This month the New Ulm Popcorn Wagon celebrates its 110th birthday. The wagon first began operating in New Ulm in Sept. 1914 and is still in operation today, though under different ownership.

On the occasion of its 110th birthday, Groebner gave a history talk at the Brown County Historical Society (BCHS) as part of the Lunch and Bite of History program.

“The popcorn wagon is a business entity and it always has been,” Groebner said. “In the last 20 years, it has been owned by the BCHS as a fundraiser.”

In 1914, Meyers Jorgenson purchased the new popcorn wagon from C. Cretor’s Company for $1,200. The company was founded by Charles Cretor, who invented the mobile popcorn machine. He first exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1883. By the start of the 20th Century, popcorn vendors were popping up in many American cities around this time it became a popular snack food.

A miniature model of the New Ulm popcorn wagon, created by Jerome Sellner, was on display in the Brown County Historical Society Annex for the presentation on the wagon’s 110 year history.

In 1914, New Ulm was primed to be an ideal place to operate a popcorn wagon. Groebner showed a photo of downtown New Ulm in 1915. The popcorn wagon is visible on the corner of Minnesota and Center Street. In the photo, the street is in the process of being paved. Early models of automobiles lined the street. Street lights were present on the street, allowing people to shop later in the evening. The popcorn wagon was in the right place at the right time to benefit from downtown traffic.

Jorgenson would successfully run the popcorn wagon for 12 years. He sold the wagon to Hans Larson in 1926.

Groebner said the popcorn business improved during the Great Depression thanks to movie theaters. Popcorn became the snack of choice at the movie theater because the profit margins were high. Groebner said in some cases the theaters made more money on the popcorn than the movies. By the end of the depression, in 1940 Bernard Bauermeister and his family took over ownership of the wagon and ran it for 30 years.

Groebner said the Bauermeister family lived a subsistence life, growing most of their food from a large backyard garden. The popcorn business was lucrative enough for the family to eventually purchase a farm outside of town.

Groebner said one of the biggest mysteries about the popcorn wagon was its paint color. The wagon started with a red coat of paint but took on a white color scheme by 1960. The Bauermeister had also purchased a second popcorn wagon that operated at the Brown County Fairgrounds.

Dan Groebner spoke on the New Ulm popcorn wagon’s history in the BCHS annex. The room was decorated with enlarged historic photos featuring the wagon. Groebner said his favorite picture was a 1917 photo of enlisted Brown County soldiers parading past the popcorn wagon, which originally parked on the corner of Center and Minnesota Street.

Between 1970 and 1973, Denny Warta owns the popcorn wagon business. In 1972, the original Cretor popcorn wagon was vandalized. Someone tipped it over a few days after it was set up for the season. The wagon needed to be repaired. Groebner suspected the wagon might have received a new coat of paint during the repair process.

Sylvia Hopkins, who worked with Warta, became the fourth owner of the popcorn wagon in 1973. She operated it for 26 years and became known as “The Popcorn Lady.”

In 2002, the wagon was sold to BCHS who currently operate it. The BCHS has a special license to sell from the wagon 10 times a year. Typically the wagon is open during scheduled events around town.

Last year, 290 volunteer hours were working in the popcorn wagon, including other donors. Groebner said the wagon makes around $5,000 a year for BCHS.

A special birthday party celebration will be held for the popcorn wagon starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. The celebration will begin with a ribbon cutting and proclamation from Mayor Kathleen Backer. Grobener will give an encore presentation on the wagon. At noon, the BCHS will serve birthday cake in honor of the wagon. Activities and games for kids will follow.