Olivia Poole

Susan Olivia Poole (1889–1975) 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.[1] By 1957, the Jolly Jumper was patented.[2]

Olivia Poole
BornApril 18th, 1889
Devils Lake, Ramsey County, North Dakota, US
DiedOctober 10, 1975 (aged 86)
Ganges, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada
Other namesSusan Olivia Poole
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forInventing Jolly Jumpers

Early life

Born in 1889 in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, Poole grew up in Minnesota at the White Earth Indian Reservation.[3] She was part Ojibway or Chippewa. At a young age, she observed how women would strap babies to cradle boards, a practice called “papoose”.[4] 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.[5]

Education

Poole was a very talented pianist.[6] She studied music at Manitoba, Canada’s Brandon College.[3]

Personal life

Poole married and had seven children, the first a boy named Joseph.[7] 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.[3]

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”.[5] The broom handle was used as a suspension bar and the diaper for a harness.[3] 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.[2][8] She was one of the first Indigenous Canadian women to be awarded a patent.[3] She later established Poole Manufacturing Co., Ltd, which she sold in the 1960s.[3]

Later years

Poole died at the age of 86 on October 10, 1975, in Ganges, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada.[3] 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.[6]

References
  1. "History". Jolly Jumper. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  2. "The Jolly Jumper, a new Canadian creation in 1957". CBC. 2018-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  3. Jessica Young (24 July 2020). "Olivia Poole". Canadian Encyclopedia.
  4. "Made in Canada: Handy to Have". Canada's History. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  5. "Celebrating all things great and Canadian, eh?". Canada Protection Plan. 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  6. "Olivia Poole | Lemelson-MIT Program". Lemelson-MIT Program. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  7. "How one Canadian woman changed the parenting game with this baby invention". Global News. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  8. "B.C. Day special: 50 fun facts about our fascinating province". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
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