What does an outboard motor and ice cream have in common? The Evinrude.
Evinrude was the world’s first outboard motor, and it has a story that thrives today. Manufactured in Wisconsin, where the brand originated, the innovator in speed for boats also has a unique story behind it.
Inventor Ole Evinrude was courting his beloved Bess and went across the Okauchee Lake, in Waukesha County, to fetch her some ice cream but he couldn’t row fast enough to keep the ice cream from melting.
That is when Evinrude started tinkering on the world’s first outboard motor. The motor revolutionized personal boating, and today the Evinrude outboard motor is still made in Wisconsin.
“Right in the middle of cabbage patches and corn fields, we are building the products that take granddaughters fishing with their grandfathers,” Evinrude employee Bill Ziehm said.
Photo by WestPresent
