Grateful acknowledgement is given to Elaine Egdorf of the Homewood Historical Society (P.O. Box 1144, Homewood, IL 60430) for information she provided about John A. Miller.
The article reproduced below appeared in the May, 1993 edition of the Homewood Historical Society Newsletter.
HOMEWOOD INVENTOR LAUDED AS ROLLER COASTER GENIUSWhile many people have trouble handling life's ups- and-downs, for one Homewood resident, it was all in a day's work. For August Mueller -- known professionally as "John Miller" -- is even to this day considered the "Thomas Edison of the roller coaster."
Born in Homewood [Illinois] in 1872, Miller was just 19 when he teamed with LaMarcus Thompson (an historic figure who developed the first roller coaster in the United States, at Coney Island). The joining of Miller and Thompson has been likened to the partnership of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Almost every important roller coaster development -- many still in use today -- came from these two gifted inventors.
While Miller sought to incorporate greater thrills, he also was in the forefront of rider safety. When people thought 50 feet was the highest drop possible, Miller broke the 100-foot barrier. When high-banked hairpin turns were considered impossible (either the car would fly off, or the jarring motion would severely injure riders), Miller showed it could be done. And, in every case, safely.
It was Miller, for example, who developed the safety ratchet that gives every roller coaster its clanking chain sound. Its purpose is to keep the coaster cars from rolling back downhill if the chain should break. Likewise, his underfriction wheels lock cars to the track, allowing for many of today's gravity-defying designs.
Unlike many other great inventors, Miller did not surround himself with associates, being a sort of "Renaissance Man" inventor. Working virtually alone, often in his little office on Miller Court (P.O. Box 48/Telephone #10), he did everything from original plans to on-site supervision. This talented engineer was, as one admirer said, the "Golden Age Of Roller Coasters," all by himself.
Although Miller's work with Thompson, and later with the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, was prolific, only a very few personally-designed coasters remain today, the finest example of which is the "racing" coaster at Kennywood Park, near Pittsburgh. Some Homewood residents may, however, remember enjoying Miller-designed coasters at White City, or at Riverview Park (Big Dipper, Pippin Dips). Suffice to say, just about everyone who has enjoyed a coaster anywhere in the United States has experienced the genius of John Miller.
John Miller died in Houston, in 1941, while designing a coaster for that city, and now lies in Homewood Memorial Gardens. Yet, considering the impact he made upon history, John Miller personally remains a shadowy figure. It was almost as if he felt the man was nothing, the work was everything. Or, as one of his associates put it: "The rides were the thing, not when or where you were born. We were just busy putting up rides, and Miller didn't give a damn about such things."
(The preceding article was written by "Newsletter" Co-Editor Les Kloss, Jr., following the April meeting program he, Cathy, and Andy presented. The Kloss Family appreciates the information volunteered by other Society members who shared their knowledge of John Miller and the Mueller Family.)
