| VINTAGE BREAD MACHINE RETURNS HOME |  |
| VINTAGE BREAD MACHINE RETURNS HOME | |
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Chillicothe Duo
Leaves on Sliced Bread Mission
CAPTION: Ed Douglas, chairman of the Sliced Bread Committee, addresses community members just prior to the departure of a local group bound for Kimball, Nebraska, to pick up an original Rohwedder bread slicing machine and bring it to Chillicothe. The machine is similar to the one used when Frank Bench of Chillicothe Baking Company made history on July 7, 1928, by being the first place in the world to sell commercially sliced bread. Also on hand were crew members from Kansas City Public Television, who hope to produce a documentary about the history of sliced bread. The sendoff took place at Woody's Automotive Group around 9 a.m. Thursday, December 15, 2011. Community members provided a grand sendoff for the local team traveling to western Nebraska to retrieve and bring back to Chillicothe a slice of local history. Steve Holt and Scott Ellis pulled out of Woody's Automotive Group's parking lot around 9 a.m., bound for Kimball, Nebraska, where they will pick up an original Rohwedder bread slicing machine. The machine, believed to have been manufactured around 1929, is similar to the one used at Frank Bench's Chillicothe Bakery on July 7, 1928, when the local bakery became the first in the world to sell commercially sliced bread.
Holt, director of the Small Business and Technology Development Center in Chillicothe, is a member of the Sliced Bread Committee. Ellis, an agent with Allstate Insurance, is a member of the Greater Chillicothe Visitors Region board of directors. The two are being accompanied by Randy Mason, a co-producer of cultural affairs with Kansas City Public Television, and Don Mayberger, a cameraman for KCPT. They are working on a possible documentary about sliced bread. Public television viewers may be most familiar with Mason and Mayberger from the offbeat art and travel series, "Rare Visions & Roadside Revelations", which is syndicated to PBS stations nationwide. Mason said that at this time KCPT does not have funds to produce a full documentary about the history of sliced bread; however, he is hopeful that funding will be secured so that the story can be told in broadcast format. Mason said today's trip adds an irreplaceable element to the story, and that he did not want to miss the opportunity to document it with video. Mason said that today's venture, as well as the town's initiative to embrace its own history, creates an appealing story. "It's a little bit about sliced bread, a little bit about innovation, and it is about a small town trying to find out ways to bring the world to them," he said. Ed Douglas, chairman of the Sliced Bread Committee, welcomed those gathered at Woody's Automotive this morning, shared a brief history about the formation of the Sliced Bread Committee about eight years ago, and recapped what has been done to recognize Chillicothe's history as the home of sliced bread. Among these accomplishments have been the placement of a marker at the original site of the first sliced-bread bakery, a mural, a website (www.homeofslicedbread.com), home of sliced bread merchandise, and now, the addition of an original Rohwedder bread slicing machine. Iowa native Otto Rohwedder had tried for years to convince bakers throughout the country that they should give his bread slicing machine a try, but they all were skeptical. Finally, in July 1928, Frank Bench, of Chillicothe, decided to try the Rohwedder bread slicing machine. Commercially-sliced bread became an instant success. Douglas mentioned the familiar phrase "It's the greatest thing since sliced bread", and explained that sliced bread is "the standard of all innovation - past, present and future." The Sliced Bread Committee has been on a quest to locate an original Rohwedder bread slicing machine to help tell the story of sliced bread. The first machine is believed to have been junked during the 1960s. The second one put to use was at Korn's Bakery in Davenport, Iowa. That machine is currently part of the Smithsonian collection. The Sliced Bread Committee became aware of the machine's existence when committee member and Home of Sliced Bread webmaster Brenda Fellhoelter received an email in November from Julie Hill, of Hamilton, who spotted the Rohwedder bread slicing machine on the internet auction site, Ebay. From that point, the committee decided to purchase the machine at a low cost. The machine, estimated to be a 1929 model, came out of a bakery in Kimball, Nebraska. Antique store owner Randy Harmon was trying to sell the unit for a second party and listed it on Ebay for a week. The piece received just seven views and no bids. Harmon decided not to relist the item and send it back to the owner. The owner had already started pulling off the motor and planned to sell the machine for scrap iron when Holt, after talking with fellow Sliced Bread Committee members, called and intervened. Harmon said that he believed the unit was in use until around the 1950s. The group is anticipated to return Friday with the machine. "Getting this machine is a big deal for the committee and the home of sliced bread," Douglas said. Douglas also extended appreciation to Brent Kline of Woody's Automotive Group, which is furnishing the vehicle and gas to make the trip. "I just want to say how cool it is to be involved with this event," Kline said. He went on to state that he appreciated the efforts of everyone who has been involved in preserving this element of local history.
FOLLOW UP ARTICLE: Duo Returns with
Sliced Bread Machine Chillicothe is home once again to an original Rohwedder bread-slicing machine. The Chillicothe duo of Scott Ellis and Steve Holt, who left Thursday morning for Kimball, Nebraska, returned Friday evening with the 1929 machine. The machine, which will be on public display in the near future, is similar to the world's first bread-slicing machine that was put to use in Chillicothe in 1928. The slicer from Kimball had a marking indicating that it was 193rd machine produced. Kimball's population is around 3,500. Shortly upon arriving at Kimball, Ellis and Holt met Arne Christensen, 83, whose parents had owned and operated the bakery at which the slicer was used. Christensen provided history about the machine, explaining how it had been modified, and said that he had operated it up until about 20 years ago. At one point in time, the bakery was slicing 300 loaves of bread a day, he said. Christensen shared photographs with the Chillicothe duo, including one of his parents in front of a Model T delivery truck. "He was tickled to be asked about the machine and appreciated the historical significance of keeping the story going," Holt said. Ellis and Holt were accompanied on the trip by a film team from Kansas City Public Television, who are working on a documentary about the history of sliced bread. Several stops were made going to Kimball (a 1,200-mile roundtrip), and on the way back, so that filming could be done. The Chillicothe crew was filmed at the hotel where they stayed, driving into Kimball, going to pick up the slicer, and at various points returning from Nebraska. "Slice" of
History Returns to Chillicothe C-T Photo / Catherine Stortz Ripley
A "slice" of local history, in the form of a vintage bread slicing machine, will arrive next week in Chillicothe. The Chillicothe Sliced Bread Committee, which formed about eight years ago, has been searching for one of the original Rohwedder bread slicing machines - one similar to the first one used in Chillicothe when Frank Bench became the first baker in the world to sell commercially sliced bread in July 1928. The first machine is believed to have been junked during the 1960s. The second one put to use was at Korn's Bakery in Davenport, Iowa. That machine is currently part of the Smithsonian collection. On Thursday, December 15, community members Steve Holt and Scott Ellis, will make the near 1,200-mile round-trip trek to Kimball, Nebraska, to pick up the machine and bring it to Chillicothe. A big community sendoff is planned for 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning at Woody's Automotive Group. Woody's is furnishing the vehicle and gas to make the trip. Also present for the sendoff will be Randy Mason, executive producer of cultural affairs with KCPT public television. Mason is also a co-producer of the offbeat art and travel series "Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations." Mason is working with Chillicothe representatives on a documentary featuring sliced bread and plans to make the trip with Holt and Ellis, as well as another representative from KCPT. The group is scheduled to return the following day. The Sliced Bread Committee became aware of the machine's existence when committee member and webmaster, Brenda Fellhoelter, received an email in November from Julie Hill, of Hamilton, Missouri, who spotted the Rohwedder bread slicing machine on the internet auction site, Ebay. From that point, the committee decided to purchase the machine. The machine, estimated to be a 1929 model, came out of a bakery in Kimball, Neb. Antique store owner Randy Harmon was trying to sell the unit for a second party and listed it on Ebay for a week. The piece received just seven views and no bids. Harmon decided not to relist the item and send it back to the owner. The owner had already started pulling off the motor and planned to sell the machine for scrap iron when Holt, after talking with fellow Sliced Bread Committee members, called a halt to those plans. Harmon said that he believed the unit was in use until around the 1950s.
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Chillicothe will soon be home to an original
Rohwedder bread slicing machine - again!
