Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-01-03

q son, whose Hanover crackers, caHules
and confectionery are considered staple |
mont. New Hampshire, and in fact wher-
ever known, have recently made some adj
ditions to their manufacturing capacity.
This gave representative of the LAND
MARK a good opportunity to visit the estab-
ishment, note the improvements made,
and at the same time to take general sur |,
vey OF the business carried on in the manu-
factory which is a leading and prominent
enterprise in this part of Vermont. What
follows in this article is transcript. OF
notes jotted down during a visit few
days ago, in which Mr.. Robt. E. Smith,
the junior partner in the firm, kindly &C
companied the reporter throug the fac
tory and gave such explanations OF the
work going on as were necessary.
Suppose we commence our trip in the
pump room which is in the basement di-
rectly under the boiler room. We first
notice steam fire pump by which water
from an artesian we'll 200 feet deep and
inches in diameter, situated on the premi-
ses can be forced through hose and stream
thrown higher than any flag pole in the
village. In case of fire anywhere III the
very soon ready for use to aid the fire de-
partment or to render Independent service
il necessary. AT the time }. l.. Bacon's
barn burn ed, and when the Junction
House was threatened by fire short
time ago, the water needed could have
been furnished from this source. Near the
steam fire pump is power pump so con-
nected that it can pump water from the
we'll into every place where it is sent by
the fire pump; thus two independent sys-
TENS of supplying water to the building or
for fire protection are maintained.
A stairway leads into the boiler room
Immediately over the pump room. Here
are located the boiler of 90 horse power
made by Kendall & Son of Cambridge
port, Mass, and a spare boiler of 20 horse
power for use in case of accident to the
larger one. All water passing into the
boilers is first heated by Cochrane feed
water heater to high temperature near
the steam point, the exhaust steam from
the engines supplying the heat. From the
heater the water goes by gravity into a
feed pump whence it passes into the boil
ers.
We pass from the boiler room into the
engine room, which contains an engine OF
30 horse power that runs all the machinery,
and dynamo by which electric light for
the building is generated. Horace "A.
Cleveland is engineer in charge of engines
and machinery Of the entire plant and
has held that position for IS years.
Out of the engine room we pass to the
base of the two ovens which extend up to
the baking room. Close by is the Goa!
room with a capacity of $50 tons of coal
This is unloaded directly into the room
from cars on spur of the G. V. Railway
that runs Immediately in rear of manufac-
tory and conveys flour, sugar, coal, and
all bulky supplies and delivers them with
as little handling as possible board
walk from the main building connects
with the flour store house. On the lower
floor OF this building are barrels of flour
Ia1 in iarS
supply the town of Hartford for some
time. The number OF barrels in stock and
transit on the day of the visit was over
| 1000. The -four is shipped by the carload
directly from the West. Speaking of the
| -four store house, itmay interest the young
folks who have liking for peanuts and
peanut candy to learn that several car
| loads of peanuts are received every year
| and stored in this building until required
| for use.
Retracing our steps we come to the
main building and again enter the baking
| room in which the Hanover crackers are
made. Let lis say right here that Geo. f
Flanders has charge of this room, and fol
nearly 80 years has supervised the making
of this popular brand from mixing tht
dough to withdrawing them from thu
oven.
The two thinkers" in this room would
keeper who mixes the ingredients an!
kneads the dough for batch of bread
Here are two "mixers" with capacity O
ten barrels at each mixing. This mixing
and in fact nearly every part OF the pro
cess of making the Hanover crackers, l,
done by machinery. There is large TAM
i'm which the lard for shortening is melted
by steam, and all the way through tn
manufacture of these crackers we tin'
very little handling of them. Strict al
tention is paid to the cleanliness an
purity of every ingredient used in tn
crackers. The machinery and the roor
itself are kept scrupul ously clean and neal
For instance, the lard used is high price
quality. The machines for "breaking
dough are thoroughly cleansed after eac
batch is used up, and the machinery tina
cuts the sheets of dough into crackers
kept as clean as any tidy house
keeper's extra set of knives and forks
When all ready for baking the dough
run through steel rolls to give it the rigf
thickness and cutting machine cuts on
the crackers which are placed on shelve
in reel oven, whence they drop, NIGEL
baked, into baskets. There is in this rool
smaller revolving or reel oven for oy ste
and butter crackers.
From the baking room we pass into I'll
hacking room where the crackers are r
ceived and packed after being baked. 4
| present number equivalent to 70 barre
a day is received and packed; "a of whic
are packed into cartons each contalnln
100 crackers. Geo. w. Smith originate
the style of carton containing these craze
ers, and this firm is the only one that al
] | tributes IT'S goods in the handsome, hle
grade Autographed cartons in which Il
Hanover crackers are received and an
tributed by the trade throughout Ne
England. The bulk of the cracker bus
ness of the firm is in Vermont and Ne
HAMPSHIRE but the demand for Hanov,
crackers Il gradually extending throug
out the Eastern states. In Massachusetts
for instance, Houghton & button of Bc
. ton handle about 10 barrels a week. Nj.
;, Donahue, who has been in the employ
!. the firm for the last four years. has char
of this room, and his chief assistant is Il
brother, o. P. Donahue, who has work.
in the mandatory eight years.
In addition to their own products g
10 firm handle other goods OF establish'
reputation in which they can deal to bett
4 advantage than they can themselves ma
ufacture. They sell, for example, lar
! variety of biscuit made by Kernedy's pa
cry of the National Biscuit Co. OF Cal
bridgeport, Mass. While awaiting orde
these goods are stored in what is call
the biscuit room leading from the packi
room. When ready for removal the
goods and crackers are easily placed II
wagon under covered way close by al