Industry

Neenah Foundry Standard Design. Courtesy of Keith Kaziak, 2020.

Industry / Neenah / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Winnebago County / Region 5 - Center East / Neenah Foundry Manhole Cover

From the Fox River Valley to the Windy City: The Roaring Twenties and the Neenah Foundry

The 1920s began with significant economic prosperity and an emphasis on social and culturally rich energy with an influx of jazz, Art-Deco, telephones, film, and radio in cities like Chicago, IL. With the City of Chicago flourishing, The Neenah Foundry of the…

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September 29, 2021

Raw coke for iron ore smelting. Made by heating coal in the absence of air. Photo courtesy of Stahlkocher.

Industry / Neenah / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Winnebago County / Science & Medicine / Region 5 - Center East / Neenah Foundry Manhole Cover

An Iron Kinship: Abraham Darby and William Aylward Sr.

In 1872, William Aylward Sr. combined air, coal, and iron ore to produce his first plowshares and other agricultural implements.[1] The founder of what would become the Neenah Foundry followed a process developed by an English man named Abraham Darby more than…

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September 29, 2021

City of Madison Manhole Cover. Photo courtesy of Keith Kaziak, 2020.

Wisconsin Made / Industry / Object Histories / Neenah / Manufacturing & Trade / Winnebago County / Region 5 - Center East / 1987-2011 / Neenah Foundry Manhole Cover

OBJECT HISTORY: Neenah Foundry Manhole Cover

Since opening in 1904, the Neenah Foundry has earned a worldwide reputation for producing manhole covers. Manhole covers are removable lids fitted for tunnels large enough for people to access underground sewer and storm water systems. Made from strong and long-lasting cast…

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September 29, 2021

Sports & Games / Industry / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Marathon / Related Stories / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

Marathon City Brewing and the Wee Willy Basketball Team

The Marathon City Brewery sponsored local sports teams like the Wee Willy basketball team, originally known as the Catholic Youth Organization Team, which organized in 1936. Though the team temporarily disbanded during World War II, in the mid-1940s, young men from the…

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September 14, 2021

Industry / Marathon / Related Stories / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Region 4 - Center / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

The Marathon Brewery’s Chain of Calamities

In the early 1880s, Franz Sindermann, who was trained as a brewer in Germany, formed a brewery in Marathon, Wisconsin with his brother, August, along with a third partner, Charles Klein. The brewery got off to a good start, producing 300 barrels…

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September 14, 2021

Industry / Marathon / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Everyday Life / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1945-1965 / Region 4 - Center / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

OBJECT HISTORY: Marathon Brewing Company “Superfine” Beer bottle

The "Superfine" beer bottle is from the 1940/1950s from the Marathon City Brewing Company. Superfine was one of the many labels produced by Marathon City Brewery over eight decades from 1881 to 1966, featuring names such as Tannenbaum, Marathon Holiday, Marathon Bock,…

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August 31, 2021