The History Of Evinrude Outboard Motors

Behind every great man is a woman. You'll find this correct when you learn about the story of Evinrude outboard engines. One day, Ole Evinrude and Bessie Cary, then sweethearts, were having a picnic. They were about 2.5 miles away from the shore and Bessie wanted some ice cream. Evinrude obliged by rowing to the shore, getting a dish of ice cream and rowing back to where Bessie was in Okauchee Lake. By the time Evinrude got back, the ice cream was already melted. This event supposedly triggered the idea that led to the creation of Evinrude's first outboard motor.

Our hero was born in Oslo, Norway in 1877. He was still a child when his family moved to the US where they settled at Cambridge, Wisconsin as their new home. He was just 16 when he became an apprentice with a machinist. He also took on the role of a parttern maker.

The hot new thing in those times was the internal combustion engine. Ole was so fascinated with these engines that he set out to build his own firm that builds small internal combustion engines. Ole hanlded engineering while the accounting was handled by Bessie.. In 1906, only a year after the firm was established, Ole and Bessie got married.
Evinrude's outboard motors became an instant success. Although the outboard motor company did very well, Mrs. Evinrude's started to have health problems. . In 1923, Ole was force to sell his company with the clause that he won't enter the outboard motor market in the next five years.

Ole was true to his word and did not sell any outboard motors during the five-year period. Instead, he worked on building a two-cylinder outboard motor. In 1921, Evinrude formed the ELTO Outboard Motor Company. ELTO stands for Evinrude's Light Twin Outboard. Evinrude's newer 2-cylinder outboard motor turned out to be a second great success. Owing to the new company's success, Evinrude was able to acquire the original Evinrude Motors and merge with the Lockwood Motor Company.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Evinrude never actually completely recovered from her health problems. This forced her to retire in 1928. Bessie died five years afterwards in 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ole too died in 1934 only a year later after his wife died.

Ralph Evinrude, the couple's son, took over the business and merged with Johnson Motor Company in 1936 forming the Outboard Marine Corporation. The brand Evinrude becamse synonymous with outboard motors and currently is one of the most recognizable outboard motor brands in the US and in the world.

References:

Wikipedia
Evinrude Official Website
Evinrude Outboard Motors For Sale