Walter H. Deubener (1887–1980) was a grocer from St. Paul, Minnesota who in 1912 invented the handled paper grocery bag. After watching his invention become such a common use in daily life with no credit to him as the inventor, Deubener spiraled into a near constant drunken state. After his wife took the kids and left him, he died penniless and alone in a cabin in rural Minnesota. Since his passing many large US cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles have begun to ban the use of plastic and paper shopping bags. As more and more cities follow this trend they are effectively ruining the legacy of this great man. A lone memorial to him stands half lit outside the Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos, CA. (citation: http://www.minnesota-china.com/Education/emSciTech/MN_innovations.htm)
In honor of Walter Deubener, the annual Deubener Award is given out to small businesses by the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. MOD was honored to be one of the finalists for the award in the category of Best Emerging Business, and we were ecstatic when we won! Check out some of the photos from the night!
