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- Flour Mill
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- In the early 1920s, a
Mr. Miller dismantled and moved his 25-barrel Midget Marvel flour
mill to Abernathy. He had sold stock in the company to some of
the area residents, keeping 51 % of the shares. He and his two
sons ran the mill. The 'mill was put into operation making flour
and grinding corn. The flour was made on the Magic Marvel, which
was self-contained, and the cornmeal was made on an old stone
burr mill.
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- The mill was located on
a side track just across from the depot, about where the Co-op
elevator is now located.
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- Unfortunately, Mr. Miller
and his sons were not flour millers and this soon showed up in
the quality of the product. At the bankruptcy sale, Mr. Fritz
Struve and Mr. Sam Merrill bought the physical assets.
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- Mr. Miller left, and with
no one to run the mill, it remained closed for some time. Mr.
Merrill obtained the mill in his own name and proceeded to start
operating the mill in an effort to make a going business out
of it.
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- In December, 1924, Mr.
O.A. Rea, who had experience in running a mill of this type,
was hired. He moved here, made the necessary repairs, and soon
had it running.
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- They started immediately
making flour and cornmeal. Soon they were making a breakfast
cereal and also cracking grain for chicken feed. Wheat could
be exchanged for flour with no money involved in the deal. Corn
could be exchanged for cornmeal in the same manner.
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- The name was changed from
the original Abernathy Mill and Elevator Company to Rea Milling
Company after O.A. Rea became a partner in the business. Later
Mr. Merrill sold his interest.
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- The business territory
expanded until the whole South Plains was covered, from Muleshoe
to Dickens City, from Plain view to Colorado City. Over the next
few years at least one merchant in nearly every town on the South
Plains sold flour, cornmeal, and "Vitacreme", a breakfast
cereal made in Abernathy. The flour and cornmeal sold under the
name of "Texas Beauty".
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- O.F. Rea became a partner
in the business.
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- In 1927 the mill began
grinding feed, especially heads and whole bundle feed, for feeding
milk cows. Ground hegari bundles proved to be exceptionally good
as a cheap feed when ground before it headed out.
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- Ice boxes in the home
were a way of helping preserve food. Blocks of ice could be bought
at the mill for a while.
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- An addition was made on
the east side of the mill in 1927. A platform scale for weighing
trucks was installed and an arrangement was made to scoop grain
onto the dock and have it conveyed by a belt conveyor into the
mill.
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- Business increased both
locally and in other towns where the mill products were sold.
O.F. Rea and a truck load of flour and cornmeal were gone nearly
every day, making delivery and picking up orders for the next
delivery. The truck sometimes left at 4:00 A.M. when going to
Dickens City, which took six and one-half hours round trip. Upon
returning, it was loaded immediately for Bailyboro, sixty- seven
miles west. This would be 284 miles for the day in the one ton
truck which went a fast twenty-five miles per hour. The load
was 3600 pounds.
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- At this time wheat being
grown had a high turn out of flour. They could run thirty or
more barrels per day. A barrel was four 48 pound sacks.
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- A good dairy cow feed
was being mixed and sold. Soon was added a laying mash, then
chick starter, and growing mash. A mechanical mixer was added
which added to the capacity of mixed feed.
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- Grinding of bundle feed,
heads, and grain was increasing. A larger feed grinder was installed.
A 371/2 horsepower, one cylinder, Fairbanks-Morse, semi-diesel
engine was added.
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- The business of the mill
was increased during the Depression. Because of the availability
to exchange wheat for flour, and corn for meal with no money
exchange, customers came from as far as Fluvana, Spur, Matador,
Lamesa, Amarillo, and House, New Mexico. Expansion was necessary.
Four small stands from a standard long system mill were bought,
along with a regular sifter, or bolter, and installed. The little
Magic Marvel mill was set aside. The capacity was increased to
approximately 100 barrels per twenty-four hours a day.
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- A 1200 bushel metal grain
bin was erected. Feed grinding required more of the time. More
power was required. A Caterpillar diesel, six cylinder, 87 horsepower
engine was purchased and installed and the original little 25
horsepower Fairbanks-Morse engine was sold.
R.H. Anderson came into the company as a partner.
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- Territory for the cereal
expanded and was sold as far north as Brady.
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- A larger truck was purchased.
Now they could haul 7,000 pounds. In 1933 another truck was added,
making the delivery capacity 14,000 pounds per day. Both trucks
kept busy and the Depression and Bank Holiday seemed a thing
of the past.
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- Due to illness, O.A. Rea
sold his interest to C.O. Anderson in 1932 and left the Plains
immediately. In time the Anderson brothers bought out O.F. Rea's
interest in the mill.
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- The Depression was over.
Habits of the people began to change. This was felt by the flour
mills, especially the little mills. People began buying bakers
light-bread instead of cooking their own. Farmers grew less wheat
and more cotton. Change in farming and other habits began to
tell heavily in not only the little mills but the larger ones
also.
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- The fact that the mill
burned, perhaps only hastened the end of what probably was inevitable.
It was not rebuilt. Thus passed from the scene a local industry
which had done more than any one thing up to that time to place
Abernathy on the map of the people of the South Plains area.
A definite service had been done by the little mill at the time
when it was most needed. There are those who remember the steady
sound of the little engine popping all night, or the shine of
the feed grinder and the heavier sound of the large engine pulling
it during the day, and later the steady drone of the Caterpillar
engine, also running day and night.
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