Innovation and the Trapper Keeper

My father, E. Bryant Crutchfield, was integral to the development and the commercial success of the Trapper Keeper. “Crutch” was creative, innovative, and a memorable character. The Trapper Keeper became an iconic product for many students in the 1980s and 1990s.

I am researching the history of school supplies, the growth of American Industry, pop culture, and the forces that shape successful products. Innovation is the result of inspiration, ideas, invention, and people. Commercial success aligns the right product with the right market needs. The forces that create the circumstances for a product to fill a market are also powerful enough to kill entire industries.

The American Industrial Revolution created pop culture and the modern economy. My desire is to tell that story through the evolution of school supplies, starting with the replacement of slate tablets in one-room schoolhouses up through the development of the Trapper Keeper.

In 2013, Mental Floss did an extensive article on the History of the Trapper Keeper that featured my father prominently. This American Life aired an episode highlighting another lens on the story in 2023.

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If you have personal memories to share or any information that might help with this project, please share!

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