TOPICS Start of Efforts to Raise Funds to Support the House Where Thomas Edison Was Born
Yawata City Employees Volunteer, Bonds of Friendship between Two Cities


The birthplace of Thomas Alva Edison (Milan, Ohio, U.S.A.)

There is a call to save the house in which a great inventor was born. The birthplace of Thomas Edison, the man who developed the first practical electric light bulb using bamboo from Yawata, is having trouble paying its electric bills, so the city employees at the Yawata City Hall in Kyoto have started volunteer fund raising activities within the City Hall. The house where Edison was born is located in the village of Milan, Ohio (population 1500, approximately 10 square kilometers). The house is now used as a museum and is visited by 20,000 people annually. However, admission to the house is free, and it was recently reported that the financial situation is so severe that the house is unable to pay an electric bill of approximately US$700. Yawata City has formed a sister city relationship with Milan based on the historic bond between the light bulb and bamboo. Upon hearing of the house's financial problems, Yawata City employees began a drive to collect donations for the house. Donations, including donations from residents of Yawata, can be sent by registered cash mail. All donations will be contributed to the house through Milan mayor Robert C. Bickley. The contact address in Yawata is: Yawata City Hall Secretary and Public Relations Office 75 Yawata Koen-nai Yawata, Japan

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