The Meter Man by Jess Hess

When I was little, I remember hearing a statement by various family members that my Great Grandpa Badders knew one of the Wright Brothers. Being my young and oblivious self, that didn't carry much weight with me and I never bothered to find out more. It wasn't until just recently that I followed up with my grandpa about it and discovered the relationship between my great grandpa and Mr. Orville Wright. I initially thought my great grandpa was the paper man for Orville, but that proved to be false after I talked to my grandpa (see what I mean when I said the story didn't carry much weight with me at first?). Here's what I found out: My great grandpa lived in Dayton and worked for DP&L as a meter man. This meant that he would go around to different houses, go in their basement, look on their meter, and see how much electricity that household had used. He had the pleasure of being the meter man for Orville Wright when he had lived in Dayton after Wilbur had passed away. It was through this that my great grandpa and Orville struck up a friendship.  According to my grandpa, Orville would invite my great grandpa to sit at his kitchen table so that he could talk about his ideas with my great grandpa. Orville would share ideas and inventions with him, accompanied by drawings and models. Unfortunately, my grandpa could not recall any of the inventions Orville shared with my grandpa's dad. Regardless, it's still a unique story and a cool connection my family has to the Wright Brothers!