Middletown transcript., 1893-06-03

lWeiity years aatc ctaAtk,1-> t-1flr At-'7
press upon few business houses in Middle-
towu to-day, butthere are. some that have
withstood the storms of that many winters,
and some pretty hard storms they have
been. One of these, and the house that to-
day standslout prominently as glowing
example of what pluck and hard work
will do is that of E. B. Rice.
1t is said that ntruth crushedto earth will
rise again. and it is Synonymous of the
establishment above referred to-an estab-
lishment that was forced to the wall about
fifteen years ago, but from its ashes has
arisen business whose equal it is hard to
fndI in whole days travels. With credit
and. everything gone but paddle and an
ice cream outfit, capable of turning out
possibly five or six gallons Of cream day
if there had been demand for it, Mr.. Rice
started anew the battle Of life, but it has
not proven in vain.
Hard>work and close attention to business
have had their reward and to-day he has
business which annually nets him q good
income and he has re- established his credit.
From the five gallons of cream which con-
stituted weeks sales dozen years ago he
now manufactures nearly four hundred
gallons a week for his wholesale and retail
trade, His patrons are furnished the diff
ferent fiayors fresh daily and heexperiences
trade equalied by few and excelled BY
none in this section.
Few business ventures in Middletown or
anywhere else for that matter have ridden
the waves Of adversely in their early days
and landed so successfully as has this one
The TRANSCRIPT man had the pleasure on
Thursday of visiting this factory and was
initiated into the mysteries connected with
the manufacture of ice cream and water
ices It is remarkable the developement q
few years have wrought in machinery to
tighten labor and increase the output Of
factory. With the improved Mills Patent
steam process, q ten-gallon can OF ice cream
can new be made in dozen minutes while
under the old paddle system at least four
hours would be consumed in the same
work. The marvellous improvements ina
few years have notbeen without their adj
.vantages, and, the Rice Steam Ice Cream
Manufacturing Company have reason to
feel gratifed at their success in acquiring
such complete plant.
In 1872sMr. Rice embarked in the con-
fectionery business at the corner of Main
and Broad streets, in a store which stood
on the site that Is now occupied by Edwin
Prettyman as shoe store. In the winter
and spring he served bis patrons with oys-
ters. and In the summer with ice cream.
Success attended bis enterprise, and in
1875 he was compelled to seek more com
modious quarters. Hs moved into the
Hardcastle store in the town hall. Here
his increased expenses and close compe-
tition in business caused him considerable
trouble, and adversely overlook him.
He was unable TO meet his obligations
and he lost all for which he had toiled so
hard. When his effects were sold be took
advantage of the exemption laws to keep
his ice cream plant, which consisted of
few cans, tubs and paddles.
Many men would not have had the cour-
age to attempt to patch up their broken
fortunes. but Mr.. Rice. with lndomitable
will and his scanty outfit started the nu-
cleus of business that has grown in size
until to-day it stands as one of the foremost
ice cream manufactures onthe Peninsula
After his failure he leased the old store
of William Green, now occupied as a Chi
nese laundry, and continued to make ice
cream and supply the retail trade. Later
on he started a bakery, but it was not a
Iaying venture and he disposed of
it. Thus he continued to exc out an
existence for about two years,
when friend of his induced him to lease
the property he now occupies hom H.
L
sufficient funds to furnish the place in
neat but inexpensive manner, and in the
spring of 1880 he opened an ice cream
parlor and confectionery store. He made
his own ice cream with the primitive tools
then at his command and averaged about
five gallons of cream week for about five
months in the year-ice cream in winter
being such a luxury that there was no de-
mand for it.
His first year was very successful and he
managed to lay,by little with which to
cancel the obligations of his friends who
had come to his assistance, and in another
year he found himself free from this
debt.
At the end of the third year his business
had so increased that he Twas
obliged to call to his assistance the aid of
improved machinery and purchased a
Mills Patent Steam ice cream maker so as
to cope with the large trade that he had
built up about him.
Mr.. Rice has many friends all over the
Peninsula and his wholesale trade grew to
such an extent that from the manufacture
of five gallons week ten years ago, he
to-day averages about 400 gallons.
This plants one of the most complete in
the State, and besides the Mills Patent Pro-
cess for making cream, he also has an ice
grinding machine which does the work OF
four men, and in mnch better manner.
His trade is not confined alone to Della
ware. but extends into Maryland and Vir-
ginia; and his wares are sought after for all
public and private parties, pic-nics, festi-
walls, etc.