Captain William C. Eddy

Captain William Crawford Eddy, born in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1902, known around Michigan City, IN as Captain Eddy; "Captain" was used almost like his first name as you would hear the local people in Michigan City mention him - an ingenious man who was as friendly as he was brilliant. If he heard someone say something couldn't be done, he would set out to prove that it could. With a sense of humor and an interest in inventions, his formal education led to military school. That education, plus more inventions led to United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He particularly loved submarines, and he developed the "Eddy Amplifier" to track ships, out of necessity to hide his partial deafness. The Navy tested the invention and found that submarines, using the device, had a better track record than those who didn't. He designed the Eddy Test, which tested aptitude for electrical maintenance technicians. It was used in the U.S. Navy and Marines. Other inventions designed to aid submarines followed. 

His Naval travels took him to many places, but particularly to China, where he met his future wife, Christine, a nurse from Grand Rapids. They married in 1927, had three children, and were together until Christine's death in 1984. 

Some of his inventions and developments include a radio antenna that transmitted under the ocean, a device that measured the speed of a ship from propeller beats, a mathematical formula that could predict the patterns of enemy ships, and the first commercial microwave network in this country and abroad. He was also involved in aviation. 

Captain Eddy was hugely instrumental in early television. Whether it was the technical part, the artistic part or the commercial end of television, Bill Eddy was deeply involved. (Remember "Kukla, Fran and Ollie?" and "Zoo Parade" with Marlin Perkins? Those were two of Bill's creations.) He began working with special effects, such as talking frogs or books that turned with own pages. His artistic talent resulted in cartoon images, 35 years of Eddy calendars, and other publications. Oil painting, ceramics, woodcarving, glasswork-whatever it was, Bill was involved.

Eddy and his family settled in Michigan City because he was looking for a place to anchor his boat, Imby, and he could do that here. He and Christine loved the area, and they stayed here the rest of their lives. His Chinese junk (photo above) was an attraction in Washington Park for many years. He had a reputation as a creative, innovative, technological and electronic genius. He was very friendly with a great sense of humor; he loved his Corvettes and airplanes. He had a love for animals and was a great friend to them. Michigan City is proud to have known Captain Eddy.