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Madeline Sakry
Hr. 2
Weeres Pontoon Boat Company Est. 1952
Ambrose Weeres was born and raised in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and grew to become a farmer who wanted a more sturdy boat. With some experimenting, the pontoon was born, calling the first prototype The Empress. Ambrose made more and generously sold them throughout the area, but the small shop Ambrose worked in was not spacious enough for the large number of orders coming in, so he opened the Weeres Pontoon Boat Company in 1952. Although the beginning was hard, Ambrose went on to also create the first water bike, or paddle bike, and the idea of the pontoon inspired the idea of military bridges. Even after Ambrose retired and put his business into new hands, Weeres Pontoon Co. has sold over 30,000 pontoons today for fun and leisure out on the lake.
On April 25th, 1907, my great grandfather, Ambrose Weeres, was born into a family of farmers in Stearns County, Minnesota. Living in the land of ten thousand lakes, Ambrose wanted to have a more stable boat that is easier to both carry belongings as well as relax on. Working out of his grain elevator, he used his widespread creativity and skill to attach two columns of welded steel barrels to the bottom of a wooden platform, which was the historic birth of the pontoon.
Ambrose was humble and generous about his new invention. He had many requests from friends and family, so he gave this first prototype a name. Due to of the reactions from family, friends, and local farmers, he gave it the name “The Empress”. The pontoon boat not only empressed, but it amazed. Ambrose didn't realized how big his boat would be in the short future. He had so many orders coming in, that his shop wasn't spacious enough to keep up. "I had a shop started in town, although it wasn't much of a production line back then... After we made the first one, we demonstrated it and I said someday that's going to go over big" (St. Cloud Times), and it did go over big. So big that he
Hr. 2
Weeres Pontoon Boat Company Est. 1952
Ambrose Weeres was born and raised in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and grew to become a farmer who wanted a more sturdy boat. With some experimenting, the pontoon was born, calling the first prototype The Empress. Ambrose made more and generously sold them throughout the area, but the small shop Ambrose worked in was not spacious enough for the large number of orders coming in, so he opened the Weeres Pontoon Boat Company in 1952. Although the beginning was hard, Ambrose went on to also create the first water bike, or paddle bike, and the idea of the pontoon inspired the idea of military bridges. Even after Ambrose retired and put his business into new hands, Weeres Pontoon Co. has sold over 30,000 pontoons today for fun and leisure out on the lake.
On April 25th, 1907, my great grandfather, Ambrose Weeres, was born into a family of farmers in Stearns County, Minnesota. Living in the land of ten thousand lakes, Ambrose wanted to have a more stable boat that is easier to both carry belongings as well as relax on. Working out of his grain elevator, he used his widespread creativity and skill to attach two columns of welded steel barrels to the bottom of a wooden platform, which was the historic birth of the pontoon.
Ambrose was humble and generous about his new invention. He had many requests from friends and family, so he gave this first prototype a name. Due to of the reactions from family, friends, and local farmers, he gave it the name “The Empress”. The pontoon boat not only empressed, but it amazed. Ambrose didn't realized how big his boat would be in the short future. He had so many orders coming in, that his shop wasn't spacious enough to keep up. "I had a shop started in town, although it wasn't much of a production line back then... After we made the first one, we demonstrated it and I said someday that's going to go over big" (St. Cloud Times), and it did go over big. So big that he