Original mold. Marked as "Tammy", Don's Dog
Snow White 6" tall
Momma and Baby Deer
Napoleon Bonaparte
Rabbit Planter
Elf
Bookends
T Shirts signed by Don Winton from the 1996 Nashville Cookie Jar Show
Bear
Mouse
Markings on Pottery Created by Don Winton
The following is a email I recieved from Bob Pakes who is a Elvis Presly collector from Holland. He is writing a book about Elvis Presley Enterprises and is seeking information about The Gold Elvis Presley Bust pictured above which was sculpted by Don Winton circa 1961. If anybody has any information please contact me or contact Bob through his website so it can be included in his book.
Duck
Princess Diana
Twin Winton In San Juan Capistrano, California
Historical Figures Get Together in Corona del Mar Studio
November 25, 1988|PAULA VOORHEES | Paula Voorhees is a regular contributor to Orange County Life.
Great figures are gathered in a studio in Corona del Mar.
Richard M. Nixon is here. So is George Burns. The affable Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem, leans against a wall, smile lines etched deeply at the corners of his eyes. Daniel G. Aldrich, former chancellor of UC Irvine, perches on a desktop. A determined-looking Golda Meir sits on a chair, the pearls around her neck softening her features.
John F. Kennedy has been there. So were Hubert H. Humphrey and Otis Chandler. Bob Hope left for Las Vegas.
Over in the corner, Mickey Mouse smiles, crimson shorts adding a blush of color to an otherwise stark room.
What are they doing in Corona del Mar? All are plaster molds and are intimates of 69-year-old sculptor Don Winton--especially Mickey Mouse. He's been associating with the Disney creation for 40 years.
"Actually, sculpting Disney characters was how I got into this business--and almost out (of it) in a hurry," Winton said with a grin.
"My father was an alcoholic pharmacist who had a hard time keeping a job," said the sculptor matter-of-factly. "My mother died when I was 12, so my two brothers and I began supporting ourselves by the time I was 14.
"My twin brother, Ross, and my older brother, Bruce, also liked working with clay models. We started making and selling ceramic figures similar to Disney characters when I was a junior at Pasadena High School. By my senior year, we had a very profitable business going."
So profitable, in fact, that Disney management felt threatened, Winton said. "We received a letter from some very angry Disney people telling us to cease and desist. But, somehow, Walt Disney heard about us and sent a letter telling us to disregard the first letter and continue our operation. Although I never met him, Walt was very supportive of us. I'll always be grateful for that."
Grateful because the business begun in high school blossomed to support all three young men and their families until older brother Bruce bought out the twins in the early 1950s. Don and Ross went on to design and sculpt for other manufacturers
Buck Deer
Hi Jerry,
I enjoyed your website www.twinwinton.com very much. It is obvious that you, as an admirer and collector of Don Winton's work, have put a lot of effort in building the website and supplying the people with information about Mr. Winton.
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Bob Pakes, I'm from Holland and a fan and collector of Elvis Presley's 1950's output. Besides his music, I collect the line of Elvis merchandise that was produced between 1956 and 1958 by Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Like you, I have a website, through which I supply the fans with detailed info about certain aspects of Elvis' 1950's career: http://www.elvisechoesofthepast.com
Since about 6 years I have been doing research for a book that I am now about to publish about Elvis Presley Enterprises. It is really just a labor of love, and I only expect to (but hopefully) sell a few hundred copies since the book is about such a specialized topic that not many buyers will be interested.
For the past 5 months I been putting on the finishing touches, and one by one I am closing the various entries in the book.
The Elvis bust, produced in 1961, has always been something of a mystery, not just to me but to all the serious EPE collectors I know.
EPE stopped producing Elvis merchandise in July 1958, after Elvis went into the army. After the flood of merchandise (that included over 180 officially licensed products) in 1956 and '57, there were only Elvis dog tags in 1958, nothing in 1959 and 1960. And suddenly in 1961 this bust appears.
What we know is that it was sculptured by Don Winton, and only very few copies exist. It is generally assumed that the bust was not meant for commercial release but rather a promotional item that was given out to close friends and members of the press around Christmas time 1961. The bust was made out of metal, and gold-plated, it weighs about 900 grams, and stands 7" tall. On the back of the pedestal we see the 1961 EPE copyright logo.
Different variations of the bust have turned up in the past decades, all were reproductions. Most of the EPE licensed products were copycatted, and usually the reproes are quite easy recognized as such from the originals. However, a bronze variation of the bust has been fetching high prices on auction sites (not just on eBay, but also on renowned vintage auction sites like Heritage and Hakes) for circa the past 10 years. And recently I came across a small flyer/advertisement that was sent to members of the Elvis Fan Club in early 1962 advertising the gold-plated bust. So, apparently the gold-plated variation appeared to be commercially sold after all, still, very few of these must have been produced and nowadays prices around $ 1500 / $ 1800 are not out of the ordinary. The prices of the bronze bust are around $ 400, which is also quite high for an official EPE Elvis product that is not from 1956.
Besides the fact that the bust is from 1961, which by itself really makes no sense, it would not be until 1982 before EPE would once again license new Elvis products (when Graceland opened its doors and all sorts of ridiculous Elvis products saw the light of day).
But the bust also shows an Elvis from 1956, a totally different looking fellow, with long sideburns and a wild quaff. By 1961, Elvis wore his hair short, and sideburns were a thing of the past for at least 3 years by that time.
However, in 1956, a set of Elvis bookends was produced. And Elvis' hair on that bookend is identical to his hair on the 1961 bust. The rest of the face is not 100% identical to the bust.
- what can you tell me about Mr Winton's collaboration with EPE in 1961?
- do photos of Mr Winton working on, or holding the finished bust, exist?
- do you maybe have any information about the amount of busts that were produced?
- the gold-plated bust is for sure an original, but was the high-price-fetching bronze variation also produced in 1961, or later?
- did Mr Winton maybe also sculpture the 1956 Elvis bookends?
Bob Pakes
Racoon Shakers
Hirohito Mouse
Racoon Shakers
Norma Winton recalls 1947 when she was Rose Queen and Bob Hope was the Grand Marshall
The markings on pottery created by Don Winton are as varied as his designs. The methods of marking include slip painting, permanent marker, ceramic stamp, incising into the mold (bottom or side), stamp under glaze, or gold seal decal, and many pieces personally signed by Don Winton himself, with a full signature or initials. Below are examples of marks on Don Winton designed pottery. You can see from the pictures many of the pieces have the initial of the artist who brought the pottery to life.
Micky Mouse
Twin Winton Display Stands
In 1952 Don and Ross Winton sold their interest in Twin Winton to Bruce Winton. In 1953 Bruce moved the Twin Winton Company from Pasadena California to El Monte California where the trademark wood tone finish was developed. It was at this time that Don Winton continued designing on a freelance basis as the only designer for Twin Winton. This is the time period that Twin Winton started producing the brown stained cookie jars, salt & pepper sets, and related household accessories such as spoon rests, wall pockets, planters, kegs, napkin holders and lamps. In 1964 Bruce Winton made the decision to move the Twin Winton Company to San Juan Capistrano, California. Brad Keeler, another California pottery manufacturer, had died and his factory was for sale. Brad commissioned artists Arthur and Jean Ames to design and fabricate a mural outside his building that still stands today in San Juan Capistrano as a historical land mark and is pictured above.
Lucretia (Lucky) Sorenson.
Lucretia worked for Twin Winton in San Juan Capistrano as a decorator and air brush finisher from 1964 to 1974. Due to her exceptional painting ability Lucky became the head decorator and head air brush finisher for Twin Winton.
Lucretia was born on October 18, 1936 in Whitepine, Montana. She met her husband Willard Sorenson when she 16 years old and married him in 1953 at age 17. They were happily married for 58 years until he passed away in 2011. At the time they were married, Willard worked for the Burlington Northern Railroad as a fireman on the trains. When the dam was built on the Clark Fork River in Noxon, Montana, Willard was able to get a job as a chainman on the survey crew. He was was promoted to instrument man on the survey crew and in 1957 was offered a job in El Cajon, California. Driving a 1957 Chevy, they moved from Montana to California with their three children and a Cocker Spaniel. A couple years after their move the economy suffered a turn down and her husband was offered a job with Toups Engineering in Santa Ana, California. They then moved to San Clemente, California and later bought a home in Capistrano Beach, California. In 1964 Lucky saw an ad in the San Clemente newspaper advertising a job as a decorator for the Twin Winton Company which was opening in San Juan Capistrano and needed decorators for the new Twin Winton Line of pottery.
Lucky applied for the job at the Twin Winton Factory and there met Bruce Winton. He introduced her to Margaret who had come with Bruce Winton from the Twin Winton El Monte factory to help train decorators. Lucky was taken out into the plant where she was sat down and given a couple of paint brushes and some old greenware pottery. She was given some white, pink, yellow, blue, black and green glazes and Lucky worked her magic on the greenware. Bruce Winton watched her paint the first piece and said to her, “You have a job! Be here on Monday morning”.
Not long after working at Twin Winton the woman who did the air brushing wanted to move back to El Monte so Lucky asked if she could do the air brushing and was given the job. She soon became the head decorator and air brush finisher.
Lucky said that the clay was mixed in big tubs that had mixers like large beaters. There were large hoses that connected to the tubs of clay which hung overhead from the ceiling above the molds. The casters used these hoses to pour the clay mud into the many molds. The molds were given time to set, then checked to see if the clay had set up properly before the excess clay was removed. After removing the excess mud, the clay mud was then allowed to somewhat cure. The pottery was then removed from the molds and placed on large racks that had four or five trays on each side. The pottery molds at this time were called greenware.
After the greenware was completely dry, the racks would be taken to the finishers. The finishers would then use steel wool along with a type of carving instrument to remove the rough seams where the molds joined together and any other imperfections on the greenware. The finishers would then blow out the inside of the greenware with air hoses to remove any debris making sure it was ready for the decorators. Lucky recalls one of the finishers name, Connie Garcia.
The decorators would then use the glazes to paint the greenware molds with the appropriate colored glazes and bring the pottery to life.
A person named Irma was the kiln loader. There were three large kilns. The cookie jars were loaded on the bottom shelf. The middle shelf was loaded with napkin holders, candy dishes and the top shelf was loaded with salt and pepper shakers and spoon rests.
The night man would come in and fire the three kilns and cure the pottery. In the morning the stainers would pull the pottery, place the pottery on racks and take it all back to the staining room. Here the pottery would be dipped into large tubs of the famous Twin Winton brown stain and placed back on the racks to dry.
According to Lucky the Twin Winton Collectors Series Cookie Jars were decorated with special colors because the molds had imperfections in them and they were easily covered by the special glazes and colors.
After the pottery was dried it was taken to the packing room, packed and shipped. Montgomery Ward and Sears stores sold a lot of the Twin Winton pottery.
Lucky was one of 4 decorators, 8 finishers, 3 kiln loaders, 3 casters and the night man who fired the kilns. She said many of the decorators would put their initials on some of the Twin Winton pottery.
If you are lucky enough to have a Twin Winton piece of pottery with the initials of LS on the bottom you have a piece of Twin Winton pottery decorated and brought to life by Lucky Sorenson.
If you have a Twin Winton piece of pottery with the initials of LO it was decorated by Lois Oehlert, VS is Valinda Sorenson, PA is Paulette Allen and JO is Jenny Ortega.
During the early 1970s Twin Winton was a family affair when Lucky got her daughter Valinda Sorenson, her son Rick Sorenson, her niece Lois Oehlert and nephew Paul Oehlert had jobs at the Twin Winton Company. All were in high school and worked part time in the evenings and on weekends.
Lucky said Charlie Buyers was the plant manager during her time at Twin Winton. She said he was a wonderful man with a heart of gold.
Lucky also said that during the time (1964-1974) that she worked at Twin Winton, the California Clock Company that produced the world famous Kit-Cat Clocks was located in the same building as Twin Winton and the Twin Winton employees assembled the clocks and shipped them. During this time Bruce Winton along with Bruce Wagner became part owners in the California Clock Company. When Twin Winton closed in 1976 Bruce Winton sold his interest in the California Clock Company to Bill Wagner.
Lucky said Bruce Winton was a wonderful person to work for and took her and other employees on plane rides in his airplane to Catalina Island, California. It was like one big family working at Twin Winton. She loved the years that she worked for Twin Winton and is amazed at the popularity of Twin Winton.
Bruce Winton kept the factory in San Juan Capistrano until 1976 when he sold it to Roger Bowermeister and sons. The Browermeisters ran the business for only a year trying different glazes but were unable to make enough money to support themselves. After only one year the Bowermeisters declared bankruptcy and the business went back to Bruce Winton. He decided to auction off the assets including the molds. Al Levin of Treasure Craft bought the molds and produced some of the Twin Winton Designs under the Treasure Craft name. The molds have since been destroyed and thus the end of Twin Winton.
Elephant Coffee Cup
Bear
Meet Lucretia (Lucky) Sorenson head decorator for Twin Winton from 1964-1974 and the other four decorators.
Racoon Planter
Mouse
Fish
Scrooge McDuck Bank never Issued
Bronze Repoduction
Mickie Mouse and Friends set
Bear Shakers
Here is a Article from the Orange County CA Register newspaper that was written by Greg Hardesty on 29 Dec. 2005 about Don and Norma Winton when she was the Rose Bowl Queen of 1947.
The world famous Kit-Cat Clock
Decorator Paulette Allen and husband.
Squirrel
Squirrel
Marked as Sugar Puss for Regular Sugar
Hitler Skunk
Norma Christopher the 1947 Rose Queen posing for Don Winton.
Elephant Planter
Cat Shakers
Practical Pig Banks
Laying Down Elf
Production of Kit-Cat Clocks continued at the Twin Winton pottery factory in El Monte California from 1953 until 1964. In 1964 Bruce Winton (owner of the Twin Winton Company) moved the Twin Winton Factory to San Juan Capistrano and the California Clock Company moved with them. Bruce Winton became part owner of the California Clock Company along with Bill Wagner. Both Twin Winton and the California Clock Company shared the same building and Twin Winton employees assembled the Kit-Cat clocks and shipped them. The Kit-Cat clocks also included a Poodle and Panda Bear clock. Production of the clocks continued until 1976 until Twin Winton was sold and production stopped. Bruce Winton then sold his interest in the California Clock Company to Bill Wagner.
Bronze Repoduction
Persian Cats
Lucky 1970
Cat
Practical Pig Cookie Jar
Angels
Squirrel Shakers
Decorator Valinda Sorenson daughter of Lucky Sorenson holding her custom made cats she decorated.
Peter Pan Set Designed and Distributed in the 1960s
Duck Planter
Rabbit
Rabbit Coffee Cup
Large Flower and Bambi
Necklace
Does anybody have any information, pictures, articles, sales sheets, ect. on Don Winton and the Twin Winton Company that they would like to share I would love to post them here on the web site.
Goring Pig
Meet Lucretia (Lucky) Sorenson head decorator for the Twin Winton Company from 1964-1974
Ostrich
Childrens Album Cowgirl and Cowboy
Squirrel
Queen Norma Christopher Winton and her court in the 1947 Rose Parade.
Wally Gator & Hardy Har Har
Lions
Bear Planter
Assorted Twin Winton
Did you know?
Rabbit
A Twin Winton Mystery on a Elvis Presley Bust Circa 1961
Squirrel
Lucky Sorenson 2018 holding a custom decorated Modern Head she decorated from her personal collection. It is a custom large figurine, not the cookie jar
Large Dumbo Figurine
A 8' by 21' mural depicting the story of ceramics personifying the elements of fire, earth and water designed and fabricated by Arthur and Jean Ames in 1952 for Brad Keeler Artware and painted on their building in San Juan Capistrano. In 1964 Twin Winton bought the pottery building after Brad Keeler passed away and kept the business open until 1976, when Twin Winton closed its doors forever. In 1981 the mural was expertly removed to its present location in Mercado Village in San Juan Capistrano, California.
Pelican
Pig Toothpick Holder
Decorator Lois (Oehlert) Brongo holding a custom Ranger Bear Bank she custom decorated.
Mouse Shakers
Elf
Bear Vase
Angels
Large Bear Planter
Commerative Gen Doolittle Plate
Racoon
Lady and the Tramp Bank
Lucky and Willard 1966
Cat
In 1947 Don Winton married the 1947 Rose Bowl Queen Norma Christopher. Grand Marshall that year of the Rose Bowl Parade was none other than the great actor and comedian Bob Hope. Both Don and Norma Winton knew Bob and Delores Hope and for their wedding the Hopes gave them a lovely silver punch bowl and matching candelabra. In 1948 Don Winton gave to Bob and Dolores Hope A Twin Winton Hilbilly set made personally for them. Below are pictures of that hillbilly set. Don stated he lost touch with the Hopes over the years but was honored when he was commissioned by the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas to do a statue of Bob dressed in Army fatigues and carrying a golf club.
"Lucky" 2018 holding her decorated Twin Winton Chicken Figurine
Dumbo Banks
Lady and the Tramp Set
Rabbits
More pictures of Twin Winton and Don Winton Designed Pottery
Racoon
Assorted Shakers
Dumbo Cookie Jar never issued
Elf
Beaver
Silver Owls
Skunk
Bear
Rabbit
Wishing Well Planter
Tojo Rat
Marked as Powder Puss for Powdered Sugar
Lois (Oehlert) Brongo in high school when she worked for Twin Winton.
Donkey
Poodle Kit-Cat Clock
Gold Plated Origional Elvis Presley Bust from Elvis Presley Enterprises standing 7 inches high with the marking on the bottom showing it was sculpted by Don Winton circa 1961.
Thumper Bank
Casey Jr Cookie Jar never Issued
Lucky and Willard 1954
Duck
Bear
This article was written by Paula Voorhees on November 25, 1988 for Orange County Life about Don Winton and some of the famous people that he sculpted in his lifetime.
Modern Head
Deer
Rush Limbaugh Ditto Head Coffee Cup
Wall plaque of Pinocchio, Figaro and Mastro Geppeto
Did you know that the Twin Winton Company in San Juan Capistrano California assembled the world famous Kit-Cat Clocks?
Carolyn (Jenny) Ortega
Figaro Bank
Although Winton still does work for cartoon-character licensees, in the past 10 years his work has turned somewhat political, a change due largely to his 17-year involvement with the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. "Although our church is Christian, we are very much involved with the Jewish faith and the struggle of Israel. We feel that the Jewish people were God's chosen people," he says.
In 1978, the church commissioned Winton to sculpt a bronze of Golda Meir to be presented on her 80th birthday. Although he prefers to work from sittings, in this instance he used photographs.
"I really hoped I would meet her at the presentation, but she was gravely ill in a hospital so the presentation was made to her personal secretary."
Soon after, other commissions arrived from Israel. Leonard Shane, an Orange County resident and a trustee of David Ben-Gurion University, contacted Winton to sculpt a statue for the university. Winton agreed but was surprised to learn his subject was to be the late Hubert H. Humphrey.
"I had to bite my lip the whole time I worked on that piece," Winton says with a chuckle. "I'm a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Republican!"
A year later, he was commissioned to do a bust of David Ben-Gurion for the entrance to the university. The bust was sponsored by Shane and Calvary Chapel and presented by the chapel in 1985.
"Since Don has been involved with Israel and its many heroes, his heart has been more into his work," Norma Winton said. "It's one thing to be working on Mickey Mouse and another to be working on Golda Meir. It's an ennobling experience and it shows in Don's work."
Winton's future sculpting projects include 12 busts of Orange County pioneers for permanent display in the new section of the John Wayne Airport.
The idea was presented to Winton by Toren Segerstrom, great-grandson of C.J. Segerstrom. Segerstrom and Winton decided that the busts should represent pioneers in three categories of Orange County life: ranchers and farmers, builders and developers, and civic and cultural leaders. The concept is supported by the Orange County Historical Society as well as the Airport Commission and needs final approval from the Orange County Board of Supervisors, even though the cost of each piece will be borne by the family of the subject.
When asked what his favorite piece of work is, Winton looked around his studio at the plaster casts of Meir, Humphrey, Chandler, Nixon, Aldrich, Hope, Ben-Gurion, Ze'ev Jabotinsky (an early Zionist leader), Kennedy and others. His gaze returns lovingly to Mickey Mouse. His answer is not really surprising.
"I have no favorite piece. There are so many stories behind all these people and characters. Stories of courage and sacrifice, love and humor. Each time I sculpt I become emotionally involved in their life stories and as a result each piece is special to me. I guess they're all my favorite pieces."
A few examples of Don Winton's Disney figurines that he designed for the Hagen Renaker Company
NEWPORT BEACH - Being named Rose Queen in 1947 would profoundly change Norma Christopher's life.
How much, she had no clue.
Among the parade spectators that year was a 28-year-old named Don Winton, who grew up in Pasadena.
A budding sculptor, Winton had just gotten out of the U.S. Air Force and decided to take in the annual Tournament of Roses parade. He hadn't seen it in years.
"Wow," he thought as Christopher, an 18-year-old blonde, rolled by. "I've got to meet that girl."
Winton called a friend on the parade committee and proposed making a sculpture of each Rose Queen, starting with Christopher.
"How much will it cost us?" his friend asked.
"I'll do it for free."
Deal.
Christopher sat for four sittings with Winton. A year later, they married.
Wednesday, in the Corona del Mar cottage she has shared with her husband for 34 years, Norma Winton recalled her life as a Rose Queen. Although she won't be at today's annual Kodak Rose Queens Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena - "I think there's a time to graciously step aside," she said with a wink - she always will be a proud member of what she calls a "select sorority."
There are 11 Rose Queens living in Orange County, out of 61, according to Tournament of Roses officials. Winton is the sixth-oldest surviving Rose Queen.
She said the honor never leaves her.
"To me, there's a dignity to it," she said. "This isn't a competition about bathing suits or cheesecake. It's very classy."
People still ask Norma Winton about being Rose Queen.
"Sometimes friends will introduce me that way when I'm in grubby clothing, or having a bad-hair day," she said. "They'll mention it at the darnedest time."
Winton still is shocked at the attention.
"It was a great honor, and it still is," said Winton, who declined to give her age outright. "You do the math," she said, with a smile.
Winton was selected Rose Queen from a field of about 1,500 women ages 17 to 21.
"Some people cling to" winning the crown, she said. "My attitude is, I appreciate it - it was a wonderful honor, and I had lots of wonderful experiences, and met famous people like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Shelly Winters.
"But life goes on. And it gets better and better. Life, for me, is getting richer. I wouldn't go back a day."
Winton grew up in Orange with a homemaker mother and a father who grew oranges and lemons. An only child, she was shy.
She was thinking of a career as a librarian after graduating from Orange High School when her parents moved to Pasadena.
Winton enrolled at Pasadena Junior College and studied music and drama.
Thoughts of being Rose Queen never crossed her mind, she said.
But she and the other females at her college were required to parade before a Rose Queen committee.
Five rounds later, Winton remained a contender and was in the final 25.
"My goal then was just to get tickets to the coronation ball," she said. "It was a very elegant affair."
Winton made the final seven - all princesses.
"I was very quiet, and trying not to be noticed," she said of the final round.
Judges considered such things as appearance, public speaking, academic achievement and community involvement.
When Winton was named Rose Queen, she was floored.
"They mistook my silence for poise," Winton said.
The honor gave her an immediate boost of self-confidence - and, soon, a date with a handsome sculptor.
She and Don have a son and daughter. And they have been married 57 years.
For Winton, that's her crowning achievement.
Racoon
In 1932, during the height of The Great Depression, the Kit-Cat® Clock was first invented in Oregon by designer Earl Arnault (1904-1971). With his signature wagging tail, rolling eyes, and contagious smile; Kit-Cat inspired joy during one of America’s roughest patches.
1930s
In the 1930s, the Allied Clock Company was founded in Portland Oregon to manufacture these uniquely animated pendulum clocks. The earliest clocks, produced in 1932, had no markings on the back. Most of these early models have metal bodies, metal clock hands and four toes on each of the two paws. They also had starter knobs or apertures on the front to “start” the motor spinning in the correct direction when it was plugged in, because “self-starting” motors were not widely used in clocks in the 30s. Allied Clock soon adopted the increasingly popular method of plastic molding and moved to Seattle, WA.
40s and 50s
The 40s and 50s were decades of explosive growth for Kit-Cat’s popularity and marked the first (and last) changes in his design. The top paws and the Kit-Cat’s dapper bow tie were added. Due to his popularity, it wasn’t long before Kit-Cat became synonymous with the 1950s in America.
1962
In 1962, Allied Clock moved production to Southern California and renamed itself the California Clock Company. In 1982, the owner of the California Clock Company convinced Ohio native and serial entrepreneur Woody Young to take over as President/Owner and keep Kit-Cat going strong into the new millennium.
Early 60s Early 70s
Production of Kit-Cat Clocks continued at the Twin Winton pottery factory in El Monte California. In 1964 Bruce Winton (owner of the Twin Winton Company) moved the Twin Winton Factory to San Juan Capistrano and the California Clock Company moved with them. Bruce Winton became part owner of the California Clock Company along with Bill Wagner. Both Twin Winton and the California Clock Company shared the same building and Twin Winton employees assembled the Kit-Cat clocks and shipped them. Production of the clocks continued until 1976 until Twin Winton was sold and production stopped. Bruce Winton then sold his interest in the California Clock Company to Bill Wagner.
Late 1980s
But in the late 1980′s, the American Made legacy of Kit-Cat was almost lost! In the span of a few years, American electric motor manufacturing was almost exclusively relocated to Asia, leaving Kit-Cat without a US motor supplier. A battery motor powerful enough to move Kit-Cat’s exclusive “one-second” animation had yet to be invented. With no other alternative, the California Clock Company was driven to develop a new battery technology.
1990s
Kit-Cat kept on ticking through the 90s when the first Limited Color Edition Kit-Cats began to be manufactured, including the first 3/4 size Kitty Cat which was introduced in 1996. It wasn’t long before Lady Kit-Cat first burst on to the scene in 2001, swapping out the bow tie for pearls and eyelashes.
2007
2007 marked Kit-Cat’s 75th anniversary, and was celebrated with The Great All American Road Show which lasted 75 days along the entire Route 66. “We were wanting to do something special for the 75th anniversary of an American icon,” said Woody Young, President of the California Clock Company. Kit-Cat Klocks are made on Route 66 just outside of Los Angeles so it seemed like a perfect fit. The Great All American Road Show included the world’s largest Kit Cat Klock at 75 inches tall and a 75-year-old Ford Deuce, specially painted to celebrate the clock which participated in 75 events across the country including parades and car shows.
2012
2012 marked Kit-Cat’s 80th anniversary, 50 years manufacturing all of their clocks in California, and 30 years with Woody Young as President. To celebrate this milestone, Kit-Cat sponsored the only 100% US grown commercial float in the 2012 Pasadena Rose Parade.
2017
After 85 years, Kit-Cat continues to prove that he is truly “timeless” as Kit-Cat Klocks are now sold through stores in countries all around the world. In fact, for the last 50 years, someone has purchased a Kit-Cat Klock every 3 minutes.
Bear with Snowball
Valinda Sorenson in high school when she was working at Twin Winton.
Bear Salt Shaker
Pinocchio dipped in Silver
The Hagen-Renaker pottery company was established in 1945 in the garage of John and Maxine Renaker making plates, butter pats and bowls. One day Maxine made a little duck to show a Brownie troop touring the factory how pottery was made. The duck fired in the kiln between the larger items was a immediate success.
John realized the potential for animal figurines, and began making them exclusively. With the help of Maxine's father Ole Hagen, the couple built their first, small factory in Monrovia, California. The hyphenated name of the company was a way to thank and pay tribute to Ole Hagen. The company to this day, is still in the business of designing and producing beautiful animal figurines and are very collectible.
Don Winton designed many of the Hagen-Renaker Disney pieces. The pictures below are a example of some the Disney figurines that Don designed for the Hagen-Renaker Company. Don has created and designed over 15,000 items in his lifetime.
Please visit the Hagen Renaker On-Line Museum for additional information and pictures of their beautiful pottery at www.hagenrenakermusuem.com
or visit the official Hagen Renaker web site at www.hagenrenaker.com
Did You Know?
Bear
Panda Bear Kit-Cat Clock