Back in 1949, a Rochester, New York chemist named Emanuel Goldberg developed the first plastic pipette holder. He, along with three workers, began the Nalge Company in a small building at 625 South Goodman Street. For years, Goldberg and his growing team developed the Nalgene line of state-of-the-art polyethylene laboratory equipment: centrifuge bottles, filter units, storage tanks. Obviously, it wasn’t the kind of stuff you toss into your backpack for a weekend in the woods. But there were rumors floating around … stories about scientists taking the smaller, more convenient bottles out of the lab and using them on hikes and excursions.

“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs
and makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing!
Everyone knows it’s Slinky!”

An inspirational American success story, Nordic Ware was founded in 1946 by a determined wife, Dotty, and her resourceful husband Dave, newly back from the second world war. With only $500 in their pockets, a few good ideas and a desire to create a business of their own, a humble kitchenware company was launched from the basement of their home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the beginning, Nordic Ware’s product line started out with only a handful of items, all of which were specialty Scandinavian ethnic cookware products—the Rosette iron, Krumkake iron, Platte Panne pan, and the Ebelskiver pan. But times have changed!

Did you know that ten minutes of jumping rope is roughly the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile? Also, jumping rope for approximately 10 to 15 minutes is enough to burn off the calories from a candy bar? That’s great exercise!

Wash and iron; cook and clean; repeat. Such was life for many women in 1868. But times were changing. Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first Women’s Medical College. Louisa May Alcott captured the period’s ideals and values in Little Women. And, hard-working wives and mothers with tired, aching muscles found relief in a new, all-natural liniment manufactured and sold by Joseph Ray Watkins.

Ted Dennard is the founder, president, and head beekeeper for Savannah Bee Company. An elderly beekeeper, Roy Hightower, sparked young Ted’s journey in the magical world of bees and honey, and it’s been 35 years of it ever since.

The SmartWool story started on a rugged Colorado ski slope with the belief that toes didn’t have to be cold. One simple pair of Merino socks challenged the conventional wisdom and forever changed the way outdoor enthusiasts looked at their feet. It’s not just about the Merino, though. It’s what Smartwool does with it that makes their product different. For over 20 years, they've been pushing the boundaries of Merino to create smarter, more capable products from head to toe.

The historic Old Mill of Guilford was founded in North Carolina on Beaver Creek (near Winston-Salem) in 1767 to grind grain for the early settlers of what is now Guilford County. Today, this fully-operational, water-powered grist mill continues to produce all-natural, stone-ground, whole grain foods, just as it has for nearly 250 years.

The legacy of Pointer Brands begins with L.C. King. At age 12, L.C. began working at for his uncle's general goods store and four years later, he joined his brother in the wholesale dry goods business. A salesman there for 25 years, L.C. decided to strike out on his own and develop a clothing line that reflected his love of the outdoors.

Seventy years ago, Ruth Campbell Bigelow changed the way we drink tea in the United States. An avid tea connoisseur, Ruth thought tea drinkers, like herself, would enjoy a more zestfully flavored tea. Happening upon a special colonial recipe that called for tea to be blended with orange peel and spices, she decided to try to re-create what she felt sounded like a wonderful idea....