Post by David Sechrest on Aug 25, 2006 23:46:25 GMT -5
RER, I copied your post from the Miscellaneous Thread to this location...
The Morgan "Cannery" (referred by name) was located at 1206 Michigan Avenue in Columbus. As a very young kid I peddled my bike in the summer at times, to watch the outside process of tomatoes and corn being trucked and horse and wagoned into the conveyance systems. The plant was seasonal during the corn and tomato maturity periods. The Cannery employed many folks for outside and inside jobs. I recall people would even come from Kentucky to work in the temporary positions until fall closure.
The company apparently owned numerous tomato fields at the time for the seasonal picking and canning process. At a very young age around 1952 or 1953 maybe, I would go to the field areas around Columbus and work a few days picking the reds. The odd shaped baskets would only bring if I recall properly about 25 cents. So it took a lot of picking and hauling back to a central location to get the money credit on your name. Many days I would take salt with me so I could enjoy the biggest of the best, in the fields. Sometimes, I wonder if I didn't eat more than I picked.
When I was almost legal age to work I spent one summer working in the warehouse area of the cannery. My uncle at the time worked part time in security and assisted me in getting a job. I recall the process was the truck dumping into outside ground conveyance systems into the plant for both products processing. The tin cans were processed and sterilized in the process and the tomatoes or corn would be automatically placed into cans and sealed with the last part of the tin can. Then they were cooked in large vats for a period of time and removed for cooling and boxed for the warehouse pallet stacking.
The smell of tomatoes cooking was acceptable but at time the corn smell would get a little smelly. They washed down the concrete floors constantly to keep the place clean and less odor of course. I think the area that accumulated the shucks (corn shell or husks) emitted the worst odor until they were trucked or horse and wagoned off and disposed of.
I guess this was another one of my summer kid jobs and experiences to make a little money. Jobs were not as available then as today for kids. There was also a rail system near the plant for transporting the pallets and trucks would also pick up pallets for distribution.
Many town families would drive to the outside plant area and purchase fresh corn and tomatoes.
Bob[/size]
rer said:
"Morgan Packing and Cannery Company, early 1950s"The Morgan "Cannery" (referred by name) was located at 1206 Michigan Avenue in Columbus. As a very young kid I peddled my bike in the summer at times, to watch the outside process of tomatoes and corn being trucked and horse and wagoned into the conveyance systems. The plant was seasonal during the corn and tomato maturity periods. The Cannery employed many folks for outside and inside jobs. I recall people would even come from Kentucky to work in the temporary positions until fall closure.
The company apparently owned numerous tomato fields at the time for the seasonal picking and canning process. At a very young age around 1952 or 1953 maybe, I would go to the field areas around Columbus and work a few days picking the reds. The odd shaped baskets would only bring if I recall properly about 25 cents. So it took a lot of picking and hauling back to a central location to get the money credit on your name. Many days I would take salt with me so I could enjoy the biggest of the best, in the fields. Sometimes, I wonder if I didn't eat more than I picked.
When I was almost legal age to work I spent one summer working in the warehouse area of the cannery. My uncle at the time worked part time in security and assisted me in getting a job. I recall the process was the truck dumping into outside ground conveyance systems into the plant for both products processing. The tin cans were processed and sterilized in the process and the tomatoes or corn would be automatically placed into cans and sealed with the last part of the tin can. Then they were cooked in large vats for a period of time and removed for cooling and boxed for the warehouse pallet stacking.
The smell of tomatoes cooking was acceptable but at time the corn smell would get a little smelly. They washed down the concrete floors constantly to keep the place clean and less odor of course. I think the area that accumulated the shucks (corn shell or husks) emitted the worst odor until they were trucked or horse and wagoned off and disposed of.
I guess this was another one of my summer kid jobs and experiences to make a little money. Jobs were not as available then as today for kids. There was also a rail system near the plant for transporting the pallets and trucks would also pick up pallets for distribution.
Many town families would drive to the outside plant area and purchase fresh corn and tomatoes.
Bob
