Hastings Museum celebrates Kool-Aid inventor Edwin Perkins

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) -Hastings Museum held an event honoring Edwin Perkins, the Hastings native who invented Kool-Aid. Family members and community leaders attended.

Family reflects on Perkins

Chuck Shoemaker and Catherine Heitmann, the niece and nephew of Edwin Perkins, were among those present.

“I was only 10 years old when he passed away,” Shoemaker said. “But I knew him very well as a 10-year-old.”

Shoemaker described his uncle as businesslike and said Perkins enjoyed taking his nieces and nephews to watch ball games.

Museum display spans Kool-Aid history

The museum featured items covering the history of Kool-Aid from its origins to the present. Attendee Carla Hedstern said the exhibit was well organized.

“It’s bright, beautiful and so well organized,” Hedstern said. “You walk around and see everything.”

One visitor said the display was too much to take in during a single visit.

Centennial milestone ahead

Teresa Kreutzer-Hodson noted that both Hastings Museum and Kool-Aid will mark 100-year anniversaries next year.

“People just recognize Kool-Aid don’t recognize Edwin, so let’s just embrace that,” Kreutzer-Hodson said.

“Hastings Museum and Kool-Aid are going to be a 100-years next year,” she said. “So, we got to do some big things.”

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