Shiner, Lavaca County
Founded as outgrowth of an 1895 invention that used smooth wire discarded when barbed wire fencing was introduced in this area. August Kaspar, son of a Swiss Lutheran missionary to Texas, salvaged some of the plain wire and made a corn shuck basket for home use. A neighbor saw and bought the basket. Soon Kaspar disposed of his baskets as rapidly as he could make and put them to use in his own barn. In 1898 he began the full-time manufacture of wire baskets and horse muzzles. His backyard shop was equipped with little more than a pair of pliers and his inventive genius. A rented wagon was the original Kaspar show room. Arthur H. Kaspar, son of the founder, purchased the business in 1924. In 1949 a grandson, Don G. Kaspar, joined the organization. Kaspar Wire Works has progressed to assembly-line manufacturing of nationally and internationally distributed goods -- including display racks, baskets, newspaper racks, wire shelving and many other products. The growth and success of Kaspar Wire Works was officially recognized in 1967 by the bestowal of the first annual Governor's Expansion Award under the auspices of the Texas Industrial Commission.