Staff writer
Three aging buildings on Walnut Street are reminders of when an alfalfa mill was a thriving business on the north edge of Marion.
In the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, alfalfa mills were common in central Kansas. Operating out of Neodesha, W.J. Small owned many branch mills, including the one in Marion, adjacent to the Rock Island railroad track.
The Marion mill was established in the early 1940s. Joan (Wight) Meyer of Marion, then 19, became bookkeeper in 1944.
Land for the milling site was purchased from E.M. Popp with the stipulation that ownership would return to him if the mill closed.
Operations commenced with a hammer mill set up in an open field. Cecil Post was manager. After contracting with farmers to purchase standing alfalfa, he hired workers to go out to the fields, cut the alfalfa, pitch it into wagons, and haul it to the mill, where it was chopped and dried for shipment to Kansas City. The company provided all equipment and labor.
Before long, a metal building was constructed over the mill. Meyer recalls holding the blueprint and instructing workers on where the various pieces should go.
Harold Conyers of Marion began working there in 1945, as a junior in high school. After graduating, he went to college for a year and returned to Marion to work full time at the mill.
Conyers said workers labored in hot and sweaty conditions, pitching and stacking hay by hand. Feed was carried on a conveyer belt from the chopper to the drier. At first, it was loaded directly onto freight cars on a sidetrack. Later, after a cement-block warehouse was built, the dried feed was placed in burlap sacks, weighed, and tied with twine. The sacks were loaded unto carts and wheeled to the warehouse.
Because of the heat, workers would stay in the mill for only 30 minutes at a time. At the end of the day, they showered and put on clean clothes before going home.
Workers in the shop kept busy repairing equipment and sharpening knives.
Equipment was improved over time. The mill added a machine to chop the alfalfa in the field as it was cut and blow it into a wagon pulled behind, saving labor and eliminating one step. Eventually, dump trucks were used, making unloading easy.
Electricity came from the city’s electric plant. Post had to inform the city when he was gearing up for production so it could increase output to meet the demand.
The temperature of the gas dryer continually was monitored to prevent overheating. The mill operated 24 hours a day during summer months.
The prime time to cut alfalfa was shortly before it bloomed, when the protein content was the highest, Conyers said. Sometimes, when crops were in short supply, the company bought alfalfa from as far away as Middle Creek and Diamond Creek.
Conyers said his favorite job was operating the field machine, which allowed him to be out in the open air.
Meyer remembers that farmers identified fields by name, such as Frog Pond, East 20, or Smith quarter.
She enjoyed getting to know farmers. They came to the office on Fridays to pick up their checks. She also was responsible for payroll. She earned $16 to $17 dollars a week.
Conyers earned $100 to $200 a week. He worked 12-hour shifts, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week. He helped load train cars in winter months.
The mill was in operation when Peabody had a German POW camp during World War II. Some of the prisoners worked at the mill.
“They were hard workers and were happy to be there,” Conyers said.
The day the war in Europe ended, the POWs were picked up and never seen again at the mill, he said.
The mill also employed teenagers. They worked in the warehouse stacking sacks of feed.
“They got into pretty good shape for football,” Conyers said.
Some of the others who worked at the mill with Meyer and Conyers were Jake Helmer, Rudy Kotelensky, Reinhart Steinle, Juan Martinez, Floyd Bredemeier, Pete Razor, Bill Schroer, Fred Kline, Benito Martinez, and Bill Higgins.
Conyers quit in 1951, when he joined the military. Meyer left after she became pregnant in 1953.
“When I quit in January 1953, what I missed most was not having contact with the people,” she said.
Archer Daniels Midland, a large corporation, eventually bought the mill and produced alfalfa pellets. When it was closed in 1976, the Popps bought the buildings and reclaimed the land.
Mike Taylor leased the shop for blacksmith work, and Darold Longhofer leased the warehouse for auctions and equipment storage.
About three years ago, Marion Odgen of Marion purchased the buildings and three acres. He uses them for storage.
Conyers said the alfalfa mill was good for Marion.
“It did a lot of business, employed a lot of people, and bought a lot of alfalfa,” he said.