The Little Giant Ladder Company

A Wing Family Continues to Climb

By Cynthia Doherty

Many of our Wing members may be unaware that in the 1980s a “vault” was constructed inside the carriage house of the Fort House. Made of cinder block with a steel door, the vault was intended to hold the important items and archives of the Wing family that were not appropriate for display in the Fort House.

We bought the house across the street from the Fort House in 2015 to be used for display and storage of WFA items and archives but somehow the vault’s contents remained in the vault. For the past year or so I have made trips to Sandwich to inventory the contents so that we can properly catalog and store them.

While making lists of the contents of the vault, I saw a familiar sight leaning against the wall of the carriage house. A Little Giant ladder. For those unfamiliar with this ladder, let me explain. The Little Giant ladder looks like a medium sized step stool. But through a series of hinges and safety locks, the ladder can reach an extension of 18 feet. It can be used on stairs, with one set of legs shorter than the other. It doesn’t need stability bars so it can be used over furniture or even fences. It is a marvel of engineering.

And we have a Wing to thank for it,

I had no idea the ladder was anything more than a useful tool for Dave Wheelock, our caretaker, until he explained. Evidently the ladder was donated to us by Doug Wing in 2015. Doug was a co-owner of Little Giant Ladder Systems at the time.

I had no idea a Wing was behind an everyday item that I’ve had in my garage for years, so I did a little research.

Hal Wing, his wife Brigette and their family had lived in Germany in the early 1970’s. Hal was intrigued by a ladder he saw there, designed by a German house painter, Walter Kummerlin. Hal had the ladder sent to him when he and his family moved back to the United States in 1972.

Thus began a completely new business venture for Hal, formerly an insurance salesman. The ladder has since been improved, always with safety uppermost in mind. Over 250 patents have been issued since Hal had the foresight to bring the invention of a German housepainter over to the United States.

There have been many advances since 1972 and many different ladders for various uses. Such innovations include the bottom stair clicking when stepped on so the owner knows they are at the last step. Safety cages to ensure no one falls off. And my personal favorite, eliminating the top step…you know…the one that always says “do not step here.”

Hal Wing died in 2012, but his son Arthur continues as co chairman and president of Little Giant Ladder Systems as well as chairman of the parent company Wing Enterprises, Inc.

The Little Giant Ladder donated in 2015 will make its way from the obscurity of the carriage house over to the museum to be cataloged and take its rightful place with the other Wing inventors and entrepreneurs of whom we are so proud.