Local Museum Putting Bagels on Display; And You Can Eat Them

Usually, museums have a strict "no touching" policy. But a new delicious display in the Hudson Valley is encouraging patrons to dig in.

In 1942, Louis Wichinsky was serving overseas in the U.S. Army Air Force when he was given a challenge that would change his life. The Sulivan County resident was in London celebrating the holidays with two brothers who owned a bakery. They got to talking about American ingenuity and threw a challenge to Wichinsky.

The brothers said that if Americans could build anything, he should easily be able to come up with a machine that could make automatically make bagels. Wichinsky accepted the challenge and spent the next twenty years tinkering with designs for a bagel machine.

According to the New York Times, Wichinsky finally presented his plan to the patent office in 1966 only to find that his invention had already been thought of by someone else in 1904. While the vending machine mechanic from Hurleyville couldn't take credit for inventing the first bagel machine, some features of his design were unique enough to earn his own patent.

Soon, Wichinsky's bagel machine was pumping out over 600 dozen bagels an hour.

Original Bagel Machine on Display This Month

Louis Wichinsky's original bagel machine is now on display and museum officials are going to let the public find out if it still makes bagels.

The Frederick Cook Society is inviting the public to the Sullivan County Museum to enjoy bagels, coffee and baked goods while seeing if Wichinsky's machine still has what it takes to pump out bagels.

The event takes place on Sunday, January 14 from 2pm to 4pm and includes a tour of the exhibits, refreshments and live music. Admission is free to the public.

More information about the event can be found on the Sullivan County Museum's website.