Olivia Poole
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Susan Olivia Poole (April 18, 1889 – October 10, 1975) was an Indigenous Canadian inventor. She invented the Jolly Jumper, a baby jumper, in 1910, but it was not until 1948 that they were produced for the retail market. They are manufactured in Ontario, Canada.<ref name="Jolly Jumper History">Template:Cite web</ref> By 1957, the Jolly Jumper was patented.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
Early life
Born in 1889 in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, Poole grew up in Minnesota at the White Earth Indian Reservation.<ref name=canenc>Template:Cite web</ref> She was part Ojibway or Chippewa. At a young age, she observed how women would strap babies to cradle boards, a practice called "papoose".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While working in the fields, she also observed how mothers would hang their papooses on tree branches, using leather straps, as a medium for a soft bouncing motion.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
Poole was a very talented pianist.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> She studied music at Manitoba, Canada's Brandon College.<ref name=canenc/>
Personal life
Poole married and had seven children, the first a boy named Joseph.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After his birth, she began putting a swing together that resembled the practice she remembered as a young girl. After her invention, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband in 1942.<ref name=canenc/>
Invention
Poole used a broom handle and cloth diaper in her first attempts at creating the swing that is now known as "The Jolly Jumper".<ref name=":1" /> The broom handle was used as a suspension bar and the diaper for a harness.<ref name=canenc/> By the early 1950s, her family convinced her to take the swing commercially. She was awarded a patent in 1957, with the help of her son Joseph.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was one of the first Indigenous Canadian women to be awarded a patent.<ref name=canenc/> She later established Poole Manufacturing Co., Ltd, which she sold in the 1960s.<ref name=canenc/>
Later years
Poole died at the age of 86 on October 10, 1975, in Ganges, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada.<ref name=canenc/> She is buried at Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery in Victoria, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. Her invention is still being sold today. There are over 200 items manufactured under the Jolly Jumper name, including potty trainers, baby accessories, car seats, etc.<ref name=":2" />
References
External links
- Dubé, D. (June 29, 2017). How one Canadian woman changed the parenting game with this baby invention. Retrieved April 2, 2019, from
- MIT Program. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2019, from https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/olivia-poole
- Passport 2017. (October 19, 2017). Retrieved April 2, 2019, from https://passport2017.ca/articles/shout-susan-olivia-poole