Pickle Factory Paid Farmers over $10,000 (1905)

Columbia City Commercial Mail ~ Friday, September 29, 1905

The Reid Murdoch & Co., pickle factory in this city was closed down Thursday, the last pickles being taken in Wednesday afternoon and the season is now over. Eighteen thousand bushels of pickles were taken in this season, more than all three previous years and about $10,000 was paid out by the company to pickle raisers in this county and a large amount of money was also paid to employees. The Columbia City plant was third in yield of all the pickle factories owned by Reid Murdoch & Co. The total yield of all the plants was 125,000 bushels.

The season was an excellent one for pickles and the farmers are all satisfied and the majority are ready to take out contracts for next year. The raisers were paid every two weeks at the First National bank. Saturday, Sept. 223rd, is the next pay day and Saturday, Oct. 7th, is the last.

The factory put up 362 casks of dill pickles this year and used 160,000 lbs. of salt. S. E. Gable of near Collins was one of the most successful of the pickle raisers this year, one acre of pickles bringing him in over $175.

Ben Raich, of Pierceton, who has charge of the entire canning and pickle industry for the firm was in the city Thursday and helped to settle up the affairs of the company shutting down the factory. E. H. Pierce, superintendent of the local plant, and wife left Thursday evening for their home at Elgin, Illinois.