Eagle Ottawa Leather Traditional Cache
Pucketts: unfortunately I have to archive this cache. The property owner put a fence up blocking all access to this cache. Looks like they are going to start demo on the rest of the building. Thankfully my L.E.O. cacher friend was able to talk to GHPSD and retrieve my container. I'm sorry to all that have wanted to find this cache and a big thanks to all that have took time to find it.
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Welcome to a piece of Grand Haven's history!
We are bringing you to Grand Haven's east side to show you this old building. It sits on a 19 acre parcel. For more than a century, the property has been used for tanning leather products. Eagle Ottawa's roots traced back to 1865 with the start of the Eagle Tanning Works in Whitehall. In 1868, the Metz Leather Co. was organized in Grand Haven and later became the Grand Haven Leather Co.
In 1900, Grand Haven Leather Co. was acquired by Eagle Tanning Works of Whitehall. In 1910, the plants began producing upholstery for the fledgling automobile industry and for Pullman railroad cars. The name of the Grand Haven operation later was changed to the Ottawa Leather Co.
In 1916, both the Whitehall and Grand Haven plants combined operations as the Eagle Ottawa Leather Co. By 1936, Eagle Ottawa had become the largest upholstery tannery in the world. In 1944, the Whitehall plant was sold to General Shoe Corp. Julian Hatton and Ed Ellis of Grand Haven eventually purchased the Grand Haven Eagle Ottawa operation.
The company was briefly named the Hatton Leather Co. before reverting to Eagle Ottawa. In 1961, an expanded Eagle Ottawa was purchased by Albert Trostel & Sons Co. of Milwaukee, which is now part of the Everett Smith Group in Milwaukee.
As recently as April 1995, Eagle Ottawa employment in Grand Haven was at an all-time high, with 835 hourly employees and 240 salaried workers. But in 1996, the company laid off 250 workers, followed by other layoffs, including 117 in 2001. It closed in late 2006.
Please be sure to respect private property here. There are private property signs on the exterior of the building. There is no need to cross into private property, enter the building or even touch the building for that matter.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1. Urnq yriry.
2. Fznyyre guna n zvpeb, ovttre guna n anab.
Treasures
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