The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-22

MIR. P. J. SERIO
 General manager of the Birmingham
 macarOni factory.
 the factory and his genius for making spaghetti is too well known all over this district by his friends and his business associates to need comment. l Mr. Serio was, as we say in the south. raised" on spaghetti
 T came to this country when I was years old,' he told me. "and I have never been in any other trade expect l the macaroni and spaghetti business l am proud to say that we make the | best spaghetti in the country right here at the Birmingham Macaroni fac l tory. Our equipment surpasses any other and besides we know how to do | 1t just like they do on the other side | France and Italy are the greatest spa ghetti countries in the world and had monopoly as long as we couldn't get | the proper flour in this country to | make the foods with. Those countries i drew on Russia for their supply until it was practically exhausted and now wheat flour Is shipped in great quan- titles from ths country to those coun- tries for the purpose of making spa ghetti.'
 MT. Serio took us from the first floor
 of the building where the initial stages | in the making of spaghetti are seen | up to the drying" rooms, which are | almost indescribable ic ther interest 1 Great rooms are filled with the shin
 ing, gleamlng sticks of spaghetti Gin
 which by the way no coloring matter is used, only the natural color of the
 flour), hanging from suspended rods.
 make sight never tc be forgotten one which the average person knows little, if anything, about, and which is
 an event in anybodys life to witness. | It takes about four days to ''cure- | spaghetti and there are different rooms used as the drying process goes on. After the spaghetti is dried it is- con- veyed by machinery to a huge depart ment where. 35 or more girls-brown | eyed, olive skinned, black haired girls some Italian, some Syrian. others just plain American like us are engaged in packing it.
 The boxes-always the Eagle | Brand' with the blue and gold dress | go through d process of "sealing''-. | all by machinery you understand-the
 bottom of the box being sealed and sent on to be filled with spaghetti. Thirty-five boxes a minute pass through the hands of the girl who has | this task to perform, and at the other end of the line the girls weighing and | filling the boxes perform their work, and now the filled box is conveyed into another piece of machinery and sealed. | The great fingers of the machine,
 glue-tipped look like human fingers | as they reach out and seal the little
 blue and gold boxes as they muster by in review.
 MT. Serio has invented a most remarka-
 ble piece of machinery. which is now on | the market for sale, for the cutting of l spaghetti before it is ready for packing. 1 The old way was to use a saw but that
 is quite obsolete now and the great bum | dies of spaghetti run through a piece of
 machinery which looks like a wheel, the
 knife or saw going right through the
 middle of the sticks of spaghetti, cutting | 1t just the length of the box into which
 it is to be placed.
 After the boxes are filled, large cases are in waiting, each to be packed with
 25 boxes Gone pound each) of the spa ghetti.
 l It is really one of the most interesting sights imaginable. and one thing that im- pressed me so forcibly about the Birming- ham Macaroni factory was it's extreme | cleanliness.
 l Spotless to a degree, immaculate in every way. shape and form. it Is really
 eppetizing to see just how beautifully this food Is put up.
 Birmingham Macaroni factory makes l noodles" This Is done by large sieves
 being placed at the end of big machines | which cut the macaroni into small pieces and turn 1t out in great quantities only
 to be replaced by other sieves to catch | more.
 The nutritious qualities of macaroni have recently been emphasized greatly by | eminent physicians all over the world
 and the hospitals, colleges and other in- | st.tutions all over the country patronize largely the Birmingham Macaroni fac- | tory.
 | Mir. Serio besides knowing thoroughly the art of manufacturing macaroni and spaghetti, knows how to cook it. as many epicures in Birmingham can testify, who
 have enjoyed a dish of spaghetti made by him.
 1 It may be of interest to the housekeep- 1 CTS of Birmingham to know that upon in-
 quiry Mir. Serio will be glad to furnish his
 recipe. the real Italian recipe for cooking spaghetti.
 can't close this story about the Bir-
 mingham Macaroni factory without tell
 ing you about their mascot" l The cunningest little brown eyed: curly headed boy you ever saw, packing
 the blue and gold Eagle Brand, boxes
 into the great cases-stands at his post
 like sentinel durink working hours. the factory.
 The youngsters real name Is Frank
 Grago--but he wouldn't recognize him. | self by that name if you called him. he
 cause his nick name is Buck shot''--
 and as "Buckshot" he is known far
 and wide-by all who know and like him.
 1 Birmingham is rich in industries-
 industries which many a housek eeper doesn't know the existence of, and vet | foodstuffs from these places are on the table every day in the year. | How many houseekepers, for instance,
 know that Eagle Brand spaghetti is Made in Birmingham" How many housekeepers have ever taken the trouble to find out?
 1r ths. day of 70 much "pure food"