I was chatting with E.N. McDonnell the other day. He’s been on the other side of the lawn for quite some time now, but he founded the McDonnell & Miller company back in 1924, and I used to work for their rep in New York, so it was nice to reminisce with the old gent.
Mr. McDonnell had been back from The Great War for just five years, and had spent those years working for Jim McAlear, who was making water feeders at the time. Mr. McDonnell thought Mr. McAlear’s feeders were too old-school, in that they alternately fed and drained a steam boiler to maintain a certain water level, so he set out to make something new.