Butter Tubs

By the 1920s, bulk packaging in industry had turned to corrugated boxes as a primary means of distribution.  But realizing that butter was one of the few products that continued to be sold primarily in wooden packaging, Menasha Wooden Ware formed a subsidiary in Tacoma, Washington, called Northwestern Wooden Ware Company, to make staves from Sitka spruce, which were then made into butter tubs for local markets. Menasha's Sitka spruce tubs kept butter fresh for up to a year, versus most other tubs made of ashwood that caused the butter to become moldy within six months. Menasha Wooden Ware quickly became the number one butter tub manufacturer in the nation.