Blue Valley Creamery Company

Blue Valley Creamery Company was a company that operated many creameries and milk plants across the United States.

History

Before 1900, limitations in transportation and storage limited the geographic scope of creameries. To that time, creameries were primarily local, gathering cream from nearby dairy farms and distributed the produce locally. Also, cream separation was inefficient, primarily relying on gravity or centrifugal force. Modernization in the railroad network and cold storage and practical implementation of a hand cream separator permitted creameries to serve larger areas and achieve economies of scale. These large de-localized creameries were referred to as "centralizers" - especially by those who suspected them of anti-competitive practice.[2][3]

Blue Valley Creamery Company was founded by Huston Wyeth[4] (1863–1925) and James A. Walker around 1900. Huston Wyeth's father, William Maxwell Wyeth, had built a hardware, saddlery and real estate empire in St. Joseph, Missouri.[5]

References

But see Blue Valley Creamery Co. v. Zimmerman, 60 Pa.Super. 278, 1915 WL 4408 (Pa. Super. 1914): "The Blue Valley Creamery Company, a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of Illinois"^

Harold G. Vatter. Small Enterprise and Oligopoly Ayer Publishing, 1979^

Clyde Lyndon King. The Price of Milk The John C. Winston Company, 1920, retrieved 2008-06-13^

Walter Williams, Floyd Calvin Shoemaker. Missouri, Mother of the West The American Historical Society, Inc., 1930^

Louis Conard Howard. Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri: A Compendium of History and Biography The Southern History Company, 1901, retrieved 2008-06-13^

"Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, my name is J. A. Walker, 700 South Clinton Street, Chicago, Ill. I am vice president of the National Dairy Council, and vice president and treasurer of the National Dairy Show Association. I have been continuously connected with the creamery business since 1888. I am vice president of the Blue Valley Creamery Co., which has for the past 21 years been manufacturing creamery butter under the hand cream separator system, dealing directly with the farmers in the purchase of our cream. Our creameries and selling agencies are located in the following cities: Chicago, Ill.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Detroit, Mich.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; St. Joseph, Mo.; Sioux City, Iowa; Hastings, Nebr.; Parsons, Kans.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Springfield, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Clinton, Ill; Louisville, Ky.; St. Louis, Mo.; Cleveland, Ohio; and New York City, N. Y. Our total sales for the year 1920 were $22,963,038.66." Statement of Mr. J. A. Walker, Chicago, IL Library of Congress, June 1921, retrieved 2008-06-13^

5/1/1900 "Creation Filing" is Articles of Incorporation of the Blue Valley Creamery Company. Business to be conducted at St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri. Initial stock holders listed as G. M. Johnson, James A. Walker and H.S. Hamilton. Purposes are "to manufacture, buy and sell, both at wholesale and retail all kinds of creamery and dairy products, especially milk, butter, cheese and ice creams, and any and all such other articles and products as are usually bought, manufactured and sold by parties or companies engaged in a general dairy and creamery business and to purchase, hold, manage, mortgage and convey, or otherwise acquire, control and dispose of, all such real and personal estate materials, machinery, appliances and fixtures, as may be necessary to effectually conduct and perform the business and purposes for which this company is incorporated." Executed on 30 Apr 1900. 9/23/1901 "Amend/Restate" is Statement for Increase of Capital Stock. On 21 Sep 1901, the stockholders met at the company's offices in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri with notice provided in the St. Joseph Weekly News. The "meeting was organized by choosing Huston Wyeth, a director in said company, chairman and James A. Walker secretary thereof. Authorized capital stock was increased from $5,000 to $12,500. 8/9/1905 "Amend/Restate" is substantively the same as the 1901 statement except increasing authorized capital stock from $12,500 to $200,000. 11/12/1915 "Amend/Restate" is substantively the same as the 1901 and 1905 statements except (1) the "meeting was organized by choosing L. C. Hamilton, a director in said company, chairman and James A. Walker secretary thereof" and(2) increasing authorized capital stock from $200,000 to $750,000. Lists shareholders, residence and share count as: Huston Wyeth, St. Joseph, Mo., 1672; L C Hamilton, St. Joseph, Mo., 1628; C J Walker, Chicago, Ills., 1100; and J A Walker, Chicago, Ills., 1100. 5/15/1918 "With/Term/Dissolve" is Affidavit of Dissolution. On 13 May 1918, Blue Valley Creamery Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Missouri "transferred all of its property and assets to the Blue Valley Creamery Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware" and dissolved. Business Name History - Blue Valley Creamery Company SOS Home :: Business Services :: Business Entity Search, State of Missouri, Secretary of State, retrieved 31 Dec 2010

Walter Williams. The State of Missouri Press of E. W. Stephens, 1904^

Report of the Federal Trade Commission on Milk and Milk Products 1914-1918 Govt Printing Office, 1921, retrieved 2008-06-13^

Clyde T. Hays. Registration of Fictitious Name Missouri Business Filings, Missouri Secretary of State, 15 March 1939, retrieved 2024-04-11^

Blue Valley "has been purchased by Beatrice Creamery Co. of the same city. The latter took over the fourteen Blue Valley plants as of March 1. Blue Valley products will continue to be distributed under that name." Food industry and trade Chilton Co, 1976^

"The facts in the files of the Commission indicate that the acquisition of the business and assets of Blue Valley Creamery Co. by Beatrice Creamery Co. had the effect of substantially lessening competition between the acquiring corporation and the corporation who assets were acquired in the manufacture and ..." Hearings Before Subcommittee No. 3 of the Committee on the Judiciary, To Amend Sections 7 and 11 of the Clayton Act, House of Representatives, 79th Congress, first session U.S. Govt Printing Office, 1945^

Picture of "Blue Valley Creamery mercantile building", dated 1924 Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Manuscripts Division, 1924^

Jonathan Knutson. Fargo, North Dakota - Businesses On First Avenue North The Forum, Forum Communications Co., 3 July 1999^

William R. Burton, David J. Lewis. Past and Present of Adams County, Nebraska S.J. Clarke Pub. Co, 1916^

Article on W. Edwin Smith Jacob Piatt Dunn. Indiana and Indianans: A History of Aboriginal and Territorial Indiana and the Century of Statehood Indianapolis Public Library, United States Work Projects Administration, 1919^

WHITE-ORR'S 1930 CLASSIFIED BUSINESS DIRECTORY--NEW YORK CITY SECTION^

John D. Adams. Three Quarters of a Century of Progress 1848-1923 - A Brief Pictorial and Commercial History of Sioux City, Iowa Verstengen Printing Company, 1923^

Lawrence O Christensen, Gary R. Kremer. A History of Missouri: 1875 To 1919 University of Missouri, 2004^

Michael Bushnell. The Blue Valley Creamery wants your cows! Northeast News, 29 Aug 2012, retrieved 5 Jul 2014^

Postcard of the Blue Valley Dairy building located at 300-302 1st Avenue NE, Watertown, SD retrieved 2008-06-29^

U.S. P.T.O. Trademark Electronic Search System^

Trade-mark Renewal Application State of Ohio, 1976-02-17, retrieved 2008-06-07^

"Blue Valley Creamery Institute, 1137 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois" - List of Members J Anim Sci, American Society of Animal Production, 1930 List of Members J Anim Sci, American Society of Animal Production, 1931^

John Faris. Who's Who in Nebraska State Journal Printing Co., 1940^

American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Company records, N5, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis, MN. 11 April 2024^

type	Delaware corporation‡R1R‡
fate	Acquired by Beatrice Foods
successor	Beatrice Foods
foundation	c. 1900
defunct	March 1, 1939
industry	Dairy
products	Butter, milk, ice cream
key people	Huston Wyeth, James A Walker, Otto F Hunziker

Blue Valley Creamery Company

History

Locations

Intellectual property

Antiques

Federal Trade Commission action

Active supporter of national associations

Other employees

See also

Bibliography

References