This geocache is part of the West Bend GeoTour:
Twenty geocaches have been hidden throughout our historic city that highlight the best of West Bend in any season!
To earn a geocoin, teams must pick up a West Bend GeoTour Passport from the Chamber of Commerce (preferred method) or download a passport. Collect 25 points as detailed in the passport. See complete details at visitwestbend.com/geocaching-2.
Remember to record the password from this cache in your GeoTour Passport!
GeoTour Stop #6: Aluminum Housewares Museum
This sleek and beautifully designed facility tells the story of two giants in the aluminum housewares industry – The West Bend Company and Regal Ware, Inc. Not only did these two companies have a significant impact on the Washington County community, they were also instrumental in nationally shaping American consumerism and women’s history.
The Smithsonian was after this collection, but the companies and historical society won the battle to keep it in West Bend. The museum showcases nearly 100 years of coffee urns, corn poppers, pie plates, salad spinners, and more. Notable items include the Deli Dog (a combo hot dog cooker/bun steamer shaped like a dog house) and the ill-conceived electric pizza slicer. Among the museum’s prized artifacts are West Bend’s first pudding pan and the world’s first whistling tea kettle. The museum is even featured in Roadside America and is definitely worth a visit (small admission fee). Visit www.historyisfun.com for hours or more information.
The West Bend Aluminum Company was founded by Bernhard C. Ziegler and six other businessmen in 1911. They rented a former knitting mill/button factory for $8.50 a month along the west bend of the Milwaukee River (you can see the old site of the company at GeoTour Stop #8). The first products included a water dipper and cookware. Many revolutionary products followed, including in 1922, the first drip coffee maker, the Flavo-Drip automatic drip that did not require paper filters. During the Great Depression in the 1930's, the company managed to remain profitable by diversifying to include copper. In 1932, West Bend launched its first electrical appliance, the Kwik Drip coffee maker that heated the water and kept the coffee warm.
In the 1940's, the company won a contract for the Navy and converted from manufacturing cookware to military items for the war. In the mid-'70s, the Stir Crazy® electric corn popper was introduced to the world. In 1983, West Bend® acquired Total Gym Equipment and entered new product markets. In the 90's, West Bend® became the number one producer of breadmakers in the world. Recently, they launched the egg and muffin toaster. In 2011, they celebrated their 100th Anniversary, and buried a Time Capsule (which you can read about at GeoTour stop #7).
The Regal Ware company started as the Kewaskum Aluminum Company in 1919. They also introduced many innovative kitchen products, such as the Waterless Cooker in 1919, colorful anodized accessories in 1956, stainless steel waterless cookware in 1956, and were one of the first companies to feature Teflon in 1960. They acquired many companies throughout the years, including the West Bend Company in 2002. Regal Ware has even been featured on Discovery Channel's How Stuff's Made twice.
The Geocache: You are looking for a rectangular container with room for swag and trackables. You do not need to enter the museum to find the cache (although it's highly recommended--let them know you heard about them from geocaching if you do). This cache is available any season, but would be trickier to find with a lot of snow. Permission was granted to hide this cache by Patricia Lutz at the Washington County Historical Society.