Mercury Outboard Pillows
Description: Born June 4, 1906, in Mequon, Wis., Kiekhaefer was always attracted to machines and had a drive to understand how things worked. After leaving his family’s farm to pursue a career in electrical engineering and manufacturing he attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering for one year. Later, he continued his education at the University of Wisconsin extension. Despite not receiving a formal degree until later in life, Carl became an electrical engineer and changed the standards for marine engines.
Description: The Kiekhaefer Mercury company began in 1939 when engineer Carl Kiekhaefer purchased a small outboard motor company in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Kiekhaefer's original intention for the Kiekhaefer Corporation was to make magnetic separators for the dairy industry. The purchase included 300 defective outboard motors. Kiekhaefer and a small staff of employees rebuilt the motors and sold them to Montgomery Ward, a mail-order company. The motors were much improved, so the buyer purchased more. Kiekhaefer designed motors that withstood the elements better than his competition and called the motor Mercury (taking advantage of the "Mercury" Motor Car popularity at the time) whilst adopting the logo of the Roman god Mercury.
