Earmuff Day

Today, March 13th is National Earmuff Day! It's a day that all Mainers should be proud of, given that the earmuff was invented by Chester Greenwood of Farmington, Maine!

Reportedly at the age of 15 in 1873 Greenwood came up with the idea of earmuffs while ice skating. His grandmother sewed two tufts of fur between loops of wire! In addition to the earmuffs, Greenwood owned patents on  a tea kettle, a steel tooth rake, an advertising matchbox, and a machine used in producing wooden spools for wire and thread.

In 1977 the State of Maine declared December 21 to be Chester Greenwood Day. Farmington continues to celebrate "Chester Greenwood Day" with a parade on the first Saturday of December