LaVerne W. Noyes

In 1879, Noyes moved to Chicago and lived there for the rest of his life.  He had just recently invented what became known as the Noyes Dictionary Holder.  Ida had trouble holding her large copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and asked him to devise something to help her.  After several weeks, he put together  a series of wires to make a holder.  He began to manufacture the Noyes Dictionary Holder and also obtained patents on improved farm machinery which he sold to various manufacturers. An example of the Noyes Dictionary Holder can be seen in the Farm House Museum’s permanent collection on ISU campus.