Good morning,
Today’s forecast for Whitewater calls for a high temperature of eighty-five, and an even chance of thunderstorms.
From Wisconsin history on this date, the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls long-enduring labor strife, and strikes, at the Kohler Company:
1934 – Two killed, 40 hurt in Kohler riot; National Guard occupies town
On this day, the “model industrial village” of Kohler became an armed camp of National Guard cavalrymen after deadly strike-related rioting. The July 27th violence, which killed two Sheboygan men and injured 40 others, prompted the summoning of 250 Guardsmen to join the 200 special deputy village marshals already present. After striking workers became agitated and began to destroy company property, deputies turned to tear gas, rifles, and shotguns to quell the stone-throwing crowd, resulting in the deaths and injuries. Owner Walter Kohler blamed Communists and outside agitators for the violence, while union leaders blamed Kohler exclusively. Workers at the Kohler plant were demanding better hours, higher wages, and recognition of the American Federation of Labor as their collective bargaining agent. Not settled until 1941, the strike marked the beginning of what was to become a prolonged struggle between the Kohler Company and organized labor in Wisconsin; a second Kohler strike lasted from 1954 to 1965. [Source: Capital Times 7/28/1934, p.1]
More on the strikes and the planned industrial village is available in Alanen, A.R. and Peltin, T.J. “Kohler, Wisconsin: Planning and Paternalism in a Model Industrial Village.” Journal of the American Institute of Planners 44, April 145-159.
The term bubbler for a drinking fountain originates with the Kohler Company:
We have traced the origin of the modern bubbler back to 1888 and a small waterworks company in Kohler, WI.
This new-fangled product shot water about 1″ straight up and you drank from the “bubble” of water created, the excess of which ran back down over the sides of the nozzle.
This company, called Kohler, was already well known for its water faucet production. In fact, Kohler is still one of the nation’s leading producers of faucets. But a man with a vision, Harlan Huckleby, came up with an idea that revolutionized the way the world drinks water.
He called it The Bubbler, and Kohler immediately patented the product and promoted its trademark name. Other waterworks manufacturers copied the product, but weren’t allowed to use its original name. The imitations went by names like “The Gurgler” and “The Gusher”, but those names didn’t catch on.
The competition’s products eventually saturated the market, and bubbler became just another name. Yet, it is still used today in parts of the world; mainly, Wisconsin and Australia.
Today, bubblers stream water from a nozzle in an arc projection, thus allowing the user to drink with ease.
