One of my grandmother Elizabeth Peters Martens' uncles, Peter A. Epp 1889-1982, had a hardware store in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. In the early 1930s, a Mr. Harms told Epp he was interested in developing an all-metal, hand-operated washing machine. After discussing the possibilities, Epp and Harms came up with a design and started manufacturing washing machines. They called their business Rosthern Manufacturing Company.
Epp not only manufactured "Ezework washers." He also promoted and sold them. Sometime in the 1940s, he wrote a mail-out stating, "Women told us that they wanted a lighter and smaller hand-operated machine because it would be much easier to operate. Also they said it should be priced very low so that more housewives could enjoy the privileges of the washing machine and be set free from the washboard." The mail-out continues, "Evidently we succeeded in making the desired machine, for since 1935, we have built and sold more than 10,000 of our first machine."
The Rosthern Manufacturing Company, called Rosco for short, invented and made many other products. These included a portable blacksmith drill, a garden weeder, a collapsible picnic table with benches, a popcorn machine, and a potato peeler.
One of Peter A. Epp's daughters was Elma 1917-1947. When Elizabeth Peters Martens' youngest child was born in 1935, she and her husband named her Alma after Elma Epp…and I'm named Elma after Alma.
Sources for the information about the Rosthern Manufacturing Company are the book OLD AND NEW FURROWS: THE STORY OF ROSTHERN, and the article "Washing machines built in Rosthern" by Rob Andrews in THE SASKATCHEWAN VALLEY NEWS, November 8, 1995. The photo accompanies the article.
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