.The
Forney Museum of Transportation began as
the private collection of Mr. J. D. Forney
of Fort Collins, Colorado. From an early age Mr.
Forney had an interest in cars, airplanes,
and all modes of transportation. He was
born in Enid, Oklahoma on January 27, 1905.
Due to a family breakup, J. D. lived some
of his childhood on his Uncle Mert's farm
in Missouri. There he learned how to do
a full day's work at an early age helping
with chores. He ran away when he was 14
and was on his own from then on. He knew
how to work hard, and delighted in doing
a man's work and receiving a man's wages.
J.
D. attended his first years of high school
back in Enid, where he purchased his first
car, a 1919 Model T Coupe. He spent his
senior year in Sterling, CO, where his older
brother Clarence was the Industrial Arts
teacher. He also worked part time in the
local grocery store, and played on the high
school football team.
....While
a student at Sterling, J.D. traded his Model
T for a used 1919 Kissel touring car.
J.D.
in his 1919 Kissel
He
brought this car with him when he enrolled
at Colorado A&M, (Aggies), which is
now CSU. (He confessed that he had been
ticketed for speeding around the oval
there.) It was here at college
that he met and courted Rachel Krickbaum
in his Kissel car. A few years later,
she became Mrs. J.D. Forney.
...After
years of hard farm labor, J. D. knew that
he did not want farming to be his life's
work. In his youth he had often sold products
door to door to earn extra money and enjoyed
the work. After college he began selling
encyclopedias.
.....In
1932 the Depression limited sales and J.
D. looked for other ways to support his
family. He invented and patented a unique
"Instant Heat Soldering Iron"
and the Forney Manufacturing Company was
formed. Its headquarters was the basement
of his home in Ft. Collins, Colorado - where he
began to manufacture and sell his invention,
with considerable assistance from his wife.
.....This
original soldering iron worked
from a car battery and was ready
to solder as soon as you touched
the metal. In the early 30's,
he developed a 110V transformer
to operate the soldering iron.
This then developed into a small
welder, and after that, a larger
welder.
In the late 1930's, J.D. had a vision
of a welding machine that would work
with the electricity available from
the newly developed REA farm electrical
system. Such a welder had to be able
to operate satisfactorily from small
rural transformers. His was the first
'limited input welder'. When REA approved
his welder, his vision moved forward
rapidly. These welders were easy enough
for the average man to operate, and
soon Forney Manufacturing Co. became
known as the pioneer in "farm welding".
For many years Forney Manufacturing
led the nation in the production of
farm welders. Other products followed,
including battery chargers, spot welders,
welding supplies, vacuum cleaners, training
film production, water ski's, and even
aircraft (Fornaire Aircoupe). The affiliated
companies became Forney Industries.
