Mr. Simpson, one of 12 children, learned to fix things before he learned to read. He joined the military, and while stationed in the Pacific during World War II made his first windmill from parts of a junked B-29 bomber, to power a giant washing machine for soldiers’ clothes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/arts/design/06vollis.html?src=me&ref=general
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/arts/design/06vollis.html?src=me&ref=general
