Welcome to Bill’s History Corner. Part of my job as Historian is to find out things and answer questions. Questions usually include the words how, why, who, & when something happened. Typical questions are,

One question I think I can answer with this History Corner is, “when and from whom did Coppes purchase enamelware that was supplied with cabinets as premiums or free gifts when purchasing a Coppes Napanee Cabinet?”

I was excited to find this information of the Coppes Inc. Company attempting to add washing machines to their product line. “This is strange and different,” I thought. “A kitchen cabinet company selling washing machines.” Does that sound strange to you? 

Welcome to this week’s bill’s History Corner. This is the place where I talk about aspects of the business that we all lovingly refer to as the Coppes factory. Does that love come from a family member having worked at the factory, or maybe you have one of those wonderful DUTCH KITCHENETS that made Nappanee famous. Or possibility you lived close enough that you could hear the factory whistle morning, noon, and night.

Welcome to another exciting Bill’s History Corner. I think I have answered a mystery that I have been worrying about for several years. In the last box of business receipts, we found a receipt for a printing machine that printed on wood. This receipt corresponded with the date of the newspaper item, so I knew I was closing in on something meaningful.