Bump Paper Fastener

La Crosse County Historical Society

Amy Vach

Catalog Number: 1986.040.01

While this object may appear to be a hole punch, it is much more than that. It is “a novel device that manufactures something from nothing,” as described by the company.

This environmentally green Midwest invention is a paper fastener that was meant to replace the use of paperclips and staples.

With one simple squeeze, this handy office tool fastens two or more pieces of paper together. The fastener cuts a small triangular-shaped hole in the paper, folds back the cut triangle, and then slides it into a slot cut in the paper to fasten it in place.

According to George P. Bump, in 1909, he was employed at a machine factory in Newton, Iowa. A fellow employee suggested that there would be a worldwide market for a machine that could fasten papers together without the use of clips. Bump accepted the challenge presented by his coworker and created a preliminary model of what would later become his patented paper fastener.

Bump said that he shared his patent 50-50 with a businessman from Iowa, J.C. Hawkins, because Hawkins had made a deal with Bump. Hawkins would provide the means for production and Bump the fastener, and the partners created the Clipless Paper Fastener Co. Unfortunately, Bump did not get this deal in writing. After the patent was approved, Hawkins began producing Bump’s invention on his own.

Hawkins had a contract with the Stamping & Tool Co. of La Crosse to create the fastener. Not soon after, Bump moved to La Crosse and contracted with the same company to manufacture 10,000 paper fasteners. Bump’s move and order caused a lengthy and expensive lawsuit that ended in 1914 in Bump’s favor.

The Bump Paper Fastener Co. created three models of nickel-plated steel fasteners. One was a stand fastener and hole punch for a tabletop, and a wide and narrow handheld variety like the one pictured.

In 1927, the La Crosse Tribune stated that the company had sold hundreds of thousands of units. Bump’s invention spread the name of the city of La Crosse around the world with shipments sent to foreign countries. The products produced by the company bore the text “Bump Paper Fastener Co. La Crosse, Wis.”

Bump invented and patented other inventions while living in La Crosse, including an air compressor pump, a terminal clamp, a carburetor-adjusting mechanism, a rotary engine and many others. In 1930, Bump changed his company name to the Bump Pump Co., based on his new invention. However, the company was still producing his first patented invention, the paper fastener.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on October 12, 2019.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Wisconsin’s First Farmers’ Packing Cooperative

Image copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Amy Vach

Catalog Number: 2019.040.01

In 1914, La Crosse was home to Wisconsin’s and one of the nation’s first meatpacking cooperatives.

In the 1910s, many farmers were dissatisfied with the percentage of commissions that the large packing companies were taking. They felt they received little profit for their hard work.

In the late 1910s, cooperative packing companies were organized in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and the Dakotas to keep more profit with the farmers.

In 1914, the Farmers’ Cooperative Packing Co. of La Crosse was created. The La Crosse Tribune featured advertisements describing the purchase of stock in the company as “the best 6% investment ever offered to the merchants of La Crosse.”

In June 1914, Albert Miller, a local farmer and livestock buyer, purchased two $100 shares of the company. Miller’s stock certificate pictured here has a fanciful border and a scene of farm animals with the corporate seal of the packing company in the bottom left corner.

More than 2,100 farmers like Miller purchased stock in the company.

The company took over the space formerly used by the Langdon-Boyd Packing Co. at 300 S. Front St., which is the location of The Waterfront Restaurant. The area surrounding Riverside Park was very different from what we know today, with this slaughterhouse next-door in an industrial area.

At the time, revitalizing a former packing plant seemed like a wise decision for the newly formed cooperative. During the summer of 1914, the company appeared to be a great success. Each week the company slaughtered about 300 hogs, 60 cattle, 100 calves and 100 sheep.

Priority was given to shareholders, but any farmer in the area could bring livestock to the cooperative for a better price.

However, the Farmers’ Cooperative Packing Co. of La Crosse closed in December 1916.

After the purchase of the old packing plant, the cooperative found the building and its machinery were in disrepair. The new company paid nearly $125,000 for a structure that apparently was worth less than $30,000. During the first two years, the company spent a great deal of capital on maintenance and repairs. Their funds went dry in 1916.

In 1920, the Farmers’ Cooperative Packing Co. of La Crosse sued the Langdon-Boyd Packing Co. and its significant shareholders for the cost of the plant plus interest for selling the plant at an exorbitant price.

The major shareholders included some well-known La Crosse figures: George Burton, Frank Hixon, Joseph Funke and Carl Michel. Judge Higbee of La Crosse County Circuit Court sided with the La Crosse Farmers’ Cooperative.

But the defendants appealed, taking the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

There it was decided that the cooperative had multiple opportunities to inspect the Langdon-Boyd building beforehand and see that it was not worth the sale price. The defendants were found not guilty of the charge of conspiracy and fraud, and Higbee’s verdict was reversed.

The cooperative’s failure was not unique.

Many of the early 20th century packing cooperatives in the United States failed. Some of the packing companies never opened to the public, and others only lasted a few years. A few of the reasons for failure include limited capital, lack of experienced management, and irregular livestock supplies.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on October 5, 2019.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

The Banner that Launched the Cass Street Bridge

Image Copyright La Crosse County Historical Society

Robert Mullen

Catalog Number: 2019.fic.220

Eighty years ago, on September 23, 1939, the $1,500,000 Cass Street Bridge over the Mississippi River at La Crosse was dedicated. Thousands of people celebrated with great fanfare that day.

The city was dressed up to the hilt. Among the decorations along the parade route was this banner, specially made for the day. Five feet long and nearly three feet wide, it was one of dozens that hung over the city’s streets that day. The banner is made of deep blue linen and features a silk screened yellow image of the new bridge across the center.

The banner was provided by the Semsch Display Service, located at 127-129 Pearl Street. Semsch (today, the business is known as Nelson Flag and Display) provided sixty overhead arches with banners for the parade route and additional decorations for the bridge, the review stand, and Riverside Park, as well as storefront displays throughout downtown, all for $947.10.

The parade was the first of the day’s festivities, beginning at 9:00 am. It featured nearly a hundred units, with bands from the city schools, Bangor, Galesville, West Salem, Viola, Cashton, Caledonia, and Spring Grove High Schools, the college band and several drum and bugle corps. Parade floats built by Doerflinger’s Department Store and the town of Hokah won the $50 prizes for first place in their categories.

La Crosse Mayor Verchota and Wisconsin Governor Heil and other dignitaries spoke to 15,000 people at the dedication ceremony at the bridge approach. After the ribbon-cutting, long lines of cars crossed the bridge in both directions, led by Governor Heil.

Meanwhile, the old wagon bridge opened its swing span for river traffic, never to carry automobiles again. The La Crosse Plugs, a local booster organization, carried a symbolic coffin onto the old bridge and tossed it into the river. Demolition of the wagon bridge began that week.

Afternoon activities included boat races, water sports, a band concert at Riverside Park, and a Native American powwow. The celebration ended that evening with a lighted Venetian boat parade and a huge fireworks exposition.

Today, the 80-year-old silhouette of the bridge on this banner is still recognizable. That profile changed in 2004, when the adjacent Cameron Street Bridge, with its high arch, was completed. The designs of the two bridges nicely complement each other, and the celebrants of 1939 would most likely approve.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on September 21, 2019.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.