Red Dot Foods was founded in 1938. Most Central alumni probably remember Red Dot potato chips, which were made in Madison until 1961. That's the year the company was sold to H.W. Lay and Company -- and not long after that, many of us who used to pack Red Dot potato chips in our brown paper lunch bags started eating corn chips instead.The Red Dot factory was located at 1435 East Washington Avenue. The building is still there, but the factory was closed in 1973. If you want to read more about this bit of local history, check out the Wisconsin Historical Society's online exhibit, "Chip Chat: Red Dot and the Potato Chip." Lots of fun. Lots of memories. No calories.
4 comments:
Nadine,
As a youngster, I went on the tour of the Red Dot factory many times. It was the precursor to touring the brewerys in Milwaukee because they both gave extensive free samples at the end and that was the main reason you went. Red Dot had many very fine products and you would get a nice bag of each. I'm sure that you took the tour, Nadine, as well as everyone who ever lived on the Eastside. It was GREAT!!
P.S. The Lays tour that started in the 60s as you pointed out was not nearly as good which resulted in a lot of slightly saddened kids!
Nadine,
My stepfather drove a semi for Red Dot from 1947 to 196o's. I remember the night that Fred Meyers, the owner killed him self over the sale of the company. When returning from Rhinelander bringing potatoes, I would get to swing thru the factory and see the fryers going. The ladies would pick out the brown chips and set them aside. The employees would purchased these for $2 for a 2 cubic ft. box. That was a very nice treat for us kids. I was a young teenager then and unloaded thousands of boxes of chips. One week I went along and we put on over 1000 miles on the truck. that was the longest he was ever gone from home.
My dad was a salesman for Red Dot when I was a kid. We lived in Rhinelander where there was a potato chip plant. On occasional Saturdays, I would get to go with my dad to the plant to help him clean his truck. I'll never forget the sight and the smell of fresh chips. The ladies on the assembly line would sneak a few warm chips to me as I watched. To this day, my favorite food is~~~~yup, you guessed it, POTATO CHIPS!
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