Date in History: 1877-1955
Born on the 4th of July 1877, in the same house on Clarence St. where he would live his whole life, Ernie Hausen was destined to become Fort Atkinson’s only world champion.
Using the techniques he perfected while working as a butcher at McMillen’s Meat market, Ernie won the 1922 Chicken Picking Championship, defeating his opponent by picking his chicken clean in only 6 seconds. He held onto this world title for 33 years until his death in 1955, defeating all challengers whether men or machines.
Ernie Hausen reached the height of his success in 1939 when he fended off two challengers in front of the hometown fans and set a world record for picking a chicken in 3.5 seconds – an amazing feat that was duly noted by Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Quite a feather in our cap, I’d say!
This historic document aired on the radio as an Historic Minute on 06/30/2003.