Celebrating all things paper: The wonder and the legacy, continued

Ladies and gentlemen, the first class of inductees to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in Appleton, Wisconsin was inducted more than two decades ago in 1995, and today, close to 150 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile the late Arnold Grummer, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

Arnold Grummer was born in Spencer, Iowa on August 19, 1923. He received his Bachelor's degree in education from Iowa State Teachers College in 1949 and his Master's in education from the State University of Iowa in 1952.

Grummer's early endeavors included high school teaching as well as marketing and public relations positions with Armstrong Cork and Aid Association for Lutherans. From 1960 to 1975, Grummer worked as a member of the Faculty Department of General Studies, Editor of General Publications and Curator of the Dard Hunter Paper Museum, all at the Institute of Paper Chemistry (IPC) in Appleton, Wisconsin, Following his tenure at IPC, Grummer started a traveling live exhibit, "The Great American Paper Machine." His extensive list of presentations includes six appearances at the Smithsonian Institutions, ten consecutive years at the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry, and twenty consecutive years at the Great Lakes Logging Congress. Also in 1976, Grummer founded Greg Markim, Inc. which became one of the world's leading suppliers of educational supplies for hand papermaking. Grummer's papermaking kits have reached schools throughout the United States, important learning centers such as the Paper Discovery Center in Appleton, Wisconsin and the home-art and hobbyist community. Grummer has authored five books on making paper by hand. Grummer's impact is indeed far reaching. More than 62,000 Grummer papermaking kits have been sold to schools, institutions, and families. His books have had combined sales of more than 105,000 units. There have been more than 144,000 visits to Grummer's YouTube video about how to make paper. It is estimated that more than 3,000,000 sheets of paper have been hand made using Arnold Grummer papermaking kits.

Grummer vastly contributed to widespread understanding of the wonder and science of paper through television, books, videos, demonstrations, and the internet. His pilgrimage in paper has taken him from the halls of the world's premier paper training institute (IPC) to the corridors of museums and school classrooms. He did all this for the love of paper!

Arnold Grummer resided in Appleton, Wisconsin with his wife, Mabel. In their late 80s, the Grummers continued to be very active in their efforts to foster society's understanding and appreciation of paper and papermaking.

Two weeks after being inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, sadly, Arnold Grummer passed away.

Steve Roush is Vice President, Publisher and Editor and in charge of the International Desk at Paperitalo Publications. Many thanks go to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame, Inc., for biographical information on Hall of Fame inductees.

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