and all the church did for him.
Above all he remembered and honored his dear old father. Today
Henry has an office in that church and Sunday school. He has
been a member of the city council and has worked for playgrounds
and a better city for boys and young men. But best of all, the
boys in Henry's city know and love him because he is a good
friend to them.
( Henry A. Hettinger died on March 1, 1931 in Bridgeton, NJ
at the age of 56, a victim of cancer.)
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