Eddie Bauer (Outdoorsman)
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Eddie Bauer (October 19, 1899 – April 18, 1986) was an American
outdoorsman Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activiti ...
, inventor, author, and businessman. He founded the Eddie Bauer company to sell tennis-related items in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
in 1920. From a rented workbench inside another man's shop, it grew to become an international brand outfitting
mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
and scientific expeditions with down-insulated garments and sleeping bags.


Early life

Bauer's passion for the outdoors was apparent from an early age. Born outside of
Eastsound, Washington Eastsound (not to be confused with East Sound, which is the body of water adjoining Eastsound) is an unincorporated community on Orcas Island in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Eastsound is the largest population center on Orcas Isla ...
on
Orcas Island Orcas Island () is the largest of the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, which are in the northwestern corner of San Juan County, Washington. History and naming of the island The name "Orcas" is a shortened form of ''Horcasitas,'' fro ...
in 1899, he grew up exploring the woods and waters of the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
, learning to fish before he was in school, and to hunt before he was a teenager. His parents, Jacob and Mary Catherine Bauer, were of German ancestry; they immigrated to Seattle from Russia in 1890, the year after the
Great Seattle Fire The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, and during the same sum ...
when the city was booming with reconstruction. Bauer's father worked variously as the manager of a plum orchard, the caretaker of a
country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offer ...
, and as a carpenter on Seattle's first
world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
, the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.


Career

At age 13, the young Bauer left school and went to work at Seattle's Piper & Taft, one of the largest
sporting goods Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
and outfitting stores on the West Coast. For the next six years he apprenticed among the experienced hunters and fishermen on staff. At the age of 20, he left Piper & Taft and went into business for himself.


Bauer’s Sport Shop

In February 1920, Bauer rented space in Bob Newton's Gun Shop, set up a workbench, and opened Eddie Bauer’s Tennis Shop, where he sold and strung
tennis racket A racket, or racquet, is a sports implement used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in games such as squash, tennis, racquetball, badminton and padel. In the strictest sense a racket consists of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a ...
s. Seven months later, around Labor Day, he put up a sign on his bench, "Eddie Bauer has gone hunting. Back February 1st." That practice of spending a significant portion of the year in the backcountry became a hallmark of Bauer's operation when his business expanded enough to support his own space and he shifted its primary focus to outfitting outdoorsmen. While unconventional, it gave him the opportunity to develop and test the products that established his reputation as an outfitter for expeditions all over the world. His backcountry experience was also a key component in his offering an unconditional guarantee on everything he sold. As an outdoorsman, Bauer understood that in the wilderness, clothing and gear was vital. His groundbreaking development of the Skyliner, the first down jacket patented in America (U.S. Patent D119,122; 1940), came as the result of his suffering nearly fatal
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...
on a winter fishing trip in 1935. In his words, "There can be no compromising quality when lives depend on performance." With the development of down-insulated garments and
sleeping bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping ...
s, Bauer's expedition outfitting operation grew substantially. Designed and constructed in Seattle, the products were field-tested both in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and in cold-storage lockers in downtown Seattle to ensure they would stand up to their unconditional guarantee, and to the company's claim, "Built for service you’ll never require."


World War II production

Six months after the
bombing of Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Haw ...
on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
, establishing garrisons on two of the islands, Attu and
Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...
. This set in motion the year-long Aleutian Islands Campaign to remove the invaders from the Alaska Territory. In October 1941, Bauer was granted his second and third design patents for quilted down apparel—a down parka (U.S. Patent D130,167) and pants (U.S. Patent D130,166) that created a cold-weather suit he intended for Alaskan bush pilots and others who spent significant time in severe weather. In the early days of the Aleutian Campaign, some of the American pilots were buying this cold weather suit, and early in 1943 the U.S. Army Air Forces contacted Bauer, asking him to design a "cold weather buoyancy flight suit" for them. At
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
in
Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, Bauer designed the down-insulated B-9 Parka and A-8 Flight Pants. During the course of the war, Bauer manufactured approximately 50,000 of these suits. He also made 200,000 down sleeping bags for the military as part of the war effort.


Expedition outfitting

The 1950s have been called the Golden Age of Himalayan Mountaineering, as twelve of the world's fourteen 8000-meter peaks were first summited in that decade, with the first being
Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
in 1950. In 1953, a team of seven Americans and one British climber was attempting the first ascent of K2, the world's second highest peak. Three of the Americans were from Seattle, and they came to Bauer to ask if he could create a down-insulated parka for them. Bauer and his team built the Kara Koram Parka, named for the mountain range where K2 is located. In a letter to Bauer's partner, William F. Niemi, dated January 18, 1953, expedition leader Charles Snead Houston called it, "the finest article of cold weather, high altitude equipment I have ever seen". While unsuccessful in reaching the summit, the
Third American Karakoram Expedition The 1953 American Karakoram expedition was a mountaineering expedition to K2, at 8,611 metres the second highest mountain on Earth. It was the fifth expedition to attempt K2, and the first since the Second World War. Led by Charles Houston, a ...
is widely admired for their heroic efforts to work together in surviving under catastrophic conditions. Their reputation, and enthusiastic endorsement of Bauer's parka, sealed Bauer's reputation as an expedition outfitter, and led to his down-insulated gear being used on many historic expeditions, including first ascents of
Gasherbrum I Gasherbrum I ( ur, ; ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located in Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the G ...
(1958),
Masherbrum Masherbrum ( ur, ; formerly known as K1) is a mountain located in the Ghanche District, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. At , it is the 22nd highest mountain in the world and the 9th highest in Pakistan. It was the first mapped peak in the Ka ...
(1960), and Antarctica's
Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...
(1966), as well as the first American ascent of
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
(1963)


Wanapum Kennels

As an outdoorsman, Bauer had worked with many breeds of field dogs until 1930, when he purchased a young Labrador retriever in British Columbia. He was so impressed by the dog's strength, stamina, and intelligence that he never owned another breed of field dog again. In 1960, he formed Wanapum Kennels to breed and raise champion field trial Labradors. His first dog of note was Dart of Netley Creek, who whelped several champions. The most famous of these was Wanapum Dart's Dandy, who became the first American Labrador retriever to be a Triple Crown national champion, and was inducted into the Retriever Hall of Fame.


Retirement activities

In 1968, Bauer and his son, Eddie Christian, sold their interests in the Eddie Bauer company to their partners, William F. Niemi, Sr. and Jr. For many years after, Bauer continued an active pursuit of his passion for hunting and fishing, as well as for his Wanapum dogs. In 1972, he designed and patented a fishing lure, the B&B Flasher (U.S. Patent 3,673,727). In 1974, Bauer was named Retriever Breeder of the Year. In 1982 and 1983, he co-authored with
Archie Satterfield Archie Satterfield (June 18, 1933 – November 21, 2011) was a Seattle-based author and journalist. Satterfield was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks. He joined the American Navy in 1952 and later graduated with an English degree from the ...
three titles for the Eddie Bauer Outdoor Library: ''The Eddie Bauer Guide To Family Camping'', ''The Eddie Bauer Guide to Cross-Country Skiing'', and ''The Eddie Bauer Guide to Backpacking''.


Personal life

On a hunting trip in eastern Washington in the fall of 1927, Bauer met Christine, "Stine" Heltborg, a young
beauty shop ''Beauty Shop'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff. The film serves as a Spin-off (media), spin-off of the ''Barbershop (film), Barbershop'' film franchise, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina, a character first introduced in t ...
owner from Seattle. Their first date was a fishing trip the following spring. They were married in February. Bauer referred to his wife as "my wilderness companion", and said that she had more stamina in the backcountry than he did. In addition to being an accomplished outdoorswoman, Stine Bauer was a champion markswoman, winning the Washington State Women's Trapshooting Championship eight years running, from 1930–1937. Her string ended when she retired with the birth of their child, Eddie Christian, on February 5, 1938. On April 18, 1986, Bauer died, fifteen days after his wife of 57 years had died.


Patents

* Shuttlecock (2,025,325; 1935) * Method of Weighting Shuttlecock (2,093,301; 1937) * Skyliner Down Jacket (D119,122; 1940) * Bauer Down Parka (D130,167; 1941) * Bauer Down Pants (D130,166; 1941) * Down Anorak (D132,803; 1942) * Down Mukluks (D133,356; 1942) * Down Sleeping Bag (2,338,226; 1944) * Swiss Model Down Ski Jacket (D138,336; 1944) * Yukon Down Jacket (D139,242; 1944) * Down Hooded Jacket (D139,535; 1944) * Down Vest (D139,536; 1944) * Down Jacket (D139,537; 1944) * Four Season Down Coat (D194,967; 1963) * B&B Flasher Fishing Lure (3,673,727; 1972)


Publications

* Satterfield, Archie; Bauer, Eddie (1982). ''The Eddie Bauer Guide To Family Camping''. The Eddie Bauer Company, Inc. . * Satterfield, Archie; Bauer, Eddie (1983). ''The Eddie Bauer Guide To Cross-Country Skiing''. Eddie Bauer, Inc. . * Satterfield, Archie; Bauer, Eddie (1983). ''The Eddie Bauer Guide To Backpacking''. Eddie Bauer, Inc. .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Eddie 1986 deaths Businesspeople from Seattle 1899 births American hunters Retail company founders American businesspeople in retailing 20th-century American inventors American people of German-Russian descent 20th-century American businesspeople People from San Juan County, Washington