On Saturday, 1932 Zippo Drive was a hot address, when locals and visitors from around the world attended the festivities for the 20th anniversary of the Zippo-Case Museum.
People traveled from other cities, counties, states and countries to celebrate the historic brand.
Dating back to the Great Depression era, Zippo has had a big influence on the city of Bradford in many economical and social ways and continues to do so.
“Even though George Blaisdell always wanted to make Zippo a name known worldwide, he was famous for wanting to bring all of that attention back right here, to Bradford,” said Shirley Evers, archives manager of Zippo Manufacturing Co.
The Zippo/Case museum is a symbol of that desire, with the museum receiving visitors from a plethora of European countries, and even more so from all over the United States.
“The anniversary was a nice way to welcome our collectors of Zippo/Case merchandise,” Evers said. “The guided tours were especially a nice way to pair our historians with the public.”
From the parking lot to the lobby of the building, the Zippo/Case museum was packed inside and out with activities and visitors eager to partake.
Visitors were treated to an an array of tents and activities in the visitor’s parking lot including food vendors, a “selfie” station where visitors could take pictures with the Zippo/case logo, a Case knife sharpening station and a car shaped like the iconic Zippo lighter.
Inside of the museum, the visitors were treated to a tour led by Evers, where they were able to go through the 14 different historical stations.
The tourists were able to walk through a visual exhibition of Zippo/Case’s history, being given the chance to see the companies’ process from inception to the globally known brands they are today. Afterwards, the tourists were given the chance to visit the museum store, where collectors were excited to see every Zippo encased product in the catalogs and some products exclusive to the museum store.
At the end of the event, there was a silent auction sponsored by the Kids and Cancer Benefit of Bradford.
“They asked us to host the morning and afternoon silent auctions, and we felt honored to do it,” said Dave Geitner, president of the Kids and Cancer Benefit of Bradford. He accepted the offer to host the silent auctions, but he was not prepared for the generosity that Zippo/Case extended to them.
“We had no idea that after the we finished the silent auctions, they would donate all the proceeds to the Kids and Cancer Benefit,” said Geitner. “We were shocked and so thankful the Zippo/Case and their personnel. They never cease to amaze us with their commitment to the community.”
The Zippo/Case Museum is open seven days a week and is free to the public. For more information, visit www.zippo.com or www.WRcase.com
