1883 – 1965
Daniel W. Mikesell was an innovator and entrepreneur dedicated to doing a common thing uncommonly well. He began with a food business just down the street from the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop,
and soon began to make and deliver “Saratoga chips,” as the popular
new snack food was originally called. In the early days, the whole family helped produce the potato chips, which were delivered by bicycle. As the business grew, chips were delivered by horse and buggy. Mikesell acquired the first Ford delivery panel truck in Dayton. He persevered through setbacks caused by the 1913 Dayton flood and a fire two years later to grow the company, visiting county and state fairs to introduce people to his product, first thought of as
picnic food. Once potato chips began to be seen as a year round treat, he concentrated on finding innovative ways to produce them. Eventually the company began to use the name Mike-sells, and
continued to grow, serving the Miami Valley and beyond for 112 years before closing Dayton operations in 2023. Mikesell’s chips will continue to be produced in Zanesville, Ohio by Conn’s Potato Chip Co.