Menominee, Michigan, placed restirred from the world's medium of exchange facilities 100 years in the past, very a great deal like it's right this moment, however positioned itself straightaway in the middle of one of many hottest enterprise booms of the early ordinal century - sugar. The small neighborhood that dared to plant a step in world commerce occupies a slivered level of land that dips into Lake Michigan at some extent so close in proximity to Wisconsin this had a cartographer's finger twitched at a vital second, Menominee could be in Wisconsin as a substitute of Michigan.
Menominee is boxed on the east by Green Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan, and on the south-west by the Menominee River. In 1903, many buyers inside the beet sugar trade had a timber background and had thus come to consider that the identical rivers that had as soon as delivered logs to sawmills in copiousness may extraly serve the wants of a beet sugar manufacturing facility the place large volumes of water are used for fluming beets into the manufacturing facility, washing them after which permeant the sugar from them. A sugar manufacturing facility may simply put three million gallons of water to make use of each twenty-four hours. Barges can carry sugarbeets from the farm Fields and freighters can carry merchandise to market. The presence of the Menominee River satisfied buyers that Menominee may contend with the nation's sugar manufacturers regardless of unfavorable feedback from naysayers who mentioned Menominee was too far north to expeditiously develop sugarbeets.
The naysayers had some extent. Menominee, Michigan is an unlikely place to assemble a beet sugar manufacturing facility. Situated on the western finish of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the rising season is about forty days shorter than the prime beet rising areas inside the state's Lower Peninsula. The brief season can forestall the ripening of beets which can then reduce sugar content material of immature beets poorly ready for the stress of the milling course of. Severe frosts in early spring are commonly not uncommon and are nearly all the time deadly to a crop of jr. beets. Frosts can come early inside the fall, too, which power make it impossible to reap a crop. A farmer stood to lose his whole crop both early inside the rising season or some the time of harvest after he had endowed closely in delivery the sugarbeet crop to time period. Investors, however, in Menominee, as in a great deal of Michigan's cities, tterminated to low cost enter from farmers earlier than constructing a manufacturing facility and would often interpret exaggerated enthusiasm from a handful of agriculturists as representing the broader farming neighborhood. Quite commonly, as in Menominee's case, as it could prove, the handful didn't symbolize the entire.
Official recognition by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1898 of the significance of the sugarbeet trade sparked the development of beet sugar factories throughout the nation. One 12 months earlier the nation may boast alone ten beet sugar factories, 4 of which had been in California, one in Utah, two in Nebraska and three in New York. The building of seven sugarbeet factories in 1898 introduced into focus for the primary time the stirrings of a rush not in contrast to the dot-com increase that blossomed much 100 years later. The conception that sugar produced from sugarbeets may contend with sugar produced from sugarcane distended right into a full-fledged increase by 1900 when the nationwide depend of sugarbeet factories stood at thirty-two in eleven states.
Nowhere was the blaze hotter than in Michigan the place 9 factories adopted the profitable begin up of a manufacturing facility in Essexville, Michigan, a suburban area of Bay City. A burst of cyclonic enthusiasm precipitated a mad scramble when buyers, builders, bankers, and farmers mixed energies and abilities to deliver to life eight factories in a single 12 months! They had been in Holland, Kalamazoo, Rochester, Benton Harbor, Alma, West Bay City, Caro, and a second manufacturing facility in Essexville. Despite the dearth of manufacturing facility builders and the engineers to function them, fourteen further factories rose on the outskirts of Michigan cities in the course of the ensuant six years, one in every of which appeared in Menominee in 1903.
In Menominee, a bunch of buyers resolute by the pure disadvantages and buoyed by encouragement from authoritative buyers and educated specialists, set a plan in movement to keep up the commercial enterprise viability of their metropolis after the approaching death of the lumber trade, which had till then supplied the underpinnings of Menominee's economic system. The plan enclosed the design of one of many largest and most fashionable sugarbeet factories to look in America as a great deal like that point.
As the lumber period petered out ab initio of the 20th century, railroads that had come into their very own ascribable timber, sought-after new sources of income. Principal amongst them was the Detroit and Mackinac Railroad whose land agent, Charles M. Garrison, collected and splashed details about the potential of the sugarbeet trade. While Garrison unfold phrase amongst Detroit's financiers about potential earnings in sugarbeets, communities affected by the decline of lumber regarded to space sources for methods of replenishing wealth. They had a great deal to work with. The state was crisscross with rail strains and rivers and a couple of left money from the lumber period. With Garrison main the way in which, buyers perked up. Communities jealous to discover a fast alternative for lumber hastened to attend conferences sponsored by Garrison and faster but to deliver their cities into the fold. All that was wanted was to influence the farmers to develop the beets. That is the place the Michigan Agricultural College (Now Michigan State University) stepped in.
Upper Peninsula farmers, divine by Michigan Agricultural College to plant sugarbeet have a look at plots, innate a good better shot inside the arm by the attend of Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, in 1902. He expounded some great benefits of sugarbeets and discouraged the notion that the Upper Peninsula's local weather wasn't as a great deal like the duty of manufacturing worthy crops. Wilson served in three presidential closets, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft, serving thirster (1897-1913) than another closet official. He divine fashionable agriculture strategies, together with transportation and training as they used to agriculture. His phrase carried quite a great deal of weight. When he spoke of sugarbeets, some farmers listened and when his division declared that the chilly northern temperatures wouldn't curb the event of the trade of their neighborhood, buyers, farmers, and manufacturers lined as a great deal like start the trade Menominee.
Optimism rose to new high when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced favorable outcomes of the sugarbeet plot assessments. The Sugar Beet News of December 15, 1903, reported have a look at outcomes from beets delivered by roughly 140 farmers. The have a look at runs disclosed 15.6 to 19.9 % sugar, which meant a money worth to the farmers per acre of from $5.70 to $7.13 per ton ($135-$169 inflation adjusted to the present interval). At these projected costs, no crop in human historical past had held the potential for creating such a excessive return from so few land.
In the Lower Peninsula, a farmer with above common potential who positioned fifteen land in sugarbeets may earn greater than $800 and if his menag supplied the majority of the labor, the web revenue would greater than deal with a menag's wants for a 12 months, which, together with meals, was lower than $800. After including income from crops in rotation and revenues from milk, eggs, and poultry, the farm menag's life-style superior from a subsistence degree to at to the worst degree one that in contrast favorably to those that held mid-direction positions in trade. USDA figures supported perception that Upper Peninsula beets would exceed by two per cent the typical for all the opposite 18 sugar beet factories inside the Lower Peninsula.
If the assessments well-tried dependable indicators, Menominee area beets had been price as a great deal like $10 extra an acre than Lower Peninsula beets, consoling an revenue of much $1,000 per 12 months simply from sugarbeets.
Although enthusiasm was on the upturn, one matter extra was wanted to seal the deal. To instill confidence in potential buyers that technical experience lay some at hand, Benjamin Boutell, who received fame as each a tower captain and as a captain of trade, arrived in Menominee from his Bay City, Michigan headquarters for the one function of conveyance buyers to Bay County the place they power see groomed beet Fields and environment friendly factories spinning out white crystalline sugar. Eleven potential buyers attterminated Boutell to Bay City the place credible proof lay at hand. Four beet sugar factories, greater than in another metropolis inside the United States, had been constructed in this metropolis's environs. Bay City just about hummed with commercial enterprise exercise ascribable the presence of sugar factories. Mansions inhabited by former lumber barons who had reworked themselves into sugar barons, lined town's prestigious Center Avenue.
Boutell introduced he would grow to be one of many buyers, offering the opposite buyers had no objection to having a manufacturing facility designed and put in by Joseph Kilby who was in accordance with Boutell, the best builder of beet sugar factories inside the United States. Many others united with Boutell's evaluation; Kilby constructed 9 of the ultimate twenty-four factories integral Michigan. Local buyers lined up behind Boutell to arrange the Menominee River Sugar Company. A vi necessary backers got here ahead, every of whom signed to greater than $25,000 in inventory of the Menominee River Sugar Company.
Heading up the listing of native shareholders was Samuel M. Stephenson, a former lumber manufacturer and native of New Brunswick, Canada who had made a house for himself, his spouse, Jennie and their 4 daughters and one son, in Menominee. He was then seventy-one years old however in no temper for retirement. Following a profitable profession in lumber and banking, he served three achieverive phrases in Congress (Michigan's 11th District 1889-93 and the 12th District 1893-97). He endowed $100,000 ($2 million by fashionable requirements) inside the beet sugar manufacturing facility, taking coronary heart in not alone favorable have a look at plot outcomes and the passion of his neighbors but extraly curiosity tried by the American Sugar Refining Corporation, typically renclosely-held by its then widespread sobriquet, the Sugar Trust. Some years later the Sugar Trust would fall into disfavor because of costs of unfair enterprise practices, however in 1903, it had the boldness of most people and buyers alike and managed the manufacture and sale of 98% of sugar used-up inside the United States. Trust Executives, Arthur Donner and Charles R. Heike, endowed $300,000 to amass 36% of Menominee River Sugar Company's inventory.
All the members of the board of administrators and roll of officers aside from Bay City resident, Benjamin Boutell, listed Menominee as their residence of file. Menominee residents made up 74% of the shareholders. Together, they managed 53% of the shares. In addition to Stephenson, different main shareholders who extraly accepted positions as both officers or administrators had been: William O. Carpenter who endowed $55,000 and served the sugar firm multifariously as president and vice-president. Gustave A. Blesch endowed $15,000 and served as financial officer. John Henes, a brewery proprietor, endowed $25,000 and served as a director. Augustus Spies was the second largest investor after Stephenson and the Sugar Trust. He, too, served as a director.
Spies present a fantastic instance of the hardy pioneering spirit that prevailed in Menominee. He was a local of the grand dukedom of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany the place fertile soils and a gentle local weather allowed the manufacturing of grain and wine. He participated inside the foundation of the Stephenson National Bank in partnership with future U.S. Congressman Samuel M. Stephenson and Samuel's brother, future U.S. Senator, Isaac Stephenson. In addition, he closely-held the Spies Lumber Company and several other giant tracts of forest; he was an investor inside the First National Bank of Menominee, the Marinette and Menominee Paper Company and president of the Menominee Light, Railroad and Power Company. When the fledgling sugar firm bought below method, he stepped ahead with $75,000 ($1.5 million in present {dollars}).
Support from Menominee's rich class, who extraly shared distinctions of constructing good enterprise choices and rising on their very own advantage comparatively than come intoed wealth, was so nice that there was no must solicit monetary system imagination from the general public at giant. With its shares over-signed by $35,000, the Menominee River Sugar Company was inside the desirable place of acquiring satisfactory capital for its enterprise. Not alone was it possessed of ample capital but extraly it pet the extra advantage of the expertise of Benjamin Boutell and representatives of the Sugar Trust. Menominee wouldn't need for technical or enterprise experience.
Gustave Blesch, like Augustus Spies, owed his achiever to the come intoed qualities of arduous work, honesty and the respect of his friends. He would grow to be the sugar firm's first financial officer. He was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1859, the son of Francis Blesch, a local of Germany and Antoinette Schneider, a local of Belgium. Gustave grew to become an work boy inside the Kellogg National Bank of Green Bay, rising to teller by the age of twenty. Five years later, he stirred to Menominee to assist set up the First National Bank of Menominee the place he started as cashier earlier than ever-changing into the commercial enterprise institution's president. He grew to become president of the Menominee Brick Company, vice-president of the Menominee-Marinette Light & Traction Company, and financial officer of the Peninsula Land Company.
In January, 1903, the fresh electoral board of administrators permitted an $800,000 (much $19 million in present period {dollars}) building contract for a Kilby designed and constructed manufacturing facility that power slice 1,000 tons of beets per day. Of the 48 beet sugar factories operational inside the United States in 1903, alone two had been bigger than Menominee's new manufacturing facility, one in Salinas, California and one other in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The common sugar manufacturing facility in Michigan in 1903 may slice 600 tons of beets in a twenty-four hour interval. Four thousand land of beets would simply provide a season's manufacturing facility run. Had the buyers surveyed the farmers first, for certain they power have been recommended to construct a little manufacturing facility, and mayhap would have been persuaded to construct none. Farmers delivered beets from roughly 1,500 land, nicely in need of the 9,000 land the funding demanded.
The Menominee manufacturing facility's first manufacturing facility run (renclosely-held as a "campaign" inside the sugar trade) terminated rapidly, having innate alone 14,263 tons, adequate for a manufacturing run of fourteen days for a manufacturing facility the buyers deliberate to function at to the worst degree 100 days. However, the farmers had submitted beets containing the best sugar reported of any firm throughout its first marketing campaign, 15.04 p.c - about 20 p.c greater than common and adequate to permit for a small revenue from a scanty beet provide. Like much all of the factories, information that power inform us of revenue, if any, attained throughout that first marketing campaign, didn't survive the passage of time. However, it could be cheap to estimate, based mostly on the renclosely-held value of provides of coal, coke, limestone and the price of labor, {that a} revenue of $36,000 was achievable, particularly below a administration model that paid shut consideration to expenditures and particularly in mild of the very excessive proportion of sugar inside the beets.
The second marketing campaign was higher with adequate beets for a full month, however nicely in need of a provide wanted to generate earnings adequate to justify the funding. By 1911, the native provide reached a degree that allowed regular earnings however was inadequate to encourage growth, a situation that continued till 1926 when agriculturist indifference fell to a degree that required closing the manufacturing facility till 1933 when it reopened for a left run of twenty years throughout which the manufacturing facility lagged behind the trade know-how and development. Year in and 12 months out, ascribable an scarce provide of beets, for the most part big in Wisconsin, the underused manufacturing facility terminated its marketing campaign weeks sooner than was wanted to provide wholesome earnings which then may have been reendowed inside the manufacturing facility. Menominee buyers realized, as did many different sugar manufacturing facility buyers, that the mantra, "build it and they will come" fell on deaf ears amongst farmers who commonly displayed a greater understanding of sugar economics than did buyers.
The passage of time introduced neither hurt nor good to the Menominee manufacturing facility because it was unable to develop or modernize. It settled into the method of sleek acquiring old. Profits awaiting alternative increasingly accumulated because of the corporate's penurious administration model and a devoted cadre of farmers.
George W. McCormick, the corporate's first executive program, inaugurated a cautious administration model that went a great distance towards conserving the corporate worthy regardless of annual shortfalls inside the beet provide. He managed the corporate throughout its first thirty-two years of operation, starting when he was twenty-four years old. He met Benjamin Boutell in Bay City when he stirred there to take a job as a district executive program for Travelers Insurance Company. Boutell thought the jr. man belonged inside the quickly creating sugar trade and divine him to assist in the institution of a sugar manufacturing facility in Wallaceburg, Ontario. After finishing the project with achiever, Boutell really helpful him for the executive program's job in Menominee.
Menominee was essentially the most tough place inside the United States to course of sugarbeets. The low temperatures took a heavy toll on staff, equipment and beets that normally went by means of the fade machines like boulders, damaging tools that robbed the manufacturing facility of slender sources. It was tough to seek out alternative components ascribable the space separating Menominee from suppliers and from Lower Peninsula sugar factories the place it was widespread for manufacturing facility managers to lend spare components to at to the worst degree one one other.
The firm's diligent consideration to value direction paid off in 1924 when sugar factories positioned in Green Bay and Menominee Falls, Wisconsin went in the marketplace. Menominee River Sugar Company bought each after which endowed important sums in restoring the Menominee Falls manufacturing facility that had been shut for 3 years instantly previous its sale.
The renovated Menominee Falls manufacturing facility mixed with the Green Bay and Menominee, Michigan factories created extra capability than was wanted for the accessible acreage. One of the factories must shut. Menominee received the noose after the accountants counted up the freight prices for hauling beets to every manufacturing facility. The Menominee manufacturing facility remained closed till 1933 when Michigan's farmers relented and united to return to sugarbeets, a call that got here too late to save lots of the hides of the sugar firm's homeowners who had misplaced the corporate to defaulted bonds three years earlier.
Disruptions in Europe starting inside the early a part of the 1930s introduced a brand new identify to Michigan's beet sugar Fields and company places of work - Flegenheimer. Albert Flegenheimer was the son of Samuel Flegenheimer who had immigrated to the United States in both 1864 or 1866 and have become a naturalized citizen in 1873. The ensuant 12 months, however, he returned to Germany, subsidence in Wurttemberg. He lived out his life there, dying in 1929 on the age of 81. His temporary visit inside the United States and his U.S. citizenship standing, however, would eventually save his descendants from German death camps.
In February 1939, Albert Flegenheimer carried his menag to the protection of Canada after which to the U.S. claiming nationality because the son of a naturalized citizen. He deliberate to lift his menag and commit his time to the sugar trade each the United States and Canada. His plans met with significant achiever and by 1954, he managed the sugar manufacturing facility in Menominee and the one in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Despite Albert Flegenheimer's efforts, a scarceness of curiosity on the a part of farmers stored the manufacturing facility small and outdated. It struggled 12 months by 12 months till last in 1955 with its tools exhausted, its buildings in tattered restore and its farmers following different crops, Menominee River Sugar Company, constructed on hopes and goals and operated with fortitude and persistence for greater than a half-century, closed its doorways without end.
Sources:
GUTLEBEN, Dan, The Sugar Tramp-1954- Michigan, Printed by: Bay City Duplicating Co, San Francisco, 1954
1962 TWIN CITY COMMUNITY RESOURCES WORKSHOP, part entitled Famous Leaders Who Helped Build Menominee, ready by Irene Swain, Dr. Leo J. Alilunas, Director.
HENLEY, ROBERT L., Sweet Success . . .The Story of Michigan's Beet Sugar Industry 1898 - 1974, Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS: The pre-1975 information are the Consumer Price Index statistics from Historical Statistics of the United States (USGPO, 1975). All information since then are from the annual Statistical Abstracts of the United States. Recorded at http://www.westegg.com/inflation
MICHIGAN ANNUAL REPORTS, Michigan Archives, Lansing, Michigan
©2009 Thomas Mahar
About the Author:
Thomas Mahar served as Executive Vice President of Monitor Sugar Company between 1984 and 1999 and as President of Gala Food Processing, a sugar promotion firm, from 1993-1998. He retired in 1999 and now devotes his free time to writing in regards to the historical past of the sugar trade. He authored, Sweet Energy, The Story of Monitor Sugar Company in 2001.
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