The Mother of Invention by Eleanor P. Heath I grew up on a farm, the eldest in a family of seven. Money was never plentiful. In those days, when the Depression was just beginning, I heard many familiar adages, like this favorite of my grandmother's: "Make it do or do without." My mother's was "Necessity is the mother of invention." I saw her put that notion to work as she concocted nourishing meals with what she had on hand. She also sewed and made over clothing to furnish us with a wardrobe that was ample and stylish. Marrying and starting a family during the Depression, I applied these same rules to my own situations. Then, during World War II, I got a job teaching at a small rural school. However, I had to have a car to travel the six miles to school. I was fortunate to find a secondhand car that was within my means. My husband, being mechanically inclined, did a few things to it and declared it ready for me to drive. One Saturday, when I was driving my mother to a small town a few miles from home, I had a chance to show her how resourceful I had become. The car had been running faithfully for a few weeks; my only problems had been flat tires. I had learned to change them when I was not lucky enough to have someone come along to help me. I intended to replace them as soon as money was available. But now, suddenly, the car stopped without even a cough or sputter. Mother was sure we must be out of gas, but I assured her the gauge worked perfectly. She began to flutter like a mother hen. She had never driven and was not very mechanical. "What can you do?" she asked. "Should you walk home and get someone to help?" I could see she was not going to be any help--and there was no phone at home, so calling was out of the question. Leaving her in the car, I got out and, with an air of bravado, lifted the hood and peered in. That engine tried to stare me down, but I was not to be out-done by a tangle of wires, a few spark plugs and other unidentifiable parts. Ha! That little glass jug on top of the carburetor was empty, and I knew it had to hold gasoline. Looking around, I saw a chain hanging with loose ends. I remembered my husband telling me that he had to make over some of the motor parts and shorten the linkage to the fuel pump. I just had to find something to put that chain together. I didn't believe a hairpin would do. I stared at this mess of "innards." Then, imagine my surprise to see a small metal pin lying there. It looked like my missing part. The two ends of the chain were soon put together and I took my head out from under the hood to inform my mother that I had located the problem and we were practically on our way. However, there was still one small problem: How to get gas into that little glass jug on top of the carburetor? There was gas in the tank, but how to get it from there to the jug? I had no hose to siphon it with. I looked around in the backseat for help. My youngest was a baby, and there sat a stack of diapers, but how to get the corner of one into the tank? One day, while changing a tire, I had found the longest-handled screwdriver I had ever seen. It was just right to poke a corner of a diaper into the tank with. Three trips to dip and wring it into the jug filled it nicely. Getting into the car, I stepped on the starter. The engine started immediately. As we started down the road, Mother sat back, folded her hands and, with a sigh of relief, said, "You know, dear, necessity really is the mother of invention."