Stillwater master mechanic Charles P. Strite reportedly invented the pop-up toaster in 1919 because he was tired of the burnt toast served in his company’s cafeteria.

To circumvent the need for continual human attention in the making of toast, Strite designed an electric toaster that “featured heating elements that simultaneously toasted both sides of the bread, a timer that automatically turned off the heat, and springs that pushed up multiple pieces of perfectly browned toast,” according to the Minnesota Historical Society.

A Toastmaster pop-up bread toaster, invented by Stillwater factory worker Charles P. Strite and manufactured in Minneapolis by the Waters-Genter Company in 1921. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society)

Strite filed the patent for his pop-up bread toaster in 1920. He intended the device to be sold to the restaurant trade, said Brent Peterson, executive director of the Washington Historical Society.

“He made a toaster that was a 12-slicer, but they caught on so well that they moved to home toasters,” Peterson said.

Strite was born on Feb. 27, 1878. This year his birthday coincides with National Toast Day, which is celebrated on the last Thursday in February. The Washington County Historical Society is marking the occasion by hosting its first toast fundraiser at 6 p.m. Feb. 27.

“We just thought it was time that the toaster gets its recognition as being invented in Stillwater,” Peterson said.

Local vendors will be “supplying bread and terrific toppings,” Peterson said. Historian Heidi Heize will present the history of the toaster and its origins in Stillwater, and antique toasters will be on display, he said.

The main attraction will be the Strite Automatic four-slice toaster that an anonymous donor gave to the society in 2011, Peterson said.

“The pop-up toaster is such an iconic kitchen item that it is overlooked by most people,” Peterson told the Pioneer Press at the time. “Nearly every kitchen in the country has some kind of pop-up toaster in it, and yet to know that it was invented right in Stillwater is really exciting.”

A Strite Automatic Toastmaster pop-up bread toaster, invented by Stillwater factory worker Charles P. Strite in 1919. One of Strite’s toasters was given to the Washington County Historical Society in 2011 by an anonymous donor. (Courtesy of the Washington County Historical Society)

Strite partnered with the Waters-Genter Co., of Minneapolis, to manufacture and sell his device, which later became known as the “Toastmaster.”

The Feb. 27 event at the Washington County Heritage Center in Stillwater will be a “celebration of imagination,” Peterson said.

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“That’s how the world moves forward,” he said. “We bring our history to the present and to the future, and that’s what Charles Strite did. He saw a problem in the present, and he moved it to the future. Imagination and invention are the keys to us as a society moving forward, and he symbolizes that.”

National Toast Day Party

What: A fundraiser for the Washington County Historical Society
When: 6-8 p.m. Feb. 27
Where: Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 Greeley St. S., Stillwater
Cost: Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

Information: www.wchsmn.org.