The Western Sugar Cooperative is a grower owned American agricultural
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
originating from the Great Western Sugar Company in 1901.
History
The Great Western Sugar Company was incorporated in February 1901 by
Charles Boettcher Charles Boettcher (1852-July 1948) was a successful businessman in Colorado in the hardware, mining, cement and sugar beet businesses. He was one of the founders of the Ideal Cement Company. Born in Kölleda Germany, he came to the US at age 17 and ...
and others including
John F. Campion, after having difficulty making their Colorado Sugar Manufacturing Company factory in
Grand Junction, Colorado
Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mos ...
a success and selling it to locals. Colorado Sugar had an agreement to build a plant in
Loveland, Colorado
The City of Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous city ...
in 1899, with the
Utah Sugar Company
Utah ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its so ...
eyeing expansion into Colorado, and Colorado Sugar lacking resources to follow through quickly, they gave their Loveland agreement to Great Western.
Great Western brought in other high-level investors (
Eben Smith
Eben Smith (December 17, 1832 – November 5, 1906) was a successful mine owner, smelting company executive, railroad executive and bank owner in Colorado in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Early life
Eben Smith was born in Erie, Pen ...
,
David Moffat
David Halliday Moffat (July 22, 1839 – March 18, 1911) was an American financier and industrialist.
Moffat was one of Denver's most important financiers and industrialists in late 19th and early 20th century Colorado, and he was responsible fo ...
,
William Jackson Palmer
William Jackson Palmer (September 18, 1836 – March 13, 1909) was an American civil engineer, veteran of the Civil War, industrialist, and philanthropist. During the American Civil War, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general and receive ...
,
James Joseph Brown
James Joseph "J.J." Brown (September 27, 1854 – September 5, 1922), was an American mining engineer, inventor, and self-made member of fashionable "society". His wife was RMS ''Titanic'' survivor Margaret Brown.
Early life
Brown was born in ...
), created the Great Western Construction Company, then had the subsidiary build their first
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
processing plant, opening on November 21, 1901.
The first year was a failure, both for beet quality and problems at the factory, so they hired Mark Austin from Utah Sugar to improve their situation.
Great Western created the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
subsidiary in 1902, which allowed an expansion of the territory a beet sugar factory could collect from. Great Western also created the Loveland Construction Company, which built the railway, primarily with Japanese workers. By 1976 the railway had of track, all standard gauge.
Rounds of price wars with the
Sugar Trust
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...
in 1900-1902 eliminated Great Western's Colorado competitors, and the Trust acquired control of Great Western by 1904. The Trust set prices, trained factories and farmers, assigned plants and farmers to regional "beet districts" to prevent plants from competing against each other with the farmers, but left the factories independent to conduct other business. In 1905 Great Western was reestablished as a New Jersey corporation and acquired four Colorado factories.
Colorado was the largest producer of beet sugar by 1906. By 1926 there were a total of 17 factories, including 13 from Great Western.
Starting at its creation in 1901 Great Western brought in families of
Germans from Russia
The German minority population in Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union stemmed from several sources and arrived in several waves. Since the second half of the 19th century, as a consequence of the Russification policies and compulsory military ...
, who had experience with sugar beet farming; single Japanese men, until immigration restrictions eliminated them in 1907; and, Mexican workers to help with the labors of sugar beet farming. The Germans from Russia were preferred for their experience at producing high beet yields. Their upward mobility, not afforded to Hispanic workers, meant they contributed less in the labor pool. By the 1910s and the 1920s the Hispanic/Mexican
farmworkers
A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...
had taken over the need for beet labor.
Great Western cut contract prices to farmers in the 1910s and 1920s, leading to the "Loveland Resolutions" accord by farmers associations against the company. Colorado passed the
Cooperative Marketing Law in 1923, allowing co-ops as legal entities. This allowed farmers to present a united front and raise the contract prices of beets. This, fewer farmers planting beets, and curly top disease lowering yields caused Great Western to create a profitsharing contract, splitting the profits from selling the sugar 50-50. This became standard for the industry.
The Great Depression in 1929 substantially reduced both demand and prices, nearly ruining the industry. Tariffs were passed, which did not help. The Sugar Trust lobbied and got included in the
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...
(AAA) through the
Jones–Costigan amendment The Jones-Costigan Amendment, also known as the Sugar Act of 1934, passed on May 9, 1934 was an amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act that reclassified sugar crop as basic commodity, subject to the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Ac ...
. This reduced imports and set base prices on sugar. The
dust bowl
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...
continued the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
traumas to the industry. Some farmers were protected from drought per the
Colorado-Big Thompson Project, created through farm and industry lobbying.
World War II brought an end to the Depression and drought, and brought back consumer demand. The lack of labor incentivized change: more reliable seeds were developed, which meant labor-intensive thinning and blocking was unnecessary and mechanical harvesting was perfected becoming rapidly adopted. However, AAA kept a cap on prices and profitability, hindering recovery. A long drought also hit in the 1950s.
During the war, Great Western sought employees from the
Heart Mountain Japanese American internment camp. An announcement on 2 April 1943 described "choice contracts" for Heart Mountain workers,
and a quarter-page Great Western ad in September 1943 discussed pricing, transportation, and said "Many farmers need help to harvest the sugar beet crop. You will be welcomed by the public and your efforts will be appreciated." During the 1942-1945 seasons, Japanese American laborers brought in 20% of the sugar beet crop in the nation, despite deep hatred and racism.
After the war, Great Western offered relocation to families to work as laborers in near Billings and Lovell.
A byproduct of the process was molasses that could not be crystallized into sugar. This was used as food, sold as livestock feed, or distilled into alcohol. Beginning in the 1950s, it was put through the Steffen process to produce
monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wit ...
(MSG). Great Western had one MSG plant in Fort Collins.
In 1965, William M. White Jr., at age 25, was a vice president at
Allen & Company
Allen & Company LLC is an American privately held boutique investment bank based at 711 Fifth Avenue, New York. The firm specializes in real estate, technology, media and entertainment.
History
Founded in 1922 by Charles Robert Allen, Jr., he w ...
. Invited back to Colorado from New York by
James A. Krentler, the two acquired Denver's
Colorado Milling and Elevator Company
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
(established 1885)
in that year, then used that to take over Great Western in 1968. Great Western merged with Colorado Milling and became Great Western United Corporation with White as the president. Colorado Milling and Elevator was sold in 1967 or 1969 to Peavey Flour Co.
White Jr. was the fourth generation of his family to be involved with Great Western, and his father was a director at the time of the takeover. White Jr. described the merged company as "big enough to do anything we want". Robert R. Owen joined that year as the Great Western Sugar president, coming from Ford Motors. He remained president until 1971. The
Colorado City, Colorado
Colorado City is a census-designated place (CDP) and post office in and governed by Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Pueblo, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Colorado City post office has the ZIP Code 8101 ...
and
California City, California
California City is a city located in northern Antelope Valley in Kern County, California, United States. It is north of the city of Los Angeles, and the population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. Covering , California City has the third-largest ...
land developments, both part of Nathan "Nat" K. Mendelsohn's
California City Development Company
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, were added in 1968, becoming Great Western Cities, with Mendelsohn joining Great Western. For various reasons, all of these companies struggled in 1969-1970.
White acquired the Emerald Christmas Tree Company, which grew Christmas trees and distributed and sold them, prepackaged, to retailers. It was acquired in 1968 for $1.5 million. It then lost $1 million in its first year and was sold for a loss in 1970. Colorado Milling was also sold in 1970 for $10 million, also at a loss.
Timothy Wirth, a vice president of Great Western Cities, described White reading
Future Shock
''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his spouse Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. The ...
in 1970 and then sending copies to company directors to bridge the gap between the "very young management" and the older management.
By the 1970s, the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
described Great Western as a "
house of cards
A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...
". In 1971 White had cancelled cash dividends a month after promising at the annual meeting to not do so. This broke a nearly 40-year streak of dividends being paid at the company. White was willing to sell Colorado Milling and Great Western Sugar, but was dismissed as CEO in 1971, much of it through Mendelsohn's efforts. As the largest preferred shareholder, Mendelsohn launched a proxy fight for the company in 1972 to replace the directors and prevent the company from being split up.
GWU's stock price dropped by more than a factor of 10 between late 1971 and mid-1973. Investigations of
price fixing
Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...
by six sugar producers including Great Western closed in 1974 with criminal indictments; the
Justice Department
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
and
Council on Wage and Price Stability
Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American economist and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at Princeton University from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President Gerald Ford. H ...
also investigated why prices had spiked 300-400% in 1974.
Hunt International Resources acquired Great Western in late 1974 as a
hostile takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
as the price fixing indictments came in, as the Hunt brothers attempted to corner the sugar market. They owned a combined 65% of the outstanding stock by 1976. They then removed the board of directors and executive leadership and moved the executive offices to the
First National Bank Tower
The First National Bank Tower is a 45-story office skyscraper located at 1601 Dodge Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States, and the official headquarters of First National Bank of Omaha. At it is the tallest building in Omaha a ...
in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
, leaving the corporate office in Denver. They also added two lines of business: commodities trading and oil and gas exploration and development.
Sugar prices remained high in 1975 even after the price fixing indictments were issued, even though the United States Sugar Act of 1937, which removed import quotas, also expired in 1974.
Prices then began to deflate rapidly. By 1977 the industry was asking for government subsidies after the price deflation.
In June 1975, GWU acquired Godchaux-Henderson Sugar, a cane sugar producer in New Orleans, from Southern Industries Corporation for $2.65 million cash, as well as making agreements on unsecured notes. This included their cane refinery in
Reserve, Louisiana
Reserve is an unincorporated community in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 9,111 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Cen ...
, which processed cane from local fields and from overseas, and a deepwater dock that was completed in 1973. In 1975-1976 they had contracts for raw cane from Corporation Azucarera La Victoria of Panama and the Philippine Exchange Company. GWU and Southern Industries sued each other in 1976 over the notes.
The Rocky Mountain Beet Growers Association formed in 1971, and was later known as the Great Western Producers Co-Operative. Robert R. Owen, formerly Great Western Sugar's head until being demoted by White in 1971, became the co-op's head. As a farmers co-op, it attempted to buy the sugar division in 1971-1972 and again in 1973-1974 for $43.5 million. The 1974 effort failed after an increase in sugar prices led to record profits, which made the co-op's bid look undervalued. Great Western United sued in 1975 to void the contract and the co-op counterclaimed that United had failed to represent them accurately in proxy statements. The co-op lost the case in 1975, as well as on appeal in 1978 and on second appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court in 1980.
In 1984 three divisions were put for sale: Godchaux-Henderson Sugar Company (
Reserve, Louisiana
Reserve is an unincorporated community in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 9,111 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Cen ...
), the Northern Ohio Sugar Company and the Great Western Railway Company.
Holly Sugar expressed interest in buying Northern Ohio and Godchaux-Henderson but talks fell through in June 1984.
By 1985 Great Western was described as "one of the many trouble spots" in the Hunt group, and Great Western filed
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
in March 1985.
Savannah Foods & Industries purchased the
Fremont, Ohio
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, located along the banks of the Sandusky River. It is about 35 miles from Toledo and 25 miles from Sandusky. It is part of the Toledo metropolitan area. The populat ...
plant and
Findlay, Ohio
Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 United St ...
storage facility.
In 1985,
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...
created the Western Sugar Company and purchased six of the factories: Greeley, Fort Morgan, Scottsbluff, Bayard, and Billings. They apparently also bought Loveland closed it down in 1985. By 2002 Western Sugar was still operating the Greeley and Fort Morgan factories.
In 2002, more than 1000
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
growers purchased the company, creating the Rocky Mountain Sugar Growers Co-operative. Later that year it merged into the Western Sugar Cooperative.
The organization was headquartered in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. It has five factories, located at
Fort Morgan, Colorado
Fort Morgan is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 11,597 at the 2020 United States Census. Fort Morgan is the principal ...
,
Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandl ...
,
Torrington and
Lovell, Wyoming
Lovell is the largest town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2010 census.
History
Lovell was named for Henry Lovell, a local rancher.
Built in 1925, the EJZ Bridge over Shoshone River is listed on th ...
, and
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...
.
In May 2015 the co-op announced it would be ending production at the Torrington site and would only use that site for storage. As such it plans to reduce the workforce at its Torrington site from 76 staffers to just 6. The changes were set to take effect late 2016, however as of early 2018 it is still fully operable.
By 1976, related subsidiaries of GWU included:
* The Great Western Sugar Company (incorporated in Delaware)
** The Bighorn Limestone Company (incorporated in Montana)
** Great Western Employment Agency, Inc. (incorporated in Texas, nonprofit; inactive by 1976)
** Godchaux-Henderson Sugar., Inc. (incorporated in Louisiana)
** Northern Ohio Sugar Company (incorporated in Ohio)
** The Great Western Railway Company (incorporated in Colorado)
** The Great Western Sugar Export Company (incorporated in Colorado)
** The Great Western Sugar Leasing Company (incorporated in Delaware; inactive by 1976)
* The Great Western Sugar Investment Company (incorporated in Delaware)
Leadership
Frank A. Kemp was named CEO in 1936 and remained so until 1967. He was elected chairman of the board in 1966, and died in 1971. It was noted that out of his $534,000 estate, there were no stock holdings in Great Western.
William Mathews White Jr. (at age 28), became president in 1968 (after being head of Colorado Milling since 1965 until it was merged into GWU). In early 1967 White attempted to buy and merge
Gorton's Fish into Colorado/GWU, acquiring 30 percent, but failed and sold the shares six months later.
White Jr., (born ca 1940), was the son of the wealthy William M. White (1911-7 September 1966), noted for founding many companies in Colorado, including White and Davis Department Store, the first in the state, and controlling several Colorado-based banks.
William Jr. graduated from Yale in 1961 and joined
Allen & Company
Allen & Company LLC is an American privately held boutique investment bank based at 711 Fifth Avenue, New York. The firm specializes in real estate, technology, media and entertainment.
History
Founded in 1922 by Charles Robert Allen, Jr., he w ...
, becoming vice president by 1965 (at age 25). By 1972, in a Wall Street Journal describing his downfall, he was described as "a young kid who was copying the
Lings and
Perots, but didn't have in his bones an understanding of what they were doing." It described how he lost Krentler's support after White berated Mendelsohn and others in a contentious 1971 board meeting; Krentler said "Making fun of someone in front of people is not my idea of fun. Nat Mendelsohn is a human being. I can't stand to see human beings treated like that." The next day, the directors voted unanimously for White to resign.
White was named tongue-in-cheek in a Cervi's Journal article, nominating him as a 1971 Denver Man Of The Year for "his classic execution of the lateral
arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
(see ''
The Peter Principle
The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until ...
'')".
After his ousting, he immediately announced he sold all of his common stock holdings to Colorado and Western Properties for cash and stock; Colorado and Western was owned by
Neal Blue
James Neal Blue (born 1935) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chief executive officer and chairman of General Atomics based in San Diego, California.
Early life
Blue was born in 1935 in Meeker, Colorado, the son of James Elliot Bl ...
and
Linden Blue
Linden Stanley Blue (born 1936) is an American aviation executive. He is the co-owner and vice chairman of General Atomics, the U.S. military contractor that manufactures the Predator drones used by the United States Marine Corps, Air Force, and ...
. Neal and C&W's Arthur T. Cowperthwaite were then elected to the Great Western board. By February 1972 White amended the statement, indicating he had sold just under half of his shares, but both Neal and Cowperthwaite would remain on the board.
By November 1972 Robert G. Everett was president and CEO.
Sugar beet factories
Sugar beets rapidly lost sugar content after harvesting, meaning many of the industrial processing factories were required. Listed in approximate acquisition order:
*
Loveland, Colorado
The City of Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous city ...
built in 1901, capacity in 1919. Described above. capacity in 1976. Permanently closed in 1985.
*
Greeley, Colorado
Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...
, built by the Greeley Sugar Company in 1902 and sold to the
Sugar Trust
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...
in the same year. capacity in 1919. Became part of Great Western in 1905. capacity in 1976.
*
Longmont, Colorado
The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
Longmont ...
, built in 1903, became part of Great Western in 1905. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976. Was also home to a Great Western experimental station and research farms.
*
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado
Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...
, built in 1903 against the
Poudre River
The Cache la Poudre River ( ), also known as the Poudre River, is a river in the state of Colorado in the United States.
Name
The name of the river () is a corruption of the original Cache à la Poudre, or "cache of powder". It refers to an ...
for the Fort Collins Sugar Manufacturing Company. Had a Steffen house (to recover sugar from molasses, later to extract MSG). Became part of Great Western in 1905. capacity in 1919. Closed in 1960.
*
Eaton, Colorado
The Town of Eaton is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, Statutory Town located in Weld County, Colorado, Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,802 at the 2020 United States Census, a +32.92% increase si ...
, built in 1902, became part of Great Western in 1905. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976. Closed in 1976, as Great Western had four other plants within .
*
Windsor, Colorado
Windsor is a home rule municipality in Larimer and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 32,716. Windsor is located in the Northern Colorado region.
History
In 1873, a settl ...
, built 1903, became part of Great Western in 1905. capacity in 1919. Closed in 1968;
Eastman Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
began using the plant in 1968, calling it Kodak Colorado.
*
Sterling, Colorado
Sterling is a home rule municipality and the county seat and most populous municipality of Logan County, Colorado, United States. Sterling is the principal city of the Sterling, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 13,753 a ...
, built by locals in 1905 and acquired by Great Western in 1906. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976. Closed in 1985.
*
Fort Morgan, Colorado
Fort Morgan is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 11,597 at the 2020 United States Census. Fort Morgan is the principal ...
, built by Great Western in 1906. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976.
*
Brush, Colorado
Brush is a Statutory City located in Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 5,339 at the 2020 United States Census. Brush is a part of the Fort Morgan, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Brush, Colorado was na ...
, built by Great Western in 1906. capacity in 1919.
*
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...
, acquired by Great Western in 1906, initially operated under its own name to escape antitrust scrutiny. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976.
*
Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandl ...
, built by Great Western in 1910 by moving an 1899 Standard Beet Company (Heyward G. Leavitt) factory from
Ames, Nebraska
Ames is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southern Dodge County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 24.
Ames lies along U.S. Route 30, west of the city of Fremont, the county seat of ...
, which had closed in 1906. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976.
*
Gering, Nebraska
Gering is a city in, and the county seat of, Scotts Bluff County, in the Panhandle region of Nebraska, United States. The population was 8,564 at the 2020 census.
History
Gering was officially founded on March 7, 1887, being located at the bas ...
, built by Great Western in 1916. capacity, raised to by 1935. capacity in 1976.
*
Lovell, Wyoming
Lovell is the largest town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2010 census.
History
Lovell was named for Henry Lovell, a local rancher.
Built in 1925, the EJZ Bridge over Shoshone River is listed on th ...
, built by Great Western in 1916, capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976.
*
Bayard, Nebraska
Bayard is a city in Morrill County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,209 at the 2010 census.
History
"Old" Bayard was founded in the 1880s. It was named after the city of Bayard, Iowa. The first post office at Bayard was establishe ...
, built by Great Western in 1917. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976.
*
Brighton, Colorado
Brighton is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city located in Adams County, Colorado, Adams and Weld County, Colorado, Weld List of counties in Colorado, counties, Colorado, United States. Brighto ...
, built by Great Western in 1917. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976. Closed 1978.
*
Mitchell, Nebraska
Mitchell is a city in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Scottsbluff, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,702 at the 2010 census.
History
Mitchell was established in 1900, when the Chicago ...
, built by Great Western in 1920. Had been requested by farmers since the Scottsbluff plant was built. capacity in 1919. capacity in 1976.
*
Ovid, Colorado
Ovid is a statutory town in Sedgwick County, Colorado, United States. The population was 318 at the 2010 census.
History
The town was named after Newton Ovid, a local resident.
Geography
Ovid is located at (40.959919, -102.388851).
Accordin ...
, built by Great Western in 1924, capacity in 1976. closed 1985.
*
Johnstown, Colorado
Johnstown is a home rule municipality in Weld and Larimer counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The population was 9,887 at the 2010 United States Census.
History
The Town of Johnstown began with the vision of Harvey J. Parish before its pl ...
, along
Big Thompson River
The Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 78 miles (123 km) long, in the U.S. state of Colorado. Originating in Forest Canyon in Rocky Mountain National Park, the river flows into Lake Estes in the town ...
. Originally started as a sugar factory in 1920, construction completed as a molasses refinery in 1926. Molasses was shipped here and recovered to confectioners sugar. MSG processing added in 1954.
*
Fort Lupton, Colorado
The City of Fort Lupton is a Statutory City located in southern Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 7,955 at the 2020 United States Census. Fort Lupton is a part of the Greeley, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
, built by Industrial Sugar in 1919, acquired by Great Western in 1926. Closed 1948.
*
Lyman, Nebraska
Lyman is a village in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Scottsbluff, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 341 at the 2010 census.
History
Lyman, less than a mile from the Wyoming border, is s ...
, built by Great Western in 1926. capacity in 1935.
*
Goodland, Kansas
Goodland is a city in and the county seat of Sherman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,465. It was named after Goodland, Indiana. Goodland is home to Northwest Kansas Technical College.
H ...
, built by Great Western in 1968, called the Frank A. Kemp Sugar Factory. capacity in 1968, capacity in 1976. Steel with steel siding, the only factory that wasn't steel-and-brick, and only factory that wasn't built prior to 1927; built for $14 million.
*
Fremont, Ohio
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, located along the banks of the Sandusky River. It is about 35 miles from Toledo and 25 miles from Sandusky. It is part of the Toledo metropolitan area. The populat ...
, built 1900, capacity in 1976. Expansion to handle sugar cane was planned in 1978.
*
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
built in 1916, capacity in 1919. Operated for one year due to disputes; Amalgamated built a replacement plant on its site in 1928.
*
Findlay, Ohio
Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 United St ...
built in 1911, capacity in 1976.
*
Montreal, Canada
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
(probable)
Other operations
*
Horse Creek, Wyoming, lime quarry, 1908.
*
Ingleside, Colorado, lime quarry, 1908.
*
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado
Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...
, experimental station and research farms.
Great Western Food
The White Lily flour mill, opened in 1884
by J. Allen Smith in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
. It was owned by Colorado Milling & Elevator when White took over. They then became part of Great Western Foods (GWF), a division of Great Western United, in 1968. GWF was based in Knoxville, and by 1972 had 6% of the southeast's regional flour milling capacity. It also produced its Three Rivers brand
cornmeal
Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...
.
Federal Company and its subsidiary
Dixie Portland Flour Mills purchased GWF in 1972. As Federal had 11% of the flour market, a Justice Department assistant district attorney in the
antitrust
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
division,
Thomas E. Kauper, filed suit to require the divestment of GWF. The Justice Department lost that suit, as there was no basis for a regional market to the exclusion of others. Further, Federal's "home flour" market was fragmented between about 50 private-label and non-premium brands, and was also in a steep sales decline from 1965 to 1974. Federal/Dixie-Portland then renovated the plant in 1975. White Lily was the fourth most popular brand of flour in the US in 1988.
The White Lily mill, after GWF and then Dixie Portland/Federal, went through many ownership changes from 1989 on: Holly Farms, Tyson Foods, Archer-Daniels-Midland, Windmill Holdings, then C.H. Guenther & Son Inc.'s Pioneer Flour Mills in 1995. Guenther used the site as a
copacker
A contract packager, or copacker, is a company that packages products for their clients. The packaging and labeling services can be used for many types of products including foods, pharmaceuticals, household products, and industrial products.
Fu ...
for
The J.M. Smucker Company
The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...
; Smucker bought the White Lily brand in 2006, and Guenther closed the mill in 2008.
The mill site was purchased by developer David Dewhirst in 2011, planning to turn part of it into lofts.
Shakey's Pizza
White purchased half of
Shakey's Pizza
Shakey's Pizza is a pizza restaurant chain based in the United States. Founded in 1954, it was the first franchise pizza chain in the United States. In 1968, the chain had 342 locations. The chain had about 500 stores globally, and 58 in the Uni ...
in early 1967 through Colorado Milling, buying out Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson's half of the company, and then Great Western bought out Ed Plummer's remaining half of the company later in the year.
There were 400 restaurants (of which 42 were company-owned) in 1971, and 530 (89 company-owned) in 1976.
Shakey's franchisees settled a lawsuit with Great Western in April 1970 over (illegal) requirements to purchase ingredients from Great Western.
The corporate headquarters was in
Eagleton, Colorado.
Joseph F. Dolan was president and CEO of Shakey's for some time until his resignation in February 1974.
Hunt International Resources bought Great Western, including Shakey's, in 1974. Investors Gary Brown and Jay Halverson purchased it in 1984, then sold it to Singapore-based
Inno-Pacific Holdings in 1988 (foreign locations) and 189 (domestic).
Great Western Restaurant Company
The company started a steakhouse chain, named Prime Time Restaurants in 1969 and called The Great Western Restaurant Company in the 1970s. It was incorporated in Delaware and inactive by 1976.
Great Western Cities
Mendelsohn started the
California City, California
California City is a city located in northern Antelope Valley in Kern County, California, United States. It is north of the city of Los Angeles, and the population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. Covering , California City has the third-largest ...
in 1958, and added the
Colorado City, Colorado
Colorado City is a census-designated place (CDP) and post office in and governed by Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Pueblo, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Colorado City post office has the ZIP Code 8101 ...
development in 1962. After negotiating a 99 year lease with the
Cochiti tribe, he added the
Cochiti City, New Mexico development in 1969.
The California City land was acquired without mineral rights, meaning
titles
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
sold to customers were not
fee simple
In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., perm ...
, with of mineral rights held by the state, primarily in the Second Community section. The
U.S. Borax Company applied to
prospect
Prospect may refer to:
General
* Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer
* Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team
* Prospect (mining ...
on of that land in 1966. This means the surface land could be at risk of being disrupted for the mining process, even used as part of an
open pit mine
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow.
This form of mining ...
. Through an agreement with
California Department of Real Estate
The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) is a California state agency focused on safeguarding and promoting the public interest in real estate matters through licensure, regulation, education, and enforcement. The DRE is headquartered in Sa ...
, Great Western Cities was effectively stopped from selling any of that land base.
Tom Maney was the vice-president and general counsel for Great Western Cities (GWC) in 1975.
Mendelsohn owned California City Development Company until it merged into GWU in 1969; he was then elected to GWU's board. In that same year ''
Barron's Barron's or Barrons may refer to:
*Barron's Educational Series, a publisher of books, as well as college entrance exam preparation classes and materials, now an imprint of Kaplan Test Prep
**B.E.S. Publishing, the former owner of Barron's
* ''Barro ...
'' described California City as "more suited to blizzards than people". Mendelsohn was fired by White in 1970, though he remained a large shareholder, and led criticism against White until he was removed a year later.
Mendelsohn also owned North American Towns, Inc. and California City Realty Co.
In addition to California and federal investigations, sales at Great Western Cities declined from almost $25 million in 1970 to $13 million in 1971.
In 1971, the
National Indian Youth Council
The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) is the second oldest American Indian organization in the United States with a membership of more than 15,000.National Indian Youth Council, Inc."NIYC History" Retrieved on 2009-09-30. It was the first in ...
sued over the agreement, stating lease terms weren't adequately explained, and the water rights guarantees were illegal.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
attorney
William Veeder described it a "dereliction of duty". GWU agreed with the courts to not use the Cochiti water rights until matters were settled, and instead began purchasing water rights from ranchers in the surrounding area.
Great Western Cities completed the California City Inn in June 1971. It had 105 guest rooms plus restaurants and convention faciltieies. They also built The Greenhorn Inn motel in Colorado City, with 60 rooms and facilities.
Tom Watson was the CEO of Great Western Cities by 1971.
Norman Gross, who had been at GWC and predecessors since 1958, was EVP and GM of GWC by late 1972, having rejoined after a brief absence.
GWC was encumbered by the 1972 FTC settlement and by the
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act of 1968 The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act of 1968 (ILSFDA or ILSA or "Act") was an act of Congress passed in 1968 to facilitate regulation of interstate land sales, to protect consumers from fraud and abuse in the sale or lease of land. The Act ...
, which combined to give buyers some recourse and forced additional disclosure from GWC. By 1972 regulations banning developments with septic tanks, which meant some lots could not be sold. By early 1974 it was clear the FTC was dissatisfied by their compliance with the order, and in 1975 they itemized many violation in the 1972-1974 time period. They reached a settlement in 1975, requiring $4 million in refunds to a class of customers and required $16 million investment in infrastructure projects at the three locations.
Further, in March 1973, GWC settled with the California Department of Real Estate commissioner and the Attorney General, agreeing to an
injunction
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
. GWC then settled with the state in 1980 to get a
clear title
Clear title is the phrase used to state that the owner of real property owns it free and clear of encumbrances. In a more limited sense, it is used to state that, although the owner does not own clear title, it is nevertheless within the power o ...
to the land encumbered with mining rights. This settlement meant the state relinquished their surface entry rights to the minerals (to depth), but did not remove the state's actual mineral rights, on the encumbered land. In exchange, GWC deeded a section () to the BLM for the
Desert Tortoise Natural Area, deeded another section of 640 acres back to the State Lands Commission, and received
clear title
Clear title is the phrase used to state that the owner of real property owns it free and clear of encumbrances. In a more limited sense, it is used to state that, although the owner does not own clear title, it is nevertheless within the power o ...
on the remaining approx of Second Community. Clearing the rights in the Third Community part of California City were left to a future agreement.
[People v. Great Western Cities, Inc., Los Angeles Superior Court C51745]
In a 1976 filing, the company reported $20.2 million in revenues but posted a loss of $11.1 million in 1973, $18.5 million revenue and $6.4 million loss in 1974, $15.8 million revenue and $$12.6 million loss in 1975, and $14 million revenue and $3.2 million profit in 1976. The commission structure was described as being 6-15% of the price for salaried sales staff and typically 50% to independent sales representatives, with the amounts being frontloaded; an independent salesperson would receive 90% of the down payment and 75% of monthly payments until their commission amount was reached. Great Western salespeople only sold virgin land; resales were described as having "limited markets" and said "management believes that such resales are made at prices substantially lower to Great Western Cities' current offering prices."
In the same 1976 filing, GWU wrote down $4.3 million from GWC in 1975 and reserved $4 million for the FTC settlement. The company strongly indicated they had been wanting to dispose of GWC since 1975, citing "adverse publicity concerning land developers" among other issues. The main sales office was in
North Hollywood, California
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...
.
Subsidiaries of the company in 1976 were the following, incorporated in their own state unless otherwise specified:
* California City Development Company
** GWU Properties, Inc.
** Boron Valley Water Development Company; inactive by 1976
** California City Realty Company
** Western Cities Hotels (incorporated in Delaware)
* Colorado City Development Company
** Colorado City Realty Company
** Great Western Cities Realty Company
* Great Western Cities, Inc. of New Mexico
** Great Western Cities Realty (incorporated in California; inactive by 1976)
In 1980 the CEO was Charles W. Terrell.
Western Investment Company
After the Hunt acquisition in 1974, the Hunt brothers added a commodity futures and precious metals division called the Western Investment Company, based at the First National office in Dallas. Commodity futures trading was responsible for $17 million in pretax profits in the 1975 fiscal year.
In 1977 Hunt, through Great Western, acquired the
Sunshine Mine, an Idaho silver mine.
Related subsidiaries of the company in 1976 were the following:
* Western Bullion Corporation (incorporated in Delaware)
* Western Investment Company (incorporated in Delaware)
Impel Corporation
Also following the 1974 Hunt acquisition, the brothers added oil and gas exploration and development in the Rocky Mountains under Impel Corporation (renamed from Great Western Energy Corporation in April 1975). They were based in Denver. Coal and natural gas costs were a significant input, and risk, to the sugar business, especially following the
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
.
Subsidiaries of the company in 1976 were the following, incorporated in Delaware:
* Impel Corporation
** Western Energy Coal Company; inactive by 1976
** Western Energy Land Company; inactive by 1976
** Impel New Zealand, Ltd.
** Knott Land Company; inactive by 1976
** Energy Equipment Company; inactive by 1976
** Carver Tipple Corporation; inactive by 1976
** Oakdale Tipple Corporation; inactive by 1976
See also
*
Fanjul brothers
The Fanjul brothers—Cuban born Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul Jr., José "Pepe" Fanjul, Alexander Fanjul, and Andres Fanjul—are owners of Fanjul Corp., a vast sugar and real estate conglomerate in the United States and the Dominican Republic. It co ...
References
External links
Western Sugar Cooperative websiteGreat Western graphics and packagingThe Great Western Sugar Refinery in Ovid, Colorado – Gone- pictures of before and after the factory was demolished
American sugar industry
Sugar companies of the United States
Agricultural cooperatives in the United States
Food manufacturers of the United States
Companies based in Denver
Agriculture companies established in 1901
Food and drink companies established in 1901
1901 establishments in Colorado
Billings, Montana
Buildings and structures in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska
Greeley, Colorado
Loveland, Colorado
Economy of the Western United States
American companies established in 1901
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