Oscar Mayer Magnet School was dedicated in 1956 in honor of Oscar F. Mayer, founder of the company by the same name, who had died the year before. Mayer’s company factory was located nearby at 1241 N. Sedgwick, and Mayer had advocated before his death for the opening of a local school in the neighborhood.

Mayer was born in Bavaria in 1859 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1873, landing first in Detroit and then moving to Chicago in 1876. By the time his brother Gottfried moved to the United States, Oscar had spent several years working in the meatpacking industry. The Mayer brothers opened their own sausage business on Chicago's near north side in 1883. Business boomed, fed by the tens of thousands of Chicagoans with German ancestry eager to purchase familiar cuisine, and in 1888 the brothers added a meatpacking arm to their company.

The company continued to grow and in 1909 the Mayers opened a factory in Madison, Wisconsin. They took advantage of the power of brand advertising, which was still a relatively new concept at the time, by introducing the Wienermobile in 1936, turning it into an iconic symbol of the Mayer Company, and touring it around the country. They also introduced new products, like sliced bacon, and participated voluntarily in new federal meat inspection programs. Their famous jingle ("I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener…") debuted in 1963.

The Mayers were leading members of the Chicago area's German-American community. Oscar and Gottfried Mayer sponsored the German section at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and spoke out against the United States' decision to enter World War I against Germany and its allies.

The Oscar Mayer Company moved its headquarters to Madison, Wisconsin in 1957. The company was acquired by General Foods in 1981, which was bought by Philip Morris in 1985. Philip Morris purchased Kraft in 1988, bringing Oscar Mayer, Kraft, and Post (previously acquired by General Foods)-- all Chicago natives-- into the same family of companies. Kraft and Heinz merged in 2015 and announced that it would close operations in Madison and move Oscar Mayer's company headquarters back to Chicago in 2017.

Credits and Sources: