108-894: Western Publishing , also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company , was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin , best known for publishing the Little Golden Books . Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products. The company had editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Western Publishing became Golden Books Family Entertainment in 1996. Little Golden Books remains as an imprint of Penguin Random House . Golden Guides and Golden Field Guides are published by St. Martin's Press . Edward Henry Wadewitz,
216-835: A New York City real estate investor, for $ 75 million plus the assumption of certain liabilities later thought to be $ 40 million. Bernstein reincorporated the firm as the Western Publishing Group; Western Publishing Co., now a subsidiary, continued to be based in Racine. Bernstein oversaw the introduction of eight videocassettes that featured Golden Books characters in 1985. A total of 2.5 million were shipped. Western developed and produced games under license for Tonka and Hasbro , and developed storybooks containing company logos as promotional items; Bernstein referred to this as "sponsored publishing". In 1986, Penn Corporation, which produced party paper and advertising specialities,
324-640: A boost from the Hispanic community, which formed Cristo Rey , re-energizing St. Patrick's into the strong Catholic community of today. Racine has the largest Danish population in North America. The city has become known for its Danish pastries, particularly kringle . Several local bakeries have been featured on the Food Network highlighting the pastry. In June 2010, President Barack Obama stopped at an O & H Danish Bakery before hosting
432-601: A combined student enrollment of around 16,000. Programs such as International Baccalaureate and Montessori are utilized in the District. Private schools in the city include: The Prairie School is in nearby Wind Point . It was co-founded by Imogene "Gene" Powers Johnson . University of Wisconsin–Parkside is located south of Racine in the Town of Somers . Prior to Parkside's creation there were state college campuses in both Racine and Kenosha, but with their proximity it
540-593: A history of organized labor, the city predominantly votes for the Democratic Party . The city's youngest city council president was Tom Mortenson, 28, who was a leading Progressive Republican who led ethical reform that served as a model for other municipal governments. For federal representation, Racine is part of Wisconsin's 1st congressional district , represented by Bryan Steil (R). Wisconsin's two U.S. senators are Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D). In Wisconsin's lower state legislative chamber,
648-531: A larger offset press and added electrotyping and engraving departments. Wadewitz was approached by the Hamming-Whitman Publishing Company of Chicago to print its line of children's books. Unable to pay its bills, Hamming-Whitman left Western with thousands of books. As a result, Western acquired Hamming-Whitman on February 9, 1916, and formed a subsidiary corporation, Whitman Publishing Company . It employed two salesmen and, in
756-653: A leader in craft kits and a manufacturer of laboratory science sets for children based in Chicago, for 100,000 shares of common stock in 1968. In 1970, Western's sales reached $ 171.5 million but net profit fell to $ 3.9 million caused by the acquisition of a computerized typesetting facility and an eleven-week strike. As a result, the Hannibal plant was closed and the number of employees was reduced by 1,500 in mid-1974. Profits rose that year to $ 10.1 million; sales topped $ 215 million. In 1971, Western entered into an agreement with
864-466: A look inside artists’ workspaces at the Racine Arts and Business Center. The Racine Theater Guild annually offers a season of seven to eight main-stage plays and musicals, Racine Children's Theatre, Jean's Jazz Series and Comedy Tonight. Every winter, Over Our Head Players at 6th Street Theatre hosts Snowdance, a playwriting contest in which audience members determine the winning plays. Entries for
972-507: A male householder with no wife present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.17. The median age in the city was 33 years. 27.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.8% were from 45 to 64; and 10.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
1080-472: A million copies, and more than 400 of the 1,000-plus Golden Book titles were in print in thirteen languages. The 16-volume Golden Book Encyclopedia , published in 1960, enjoyed sales of 60 million copies in two years, while sales of Golden Press books reached almost $ 39 million in 1960. In the same year, the name Western Publishing Company was adopted and common stock was issued with some eighty percent owned by management or employees. At this point Western had
1188-421: A partnership with Dell Comics , which also handled the distribution and financing of the comic books. In 1962, Western ended this partnership and published comics itself, establishing the imprint Gold Key Comics . As Murphy explained the split: With regard to a Western-Dell separation, this was by mutual agreement so that each company would be free to explore the potential business in the comics market without
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#17327919454081296-401: A popular Western board game introduced in 1985. Sales fell from $ 118 million to $ 42 million. In fiscal 1991 (ending January 31, 1991) sales had declined to $ 491 million with earnings of only $ 8 million. By late 1991, Western's share price had dropped to $ 9 from a high of $ 28. In 1992, Western celebrated the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Little Golden Books publishing a boxed set of
1404-540: A printer at the Racine Journal Company. At the end of its first year sales were $ 5,000 and the company increased its staff of four to handle a growing number of commercial jobs. It installed a cylinder press , two smaller presses, and an automatic power cutter. In 1910, the company changed its name to Western Printing and Lithographing Company after the purchase of its first lithographic press . By 1914, sales were more than $ 127,000. The company installed
1512-465: A publisher of Catholic books, religious greeting cards, and gift wrap, was purchased in the early 1950s. In 1955, a new specialty printing plant was built in Hannibal, Missouri . Western achieved sales of $ 63 million in 1957, the year of its 50th anniversary. In the same year the company acquired Kable Printing Company, a large rotogravure magazine printer. With partners Dell and Simon & Schuster,
1620-524: A special election in October 2017. Racine's other citywide elected official is the Municipal Judge. The city council is made up of 15 aldermen, one elected from each aldermanic district in the city. The council enacts local ordinances and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. Being a diverse community with
1728-549: A town hall meeting on the economy and jobs later that afternoon. As of the census of 2020 , the city's population was 77,816, roughly a 1% decrease from its 2010 population. The population density was 5,028.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,941.5/km ). There were 33,871 housing units at an average density of 2,188.8 per square mile (845.1/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 51.5% White , 23.9% Black or African American , 0.8% Asian , 0.7% Native American , 10.4% from other races , and 12.7% from two or more races. Ethnically,
1836-888: A victim of either violent or property crime in Racine is 1 in 37, thus making the city's crime rate higher than 92% of Wisconsin's other cities and towns. Racine is home to museums, theater companies, visual arts organizations, galleries, performance groups, music organizations, dance studios, concert series and special art events. The Racine Art Museum is the site of the largest collection of contemporary craft in America, with over 4,000 pieces in art jewelry, ceramics, fibers, glass, metals, polymer, and wood, and over 4,000 works on paper and sculptures. RAM's satellite campus, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, presents exhibitions of regional artists along with art classes and workshops. The Racine Arts Council's exhibitions feature local and regional artists. The annual 16th Street Studios Open House offers
1944-647: A wagonmaker in the 19th century, began making motorcycles and automobiles as Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company at the start of the 20th century. Racine is also home to InSinkErator , manufacturers of the first garbage disposal. Racine was also historically home to the Horlicks malt factory, where malted milk balls were first developed, and the Western Publishing factory where Little Golden Books were printed. Prominent architects in Racine's history include A. Arthur Guilbert and Edmund Bailey Funston , and
2052-860: A warm-summer Continental climate ( Köppen climate classification : Dfb ). Summers are warm and short while winters are cold. Precipitation is dispersed evenly throughout the year, although summers are slightly wetter and more humid than winters. Waves of European immigrants, including Danes , Germans , and Czechs , began to settle in Racine between the Civil War and the First World War . African Americans started arriving in large numbers during World War I, as they did in other Midwestern industrial towns, and Hispanics migrated to Racine from roughly 1925 onward. Unitarians , Episcopalians and Congregationalists from New England initially dominated Racine's religious life. Racine's Emmaus Lutheran Church,
2160-635: A wide variety of games, playing cards, crayons, and gift wrap. Western also had a Canadian subsidiary (established in 1959) and a French company (established in 1960). In 1967, the Justice Department charged Golden Press and seventeen other publishers with illegally fixing prices of library editions of children's books. Each agreed to the terms of a consent judgment forbidding them from submitting rigged bids or conspiring with wholesalers to fix prices of sales to schools, libraries, or government agencies. Western purchased Skil-Craft Playthings, Inc.,
2268-519: Is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin , United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River , situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and 60 miles (97 km) north of Chicago . As of the 2020 census , the city had a population of 77,816, making it the fifth-most populous city in Wisconsin. It is the principal city of
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#17327919454082376-694: Is also the home of S.C. Johnson & Son , whose headquarters were designed in 1936 by Frank Lloyd Wright . Wright also designed the Wingspread Conference Center and several homes and other buildings in Racine. The city is also home to the Dremel Corporation, Reliance Controls Corporation and Twin Disc . Case New Holland ’s Racine manufacturing facility, which builds two types of tractors (the New Holland T8 and
2484-608: Is home to several National Register of Historic Places listed structures: National Register of Historic Places listings in Racine County, Wisconsin . The city is also home to Regency Mall . Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built the Johnson Wax Headquarters building in Racine. The building was and still is considered a marvel of design innovation, despite its many practical annoyances such as rainwater leaks. Wright urged then-president Hib Johnson to build
2592-599: Is located on the SC Johnson campus, is one of only 2 existing high rise buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright . Fortaleza Hall, designed by Norman Foster , houses the "SC Johnson Gallery: Frank Lloyd Wright At Home" and a Frank Lloyd Wright library. The Johnson Wax disc-shaped Golden Rondelle Theater was originally constructed as the Johnson Wax pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair and then relocated to Racine. The Racine Art Museum , designed by
2700-464: Is located on the shore of Lake Michigan in Racine's south side historic district. Racine has a mayor-council form of government . The mayor is the chief executive, elected for a term of four years. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the departments, subject to Common Council approval. The current mayor is Cory Mason (D); he is the 58th mayor of Racine, currently serving his second full four-year term after taking office in
2808-655: Is the namesake (but not current owner) of radio station WRJN (1400), and is owned by Lee Enterprises . The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel formerly published a Racine-specific page on Thursdays and a Racine County section on Sundays, but dropped them in 2007. The Insider News covers issues specific to the city's Black community. The Racine County Eye also covers Racine County news. Happenings Magazine covers local entertainment events in Racine. The city has one television station owned by Weigel Broadcasting , WMLW-TV (Channel 49), an independent station which airs syndicated content, and had its analog transmitter just north of
2916-682: The Children's Television Workshop to produce Golden Books featuring the Muppets of Sesame Street . In 1974, Dell Publishing Company signed a ten-year printing contract with Western worth more than $ 50 million. That same year construction began on a distribution and game-and-puzzle assembly center in Fayetteville, North Carolina . Direct marketing accounted for twenty-five percent of Western's consumer product sales by 1976. This represented seventy percent of total sales. Driven by products such as
3024-670: The Ethical Culture movement, which emphasized universal morality, and sent Simon to the Ethical Cultural School and then Columbia University . Simon served in World War I and upon his return to the United States, being a talented piano player, worked as a piano salesman before beginning his career as a book publisher. Simon began his career as a sugar importer and then became a piano salesman. It
3132-544: The Gold Key Comics and Dell Comics catalogs, while Random House gained Golden Books' book publishing properties. The H. E. Harris stamp and coin company bought Whitman Coin Products from St. Martin's Press in 2003 and renamed it Whitman Publishing. On July 23, 2012, Classic Media was acquired by DreamWorks Animation for $ 155 million and renamed DreamWorks Classics . On July 1, 2013, Random House merged with
3240-686: The Golden Guide nature guides were published with the Golden Press name. Western Publishing Company Inc. owned dozens of trademarks over the years, many of which have now expired. A sampling of Western's trademarks follows. Some like "Golden" for example were registered multiple times for different uses (separated by "/"). Refer to the website cited for a complete listing of all trademarks. Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( / r ə ˈ s iː n , r eɪ -/ rə- SEEN , ray- )
3348-587: The Great Depression between 1929 and 1933, Western introduced new products: The Whitman jigsaw puzzle became very popular during this period as did a new series of books called Big Little Books . Brought out in 1932, the 10-cent Big Little Books became very popular with people looking for inexpensive entertainment. The first Big Little Book was The Adventures of Dick Tracy. Western won exclusive book rights to all Walt Disney licensed characters in 1933, and in 1934 established an eastern printing plant at
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3456-629: The Penguin Group , forming a new company called Penguin Random House . In April 2016, the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation (owner of DreamWorks Classics) by NBCUniversal was announced. Historian Michael Barrier has lamented the apparent loss of Western's business records for future use by researchers. With licenses for characters from Walt Disney Productions , Warner Bros. , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Edgar Rice Burroughs and Walter Lantz Studio , Western produced comics based on these characters, as well as original works. The editorial staff at
3564-672: The Potawatomi expanded into the area, taking part in the French fur trade. In November 1674, while traveling from Green Bay to the territory of the Illinois Confederation , Father Jacques Marquette and his assistants, Jacques Largillier, Pierre Porteret, and Nathan Kowitt camped at the mouth of the Root River. These were the first Europeans known to visit what is now Racine County. Further expeditions were made in
3672-631: The Wisconsin State Assembly , Racine is split between the 62nd Assembly district in the north, represented by Robert Wittke (R), and the 66th Assembly district in the south, represented by Greta Neubauer (D). In Wisconsin's upper chamber, the Wisconsin Senate , the area represented by the 66th Assembly district falls within Wisconsin's 22nd Senate district , represented by Robert Wirch (D). The area represented by
3780-622: The Wisconsin Supreme Court declaring the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 unconstitutional, and later, the Wisconsin State Legislature refusing to recognize the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court . This saga played a significant role in the building up of tensions that preceded the Civil War . Racine was a factory town almost from the beginning. The first industry in Racine County included
3888-498: The 1920s and 1930s, Western published a wide range of children's books (puzzle books, coloring books, Tell-a-Tale books, Big Little Books ), mostly under the Golden Books and Whitman Publishing brand names. The Little Golden Books was a very popular series. Lucille Ogle helped develop the format for these low-priced books, which told simple stories and were among the first children's books with full-color illustrations. The first
3996-505: The 30-year-old son of German immigrants , worked at the West Side Printing Company in Racine, Wisconsin . When the owner of that company was unable to pay Wadewitz his wages, Wadewitz took the opportunity in 1907 to purchase the company for $ 2,504, with some of the funds provided by his brother Albert. Knowing that the company needed staff with more knowledge of the business than he had, Wadewitz hired Roy A. Spencer,
4104-769: The 62nd Assembly district falls within the 21st Senate district , represented by Van H. Wanggaard (R). Fire protection and ambulance service is provided by the Racine Fire Department with six fire stations. Law enforcement services are provided by the Racine Police Department. Racine's public schools are administered by the Racine Unified School District, which oversees one early education center, seven elementary schools, eight K-8 schools, two 6-12 schools, three high schools and one alternative education center with
4212-611: The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Program, a monthly mailing of recipe cards to millions of customers, sales grew to $ 237.3 million in 1976 with net income of $ 10.8 million. In 1979, Western ceased to be an independent company when Mattel Inc. purchased the company for $ 120.8 million in a cash/stock deal. By the late 1970s, Western was one of the largest commercial printers in the United States. It had four manufacturing plants and two distribution centers between Kansas and Maryland. It boasted of installing some of
4320-796: The Case IH Magnum), offers public tours throughout the year. Racine includes the Old Main Street Historic District . Historic buildings in Racine include the Badger Building , Racine Elks Club, Lodge No. 252 , St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church , YMCA Building , Chauncey Hall House , Eli R. Cooley House , George Murray House , Hansen House , Racine College , McClurg Building , First Presbyterian Church , Memorial Hall , Racine Depot , United Laymen Bible Student Tabernacle , Chauncey Hall Building , Thomas P. Hardy House , and Horlick Field . The area
4428-481: The Chicago architecture firm Brininstool + Lynch , is a modern reuse of an existing structure to house RAM's permanent collection of contemporary craft. The building has an exterior façade of translucent acrylic panels that are illuminated at night, making the museum glow in the dark like a Japanese lantern. The OS House, a private residence designed by the Milwaukee architecture firm Johnsen Schmaling Architects ,
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4536-488: The Inner Sanctum. His partner Max Schuster wrote a column of the same name for The New York Times . The title was also the name of the editorial room between their offices. Michael Korda said that when he arrived to work as an editor at Simon & Schuster in 1958, he found a bronze plaque on his desk designed by Richard Simon that said, "Give the reader a break." This was a reminder to every editor that their job
4644-760: The Milwaukee County line in Oak Creek . For all intents and purposes, the station serves all of southeastern Wisconsin, with the station offices located in West Allis and the station's current transmitter is located on the Weigel tower in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park. WDJT-TV (its sister CBS station) continues to produce a weekend public affairs program called Racine & Me which is devoted to topics of interest to Racine residents. Richard L. Simon Richard Leo Simon (March 6, 1899 – July 29, 1960)
4752-487: The Racine metropolitan statistical area (consisting only of Racine County, 2020 pop. 197,727). The Racine metropolitan area is, in turn, counted as part of the greater Milwaukee combined statistical area . Racine is the headquarters of several industries, including Case Corporation heavy equipment, S. C. Johnson & Son cleaning and chemical products, Dremel , Reliance Controls , Twin Disc , and Arthur B. Modine heat exchangers. The Mitchell & Lewis Company ,
4860-854: The Racine Writer in Residence Program awards two 6-month residencies each year with a stipend of $ 1,500; the Racine/Kenosha Poet Laureate Program chooses one poet from Racine and one poet from Kenosha every 2 years. Racine has several examples of Frank Lloyd Wright 's work, including the Johnson Wax Headquarters , Wingspread , the Thomas P. Hardy House and the Keland House . S.C. Johnson offers free tours of its corporate campus, and receives about 9,000 visitors per year. The Research Tower , which
4968-552: The Walton Boys, Power Boys , Brains Benton , and Troy Nesbit mysteries. The series, published from the 1950s to the 1970s, also included a number of titles licensed from popular movies and television shows: Lassie , The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin , many television Westerns , and Walt Disney 's Spin and Marty and Annette (from the serial featuring Annette Funicello that aired on The Mickey Mouse Club . The company
5076-523: The West Coast office over the years included: Eleanor Packer, Alice Cobb, Chase Craig , Zetta Devoe, Del Connell and Bill Spicer . Bernie Zuber was an editorial artist, a position similar to that of a production artist , from 1957 until 1982. Oskar Lebeck , Matt Murphy and Wally Green are among those who oversaw the East Coast office. From 1938 to 1962, Western's properties were published under
5184-578: The Western Playing Card Company after purchasing the Sheffer Playing Card Company. In 1929, Western purchased a Chicago stationery and greeting card manufacturer, Stationer's Engraving Company. Another subsidiary was K.K. Publications, named after Kay Kamen , manager of character merchandising at Walt Disney Studios from 1933 to 1949. K.K. Publications became defunct during the mid/late 1960s. During
5292-511: The annual kite safety title (which featured an array of licensed characters) published over a span of 32 years for power utility companies. Both series had print runs in the hundreds of thousands. In the 1990s, the Western/Gold Key characters Magnus , Turok and Dr. Solar were licensed to Valiant Comics , who published modified versions of the characters to great success. However, by the mid-1990s, Valiant's sales had slumped due to
5400-633: The area by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1679 and by François Jolliet De Montigny and Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes in 1698. Nearly a century later, in 1791, a trading post would be established along Lake Michigan near where the Root River empties into it. Following the Black Hawk War , the area surrounding Racine, which had previously been off-limits, was settled by Yankees from upstate New York and New England . In 1834 Captain Gilbert Knapp USRM , who
5508-464: The area surrounding his own. Some of the settlers were from the town of Derby, Connecticut , and others came from the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The area was previously called "Kipi Kawi" and "Chippecotton" by the indigenous peoples, both names for the Root River. The name "Port Gilbert" was never really accepted, and in 1841 the community
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#17327919454085616-537: The books could be sold for 25 cents each. In September 1942, the first 12 titles were printed and released to stores in October. Three editions totaling 1.5 million books sold out within five months of publication in 1942. During World War II , Western had a contract with the U.S. Army Map Service to produce maps for soldiers in the field and it also manufactured books and playing cards which were sent overseas. In 1945, Western acquired another major printing plant, Wolff Printing Company of St. Louis. Guild Press, Inc.,
5724-508: The catalog of United Productions of America (UPA) and book publisher Random House in a bankruptcy auction for the $ 84.4 million on August 16, 2001. In turn, Random House, and Classic Media gained ownership of Golden Books' entertainment catalog (including the family entertainment catalog of Broadway Video which includes the pre-1974 library of Rankin/Bass Productions and the library of Total Television ) as well as production, licensing and merchandising rights for Golden Books' characters and
5832-405: The city in 2013 dropped in several categories to the lowest point in decades. Racine saw a 38.3 percent drop in violent crime from 2009 to 2013, making it the 10th largest decrease in the country. Property crimes were at their lowest point since 1965, while the number of violent crimes was the lowest for any year on record. However, that trend has since changed. As of 2018, the chance of becoming
5940-570: The city is home to some works by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright . Native Americans inhabited the area of Racine for thousands of years. Artifacts that have survived include the burial mounds in what is now Mound Cemetery. Historians separate the natives living in the Root watershed at that time into Woodland people and Hopewell people. After Europeans contacted the Natives, the Miami and later
6048-482: The city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. Racial Makeup of Racine (2023) Racial Makeup of Kenosha treating Hispanics as a Racial Category (2023) NH=Non-Hispanic Racial Makeup of Hispanics in Kenosha (2023) Racine employs community-oriented policing , the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to address the immediate conditions that give rise to crime. The number of crimes committed in
6156-424: The city was 58.8% White , 22.6% African American , 0.5% Native American , 0.8% Asian , 10.3% from other races , and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.7% of the population. There were 30,530 households, of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had
6264-473: The city, opening up churches for their own ethnicity, such as St. Stanislaus (Polish), St. Rose (Irish), Holy Name (German), St. Patrick (Irish), Sacred Heart (Italian), St. Joseph (German), St. Mary (German), Holy Trinity (Slovak), St. Casimir (Lithuanian), and others. As years passed, populations moved and St. Stanislaus, Holy Name, Holy Trinity, St. Rose, and St. Casimir merged in 1998, forming St. Richard. With new waves of people arriving, older parishes received
6372-456: The city. In 1854 Joshua Glover , an escaped slave who had made a home in Racine, was arrested by federal marshals and jailed in Milwaukee . One hundred men from Racine, and ultimately 5,000 Wisconsinites, rallied and broke into the jail to free him. He was helped to escape to Canada . Glover's rescue gave rise to many legal complications and a great deal of litigation. This eventually led to
6480-427: The company but retained his stock. It sold the adult books ( Golden Guide ) to St. Martin's Press in 1999. In June 2001, DIC Entertainment announced they would purchase Golden Books Family Entertainment for $ 170 Million and send them out of bankruptcy. However, DIC would pass off the purchase due to high costs and instead Golden Books Family Entertainment was eventually acquired jointly by Classic Media , owner of
6588-473: The company decided ultimately to run the departments itself. Bernstein wanted to sell Western's products in discount stores and supermarket and drugstore chains and spent $ 20 million to do so. The school book club, started in 1990, also lost money. The net effect was a $ 55.8 million loss on sales of $ 613.5 million for fiscal 1994 (ending January 1994). Three Golden Books Showcase Store locations were opened, which featured only Western Publishing products. The first
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#17327919454086696-572: The company had been acquired by Bernstein from Mattel in 1984. At this point he owned or controlled nearly 20 percent of the common stock, the Gabelli Group held about 17 percent, and Prudential Insurance Company of America owned 8.6 percent. Long-term debt was $ 249.8 million. By mid-1996, under the supervision of ex-Simon & Schuster executive Richard E. Snyder , it was renamed Golden Books Family Entertainment and focused on publishing children's books. Bernstein resigned all his positions at
6804-800: The company sponsored the Story Book Shop on Main Street, U.S.A. , in Disneyland which opened on July 17, 1955, and closed April 1, 1995. In addition it was one of the initial investors in the park by virtue of being a part-owner of Disneyland, Inc. Western and Pocket Books , Inc. formed Golden Press, Inc. at the end of 1958 following their joint purchase of all Golden Book properties from Simon and Schuster. The arrangement called for Western to continue to create and manufacture Golden Books which Pocket Books would promote, sell, and distribute. By 1959, over 150 Little Golden Book titles had sold at least
6912-417: The company's revenue. The company's half-share in Golden Press, Inc. was a problem. It lost money in 1961 and 1962, and, in 1963, its sales sagged from $ 32.9 million the previous year to $ 22.5 million. Western bought Pocket Books' half-share in Golden Press in 1964 with 276,750 shares of its common stock valued at nearly $ 7.4 million. Odyssey took over the sales and distribution of adult Golden Books; Western did
7020-492: The company, Bernstein began a major restructuring of Western. Hasbro Inc. purchased the games and puzzles division for $ 105 million and the Fayetteville distribution center which handled them was put up for sale. Troll purchased the school book club division for $ 4.3 million. Ritepoint and Adtrend, parts of Penn Corporation's advertising specialty division, were sold as was its direct-marketing continuity-club business. Staff
7128-591: The company. Dick Simon , then head of Simon & Schuster, mentioned to Duplaix that he was interested in any new ideas for children's books. Duplaix had the idea to produce a colorful, more durable and affordable children's book than those being published at that time which sold for $ 2 to $ 3. With the help of Lucile Ogle, also working at the Guild, Duplaix contacted Albert Leventhal, a vice president and sales manager at Simon & Schuster, and Leon Shimkin , also at Simon & Schuster, with his idea. The group decided to publish twelve titles for simultaneous release in what
7236-917: The contest come from all over the world. The Racine Symphony Orchestra performs 2-3 Masterworks concerts per year, several free pops concerts, and an annual concert for fifth graders. Local bands perform free noontime and evening concerts at downtown's centrally located Monument Square throughout the summer. Weekly open mic opportunities for musicians and other performers are hosted by Family Power Music. The monthly BONK! Performance Series showcases local, regional and national poets. There are four opportunities for area artists and poets to receive recognition for their work: The RAM Artist Fellowship Program awards four $ 3,000 Artist Fellowships and one $ 1,500 Emerging Artist Award every two years with recipients given solo exhibits; The Racine Arts Council ArtSeed Program provides grants ranging from $ 500 to $ 1,500 to projects that are new, innovative, experimental and collaborative;
7344-447: The decade's speculative boom collapsing, and the company ceased publishing in 1999. In 2004, Dark Horse Comics began reprinting some of Western's original comic book properties, which by then were owned by Random House , along with Tarzan from the Jesse Marsh era. In 2009, the company announced plans to launch new versions of various Gold Key characters, with former Valiant editor-in-chief Jim Shooter as head writer. Beginning in
7452-400: The distinction of being the largest creator and publisher of children's books, the largest producer/distributor of children's games made from paper or paper products, and the largest creator/producer of comic books. Western had operated at a profit every year since 1907, paid a dividend every year since 1934, and seen net sales increase from $ 40.5 million in 1950 to $ 123.8 million in 1960. During
7560-685: The first heatset web offset printing presses in the US. As well, Western had the largest offset, sheet-fed presses, some exceeding 78 inches wide, printing in five colors, and one of the largest bindery operations in the United States. Among other things, it printed mass-market paperback books under contract, and was the primary manufacturer and distributor of the board game Trivial Pursuit , as well as other tabletop games. It developed and printed specialty cookbooks, premiums, and material for many Fortune 500 clients. At one time, Western printed almost everything from "business cards to billboards", and employed over 2500 full-time employees. The year 1980 saw
7668-433: The first public high school in Wisconsin, opened. The high school operated until 1926, when it was torn down to make way for the new Racine County Courthouse , an Art Deco highrise. Washington Park High School was built to replace the original high school. Before the Civil War , Racine was well known for its strong opposition to slavery , with many slaves escaping to freedom via the Underground Railroad passing through
7776-465: The first year, grossed more than $ 43,500 liquidating the remaining Hamming-Whitman books. In 1916, Sam Lowe joined Western. He convinced Western and Whitman to publish a 10-cent children's book in 1918 and convinced retailers that children's books could be sold year-round. Western introduced boxed games and jigsaw puzzles in 1923 after purchasing a 38-inch by 52-inch Potter offset press. By 1925, sales exceeded $ 1 million. Western added another subsidiary,
7884-480: The former Fiat factory site in Poughkeepsie , New York. The printing plant allowed a close relationship to develop with the publishers Dell Publishing Company and Simon & Schuster , Inc. From 1938 to 1962 Dell Publishing and Western produced color comic books featuring many of Western's licensed characters. In 1938, the first joint effort between Western and Simon & Schuster, A Children's History,
7992-489: The imprint Artists and Writers Guild Books and sold in general book and toy stores. Western's net sales recovered in fiscal 1992 to $ 552.4 million with net income of $ 13.7 million, and $ 649.1 million with $ 17.5 million net income in 1993. In 1993, Western decided to close the advertising specialty division and took a $ 21.8 million writedown . A further $ 10 million was spent setting up and running bookstores in Toys "R" Us stores;
8100-829: The launch of the Sesame Street Book Club and the relocation of the Skil-Craft manufacturing plant from Chicago to Fayetteville. Sales climbed to $ 278 million in 1981. Mattel's investment in Western soon soured. In fiscal 1983 (ending January 31, 1983) Western had sales of $ 246 million with an operating loss of $ 2.4 million after a $ 7.5 million charge relating to closing the Poughkeepsie printing plant. Mattel had its own financial issues and, strapped for cash, sold Western in December 1983 to Richard A. Bernstein,
8208-429: The manufacture of fanning mills, machines that separate wheat grain from chaff . Racine also had its share of captains of industry, including J. I. Case (heavy equipment), S. C. Johnson & Son (cleaning and chemical products), and Arthur B. Modine (Heat Exchangers). Racine's harbor was central to the shipping industry in Wisconsin in the late 19th century. Racine was also an early car manufacturing center. One of
8316-465: The name was changed to Walt Disney's Magazine and the focus shifted to contemporary Disney movie and television productions. In a similar vein, they printed Gulf Oil 's Wonderful World of Disney premium (1969-1970) which was edited by Disney's George Sherman . During the 1960s, Western published The Golden Magazine for Boys and Girls with Cracky the Parrot as its mascot. For many years Golden Press
8424-469: The newspaper PM , and the author of many books on opera. Eventually he became an editor and vice-president at Simon & Schuster. His brother Alfred was a rehearsal pianist for the Gershwins, the programmer for light opera and show music for WQXR, and the author of a number of books about musical theatre. His sister Elizabeth Seligman was married to Arthur Seligmann, a physician. Simon's parents joined
8532-751: The oldest Danish Lutheran Church in North America, was founded on August 22, 1851. Originally a founding member of the Danish American Lutheran Church, it has subsequently been a member of the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (UDELCA), the American Lutheran Church (ALC), and, since 1988, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). There was also a large Catholic movement to
8640-494: The population was 24.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to the American Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $ 44,346, and the median income for a family was $ 54,161. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 42,864 versus $ 36,299 for female workers. The per capita income for the city was $ 22,837. About 15.7% of families and 20.7% of
8748-555: The population were below the poverty line , including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 86.5% were high school graduates or higher and 17.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher. As of the census of 2010, there were 78,860 people, 30,530 households, and 19,222 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,094.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,966.9/km ). There were 33,887 housing units at an average density of 2,189.1 per square mile (845.2/km ). The racial makeup of
8856-965: The same for children's titles. Western Printing & Lithographing, the largest company unit, accounted for about 40 percent of sales in 1965. Artists & Writers Press, Inc., one of fourteen active subsidiaries, created books for publishers and commercial customers including Golden Books, Betty Crocker cookbooks, the Arts of Mankind series for Golden Press, and the four-volume Harper Encyclopedia of Science for Harper & Row. Capitol Publishing, purchased in 1961, originated and produced educational materials and games for children, as well as toys and novelty products. The Kable Printing division produced over 125,000 monthly magazines, other periodicals, and catalogs. The Watkins-Strathmore Co., acquired in 1957, produced children's books and games, including Magic Slate . Meanwhile, Whitman published nearly every type of juvenile and adolescent books, numismatic books, coin cards,
8964-579: The same period, net profit had increased from $ 3.1 million to $ 7.4 million. In 1961, Western opened another printing plant, in Cambridge, Maryland , and in 1970 acquired several companies, including Odyssey Press, a high school and college textbook publisher. By 1963, 65 percent of Western's total revenues derived from juvenile literature (including games), 25 percent from commercial printing, and 10 percent from books produced for other publishers and miscellaneous activities. Whitman accounted for 35 percent of
9072-597: The schools and libraries. Offices were set up in Wayne, New Jersey, and the reinforced library books were warehoused in Wayne and distributed from that location. There were about 80 sales representatives in the United States under the general manager, Roy Spahr. From the 1940s to the 1980s, Western published several series of books for older children and young teenagers, initially under its Whitman line. Girls' mystery series included Trixie Belden , Ginny Gordon , Donna Parker , Meg Duncan and Trudy Phillips. Boys' series included
9180-449: The self-imposed restrictions which formerly required Western and Dell to work exclusively with one another. In our previous relationship, Western Publishing Co. secured the rights, created the comics, printed them and shipped them out for Dell. Dell acted as the publisher and distributor and did the billing and paid Western for its creatively manufactured products. This imprint continued until the late 1970s, after which newsstand distribution
9288-576: The structure outside of Racine, a city that Wright, a Wisconsin native, thought of as "backwater." Johnson refused to have the Johnson Wax Headquarters sited anywhere other than Racine. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 15.66 square miles (40.56 km ), of which, 15.47 square miles (40.07 km ) is land and 0.18 square miles (0.47 km ) is water. Racine has
9396-416: The twelve original titles for $ 19.95. Special editions of all-time favorites, and new books by popular artists and illustrators of children's books were also published to mark the occasion. The Golden Little Nugget Book line was introduced and sold more than 1.9 million units in six months. Golden management decided to publish trade books for children for the first time in 1993. These titles were published under
9504-668: The world's first automobiles was built there in 1871 or 1872 by J. W. Cathcart, as was the Pennington Victoria tricycle , the Mitchell , and the Case. In 1887, malted milk was invented in Racine by English immigrant William Horlick , and Horlicks remains a global brand. The garbage disposal was invented in 1927 by architect John Hammes of Racine, who founded the company InSinkErator , which still produces millions of garbage disposers every year in Racine. Racine
9612-470: Was a German Jewish immigrant. He was the eldest of five siblings (Henry, Alfred, George, and Elizabeth) who were all named after British monarchs. His brother George T. Simon was a jazz drummer with Glenn Miller for a time, and then a critic, magazine editor and author of books on jazz , particularly big bands and the swing era. His brother Henry W. Simon was a professor of English at Teachers College, Columbia University , then classical music critic for
9720-474: Was also the original American publisher of The Adventures of Tintin , issuing six titles in English translation in 1959 and 1960, before discontinuing further releases because of what were considered disappointing sales. In 1937, Western, at the request of Kay Kamen (who oversaw licensing and marketing at Disney), assumed production of the newsstand version of Mickey Mouse Magazine , which, in October 1940,
9828-487: Was also the subject of the 2006 documentary The World's Best Prom . In addition to the large prom Racine has become known for, the city has also been hosting a special needs prom called A Night To Remember every year since 2013. The A Night To Remember prom always takes place on the Sunday following Racine's larger prom and includes those from age 13 to 30. Racine is served by the daily newspaper The Journal Times , which
9936-400: Was an American book publisher. He was a Columbia University graduate, co-founder of the publishing house Simon & Schuster , and father of singer-songwriter Carly Simon . Richard Leo Simon was born on March 6, 1899, to a Jewish family in New York City. His father, Leo Simon, was a wealthy feather-and-silk manufacturer and milliner of German Jewish origin, and his mother, Anna (Meier),
10044-479: Was decided they would be better served by one larger campus in between the two cities. A campus of Gateway Technical College , which serves the tri-county area of the southeastern corner of Wisconsin, is located in the downtown district on Lake Michigan. The Racine Legion , a professional football team and part of the National Football League , played here from 1922 to 1924. Its official name
10152-483: Was discontinued in favor of distribution to toy stores under the "Whitman Comics" banner. The company stopped publishing comics in 1984, and all of its licenses have since gone to other publishers. Many of these new licensees have included among their offerings reprints of stories originally published by Western. Prior to 1962, in addition to comics published through Dell, Western published some comics under its own name, particularly giveaways such as March of Comics and
10260-407: Was from Chatham, Massachusetts , founded the settlement of "Port Gilbert" at the place where the Root River empties into Lake Michigan . Knapp had first explored the area of the Root River valley in 1818, and returned with financial backing when the war ended. Within a year of Knapp's settlement hundreds of other settlers from New England and western New York had arrived and built log cabins in
10368-720: Was incorporated as the village of Racine, after the French word for "root". After Wisconsin was admitted to the Union in 1848, the new legislature voted in August to incorporate Racine as a city. In 1852, Racine College , an Episcopal college, was founded; it closed in 1933. Its location and many of its buildings are preserved today by the Community of St. Mary as part of the DeKoven Center. Also in 1852, Racine High School ,
10476-847: Was opened in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois , in November 1992; the second in CityWalk Center outside Universal Studios Hollywood during June 1993; and the third store was opened in Rockefeller Center in New York City during April 1994. They have all since closed. By the mid-1990s, most of its printing plants were closed and its print operations consolidated in Racine. These losses raised Western's debt to $ 250 million; its negative cash flow caused its bonds to be downgraded to junk status. Unable to sell
10584-545: Was published in 1942. Beginning as the "Whitman Famous Classics", and later renamed the "Golden Press" imprint, Western published a series of (public domain) classics, such as Little Women , Little Men , Black Beauty and Heidi . In the late 1960s, Golden Books were bound in the Goldencraft reinforced library bindings and sold to schools and libraries in the United States by a group of independent sales representatives. The library bound books were very popular with
10692-596: Was published. In the 1930s, Western formed the Artists and Writers Guild Inc., located in New York City, to develop new children's books. Western expanded to the West Coast in the early 1940s, opening an office in Beverly Hills to make it easier to do business with studios that owned the characters the company licensed. Georges Duplaix replaced Sam Lowe as head of the Artists and Writers Guild in 1940 when Lowe left
10800-410: Was publisher of Betty Crocker cookbooks. Often these were issued in a three-ring binder format so recipe pages could be removed for easy consultation while cooking. Western produced games such as Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary until Hasbro bought that division in 1994. The company published the children's science books The World of Science and The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments , while
10908-538: Was purchased for $ 108 million. Bernstein took Western public in April 1986 and made more than $ 70 million on his original $ 5 million investment; he retained twenty-one percent of the stock. The company continued to prosper. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 1989, sales were $ 551 million produced earnings of nearly $ 30 million. In 1990, sales dropped to $ 508 million and earnings fell to $ 23 million. Analysts attributed some of this decline to falling sales of Pictionary ,
11016-689: Was recognized in 2011 as one of the top 10 residential projects in the United States by the American Institute of Architects . The LEED Platinum -certified home was also named in 2011 as one of the top 10 green projects in the country by the AIA, and in 2012 as one of 11 national winners in the Small Projects category. The OS House has been featured in the New York Times . The house, an example of 21st-century modern architecture,
11124-502: Was reduced by 28 percent. Bernstein continued the concept of developing book sections within stores and introduced 100 Just For Kids sections in Walmart locations which sold video and music along with books. Western lost $ 11.6 million on revenues of $ 303.9 million during the first three quarters of 1994. Its common stock, which had traded as high as $ 21 a share in 1993, had fallen to below $ 10 in April 1995. No dividend had been paid since
11232-436: Was succeeded by the comic book Walt Disney's Comics and Stories . 1936-1954 Story Parade, Inc. (a Western subsidiary) published Story Parade: A Magazine for Boys and Girls with a children's literature orientation. Then in late 1955, Western initiated Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club Magazine with content produced by Disney Studio staff members. It was intended to promote The Mickey Mouse Club television series. Eventually
11340-607: Was the Horlick-Racine Legion. The team then operated as the Racine Tornadoes in 1926. They played at Horlick Field . The city is known for its large prom celebration, at which students from all the high schools in the city participate in an after prom party. This was featured on the radio show This American Life in Episode #186 "Prom", which originally aired on June 8, 2001; Racine's prom tradition
11448-504: Was to be called the Little Golden Books Series. Each book would have forty-two pages, twenty-eight printed in two-color, and fourteen in four-color. The books would be staple-bound. The group originally discussed a 50-cent price for the books, but Western did not want to compete with other 50-cent books already on the market. The group calculated that if the print run for each title was 50,000 copies instead of 25,000,
11556-468: Was to make things as easy and clear for the reader as possible. Simon retired in 1957 after having two heart attacks. On August 3, 1934, Simon married Andrea Heinemann who worked as a switchboard operator at Simon & Schuster. Raised in Philadelphia , Andrea was the daughter of a Cuban -born, Roman Catholic mother, Asuncion Maria del Rio, and a German-speaking Swiss father who had abandoned
11664-518: Was while selling pianos that he met Max Schuster. Simon then became a salesman for the publisher Boni & Liveright where he quickly rose to sales manager. Simon pooled $ 8,000 together with Max Schuster to publish the first book of crossword puzzles in 1924. Simon was a pioneer in emphasizing marketing, merchandising, promotion and advertising for booksellers. Simon wrote a weekly column and advertorial in Publishers Weekly called
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