A model of the self-starter as it was built in 1912 and furnished to Cadillac.
Deeds and Kettering had often talked of the great things they were going to do. On one occasion when they sat on a red couch in the living room of the Deeds residence, Deeds spoke of the two small Providence manufacturers and their simple plan of ownership and operation. The inspiration came to him: “Why can’t we do the same thing?”
That “something” on a motor car still clamored for development. Vaguely, Deeds saw it as an electric ignition system that would emancipate motorists from one of the tribulations of the early automobile era. The “Suburban Sixty” was equipped with an Atwater-Kent single spark battery ignition. It was efficient but complicated and expensive. Deeds envisaged improved ignition as another electrical possibility.
Kettering, whose very life was keyed to electricity, had been thinking along the same line. Deeds had tremendous confidence in Kettering, born of appreciation of his great gifts which had already registered a solid achievement at the NCR. He had perfected the motor for the cash register and had worked miracles on various machines. In Kettering, Deeds found a heaven-sent associate, animated by the same ideal of purpose as his own and one who could share his dreams and aspirations. When Deeds told Kettering of his ideas, he found a willing listener. On the suggestion that they combine their efforts, the lean, angular inventor needed no urging. He put out his hand, stained by chemicals, and answered:
“That suits me. We’ll shake on it.”
There and then the Deeds-Kettering partnership came into being, unsigned but sealed by mutual faith and cemented by loyal friendship. The informal alliance was fated for an accomplishment that not only opened up new inventive horizons but contributed to the standardizing of automobile production and operation.
The first objective was a workshop. “Suburban Sixty” had been built in the Deeds barn. Deeds now turned the barn over to the project. The barn became a laboratory in which ideas flashed and sometimes clashed back and forth in almost dazzling succession.
Before the curtain rises on the Drama of the Barn let us envisage the principal actors as they stood on the threshold of the great adventure. No two men could have presented a greater physical contrast. Deeds was ruddy, keen-eyed, broad of shoulder; Kettering was tall, spare, and spectacled. Deeds was the engineer by instinct and training with a flair for finance and organization. Behind him already lay considerable experience as an industrial executive. Thus he became the wise counsellor and negotiator. Kettering was the technical expert with a genius for invention. To scientific imagination he brought a rare insight into mechanism. Deeds had once said, in discussing the development of the electric ignition, lighting, and starting system, “Men must hunt in pairs.” For the enterprise now to be initiated, the ideal “pair” existed. The two men represented an unbeatable combination.
Some of the members of the “Barn Gang,” left to right: W. A. Chryst, W. P. Anderson, C. F. Kettering, E. A. Deeds.