Jack Craib's Rowboat Motor Information Site Gopher History |
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The interesting circumstances that produced these motors is documented here, starting with a letter from the grandson, Jack Weston, of the originator of the motor. and the article he had found written by his grandfather.. |
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"My Grandfather Dayton A. Rogers was an instructor at The University of Minnesota engineering department from 1923 until he resigned and started Dayton Rogers Mfg in 1929. This company still exists today and is headquartered in Blaine, MN. I discovered in my grandfather's archives an article which he wrote in 1929 regarding the production of "The Gopher" outboard motor. His U of M engineering class students made the parts and built these motors each school year in the later part of the 1920's. The production of this motor was likely done over a number of different school years using temporary dies to save on the cost for short production runs. Per this article 85 Gopher outboards were produced in 1929. Hope this provides some valuable information for many antique outboard motor collectors! Enjoy!" Jack Weston Edina, MN |
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Below, another university comments on the Gopher program.
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Another little bit of history turned up in the History of the Globe Iron Works - In 1907 the company had big export dealings in Australia and New Zealand. The export models had changes in the ignition system that the receiving agencies were dissatisfied with and shipments were returned. These later models may have been called 'the Gopher' engine as many of the parts are identical to the White gasoline engine. One interesting fact is that Mr. Flathers was still head of the mechanical engineering department at the University of Minnesota when the engineering classes went through design, foundering, and building of Gopher outboard motors for their class work. and, just in case you were wondering... "Chosen to be Minnesota's official animal in 1857, that same year, Minnesota was declared the Gopher State. Taking advantage of the natural connection, Clarence Spears, U of M football coach, named his team the Gophers in 1926." Wikipedia Lastly, a short article that reflects the the Gopher's production methods...
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