July to Jessica and Chuck - Bread slicing machine

 

When July rolled around, I pulled out some square envelopes and reshaped them into rectangles. I forgot what I did on Chuck's. I might have tried the white Sharpie marker from the new set. They aren't paint pens - but they are bold.

Then I tried Jessica's. Neither of these pleased me. The ones I will post tomorrow are a little better.

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I have such mixed feelings about Iowa. I am not a native - but, it's been home for over 50 years - so a few little tidbits soften my view of the parts that annoy me. This dovetails nicely with the fact that the first computer was born in Ames, Iowa.

Iowa Time Machine : On July 7, 1880, Otto Frederick Rohwedder, inventor of sliced bread, was born in Davenport, Iowa.

Born to a German immigrant family, Rohwedder grew up in eastern Iowa while attending Davenport’s public schools. Upon high school graduation, he started an apprenticeship as a jeweler. Success soon found him, and he opened three jewelry stores. However, tinkering with watches led Rohwedder to experiment with creating new inventions.

When the idea for an automatic bread-slicing machine struck Rohwedder, he sold his jewelry stores to invest in developing his idea. Although a fire destroyed his early prototypes and blueprints, he continued developing his automatic bread-slicing machine.

In 1927, Rohwedder applied for patents for a machine that sliced bread and wrapped it. Going into business with his friend Frank Bench to install the machines at the Chillicothe Baking Company, the first loaf of sliced bread hit the market on Rohwedder’s 38th birthday, July 7, 1928.

Although the Continental Baking Company introduced Wonder Bread in 1930, Rohwedder continued to improve on his invention. He eventually sold his patent rights to the Micro-Westco Company of Bettendorf, Iowa, where he spent the rest of his career as a vice president and sales manager.