Journal

Our Wurkshu series is an ode to an iconic Hood Rubber style, originally introduced in 1919. Constructed with functionality that was far ahead of its time, the original Wurkshu featured leather sock lining and waterproof rubberized cloth insoles. The Wurkshu was also designed to be versatile – with ads that read ‘For hard work or hard play – all year round’. Within its first year of sales, the Hood Rubber Wurkshu had cleaned retail stocks and boosted the company’s summer profits immensely. Moving into 1920, Hood Rubber increased their advertising efforts to allow the Wurkshu to grow even more in...

Hood Rubber Company was widely recognized its support of our Allied Forces throughout the early 1900's. During WWI, Hood Rubber Company produced several models of rubber boots in huge quantities to support the French, British, and U.S. forces. During WWII, the company manufactured rubber safety rafts, bullet-proof fuel cells, deicers for military aircrafts, plastic helmet liners and aviation boots. Additionally, Hood developed their fully insulated 'Subzero Pac' boot which was designed to endure temperatures of 25 degrees below zero. This boot was used by U.S. Armed Forces during the Korean War.

Frederic and Arthur Hood opened the Hood Rubber Company factory in November, 1896 in East Watertown. During the company’s early years, Hood hired hundreds of immigrant Armenians who were fleeing genocide, so, over time the factory was largely responsible for the development of East Watertown into an Armenian neighborhood. The facility spanned across 88 acres – including a fully automated factory, research lab, fire department and the Abraham Lincoln House, where immigrant employees could take English and Americanization lessons. In 1918, the company was the second in the United States to create a Dental Clinic with a full-time dentist on staff...