The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

These documents consist of letters from Mina Miller Edison to her son Theodore and daughter-in-law Ann. Most of the letters are addressed to Theodore and Ann jointly, but a few are addressed to Theodore by himself. Several of the letters contain newspaper clippings. All of the letters were written from Seminole Lodge, the family's winter home in Fort Myers, Florida. The first eight letters date from the period January-June 1929. The last letter, dated December 19, 1929, was written two weeks after Thomas and Mina returned to Florida for what would prove to be their longest stay ever at Fort Myers—slightly more than six months.

Thomas Edison turned eighty-two on February 11, 1929, and the inventor was honored at a birthday celebration at Seminole Lodge that included President-elect Herbert Hoover, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and scores of his Florida neighbors. Among the highlights of the day was a birthday address by Edison, which was broadcast nationwide over station WJZ, the flagship station of the NBC Blue Network. Mina comments on this event in her letter of March 1, noting that her new radio "was perfect for the first night," without the static interference that made some of the stations, such as the ones in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, difficult to hear. Mina also mentions listening to the remarks of Charles Edison, who introduced his father from the WJZ studio in New York City. Several other letters contain remarks about difficulties experienced in receiving radio broadcasts, and one includes a suggestion that Theodore come down to Florida to investigate the matter. Referring to his recent five-week trip to the West Coast to troubleshoot problems with poor radio reception, she asks "is not Florida as important as California." In addition to repeated requests for Theodore and Ann to visit, there are references to visits by other family members including Charles and Carolyn Edison, Madeleine Edison, and Ed and Betsy Miller. Mina also mentions that Ed and Betsy are planning to acquire an Edison Radio-Phonograph

Mina's letters contain several comments about the health of her aging husband, as well as her own health and that of other family members and friends. In her letter of March 1, Mina notes that Thomas "has been having a bad spasm with his stomach," adding that "his stomach has been very bad down here ever since his birthday." She expresses hope that "he may be better after Mr. Ford goes," since when Ford is around her husband tries too hard to keep up with him "more or less forgetting that he is years younger." A letter from May 9 reports that the inventor is "fine now" and speculates that the spasms he had earlier experienced may have been the result of the milk sent from Detroit not agreeing with him. She again opines that "Mr. Ford's being here made him a little nervous. . . . Nerves of the stomach has a lot to do with his trouble." Mina also mentions Edison's milk diet in a letter from April 25, noting that "he is taking nothing but milk every two hours and is keeping in better shape than he has for years." Mina discusses her own health problems in the letter written after her return to Fort Myers in December. (She had contracted a severe cold over the summer and was still not feeling well when she departed for Florida.) "At first I was so crippled up I could hardly move." She felt much better after she "went on milk diet with father and stayed in bed nearly three days, so [I] am keeping up the milk diet."

There are also remarks about the health of Madeleine Edison Sloane, who visited Seminole Lodge for two weeks in late March-early April. Mina attributed her health problems to the heat and to "worn out nerves," but in reality she was suffering from a gallbladder condition that necessitated an operation in mid-May. (Mina briefly returned North to be with her ailing daughter.) In addition, there are references to the health of Madeleine's three children—Teddy, Jack, and Peter—