Eddie Bauer, the man and his innovations, is focus of Redmond Historical Society program

Say “Eddie Bauer” and great Pacific Northwest clothing comes to mind. But the international brand name got its start with a real Eddie Bauer, and his roots were wide across the region. Born on Orcas Island, he started his career in Seattle and later had a weekend home in what was then a slow-paced Redmond, along Bear Creek.

 

The fascinating history of the man, his innovations and his company will be the focus of the next Redmond Historical Society Saturday Speaker Series program on February 14, from 10.30-noon.

Colin Berg, company historian at Eddie Bauer Inc., will use vintage photos and artifacts to tell the story of how a young man’s passion became an international brand’s identity.

“Eddie’s personal story is the embodiment of the adage, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’,” says Berg. “For Eddie, the outdoors was his necessity, and the Pacific Northwest was his laboratory.”  Read More >>

At just 13 years old, Bauer began his outdoors path in 1913 by working for Piper & Taft, Seattle’s biggest sporting goods store at the time. “Throughout his teenage years there, he worked with and learned from some of the best outdoorsmen in the Puget Sound region,” says Berg.

A 1935 winter fishing trip in which he suffered hypothermia changed his life forever. “Had he been fishing alone, he might not have survived,” notes Berg. “The experience compelled him to work on a better cold-weather jacket; something that was both warm and highly breathable. He created the Blizzard Proof Jacket that was later called the Skyliner. It became the first down jacket patented in America.”

Bauer went on to design cold weather gear for the U.S. military, South Pole scientists, and mountaineers, providing down apparel and gear for many of the historic American Himalayan climbing expeditions in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The Saturday Speaker Series is a monthly program presented by the Redmond Historical Society on every second Saturday September through May (with the exception of December) at 10:30am at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, located at 16600 NE 80th Street in Redmond.  Topics range from local, state and Pacific Northwest historical interest. There is a suggested $5 donation for non-members.  Speakers are subject to change.

The Redmond Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that receives support from the City of Redmond, 4 Culture, Nintendo, the Bellevue Collection, and Nelson Legacy Group as well as from other donors and members.