Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1918-09-04
FROM COLORADO.
Somewhere in Colorado

OOAacWuSF0 Ill colorado"
August, 1918.
Dear Mr.. Editor
would like to tell you of a drive
| look the other day; picnic supper at
Longmont and how / saw the sur go
down behind the Rockies, just north
OF Longs Peak.
also wish to tell you about a SUI
gar factory; and as most people are
interested in that sweet subject Just
now, | will tell that first.
The Great Western Sugar Co. have
seventeen or more beet sugar factor
les, most of them in Colorado, and I
visited the n at Longmont.
Receiving permission al the office
we drove into the grounds and out
to the rear of the buildings where an
immense potash pit is being made.
After watching the various activ-
tiles for half an hour the closing
whistle blew and you should have
seen those Mexicans drop their work
and hike.
The factory, tho bot running, was
very interesting to visit. 1t is all
immense building entirely flied with
machinery. No partitions ana few
floors; Just stairs and cement plat
forms.
We saw the great coal chute and
the furnaces where coal is quickly
changed to ashes. The heat thus pro-
duced creates all needed energies.
There are machine shops. blacksmith
shops, electrical department and the
wonderful machines that make sugar.
They buy no lime but make it all from
lime rock and then purify it. The best
juice is twice purified by lime. / saw
ten great ovens where sugar is cook
ed and twelve huge "churns" where
it is c~rystalized. The campaign opens
about October and if | can see the
real work will understand it better.
Fol some years the pulp of the beet
has been saved and used for various
purposes, and we saw a large nit in
which it is stored.
But the Potash Pit is rather a new
idea. During the campaign the re-
fuse Juice will he run out into this
pit and stored until the sugar making
is all over. Then this juice will be
run back through the factory and can
verified into potash. Isn't it wonder
full?
The pit has four steep s1oping sides
or banks. The bottom measures about
480 feet long by 240 feet wide. At
present it is being marked off into 10
foot squares and on the lines trench
es are dug which are filled with con-
crete stills. When dry the stills are
painted with asphalt.
When earth-work and laying of
stills is finished the entire surface,
sides and bottom will be covered with
REINFORCED concrete and around the
top will be a wall or railing of con-
crete three feet high.
The pit is thirty feet deep and will
contain four and one-half million GU
bic feet of liquid. 1t is a wonderful
structure and a fine piece of engin-
eering.
There is no time left to tell OF the
trip. Will just mention the smooth,
hard roads, Left-Hand canon, (nam-
ed from an Indian chief the two can
ons leading from the ST. Vrain 90 Es-
tes Park and the town of Lyons.
Along the foothills is mostly wild
pasture land or range" The pasture
is composed of stones and boulders,
sage ana cactus and the cattle look
pretty good at that!
Around LOngmount is a fine farm
ing country. l saw splendid crops OF
corn and grain; apples and alfalfa in
abundance; men putting up the sec
ond crop of hay; and numerous lakes
and irrigation bitches.
Best of all as the view of the great
Rockies outlined against the after
glow of a clear sunset sky. Would
ike to tell you the names of all the
Peaks / learned from a man who sur
veyed all this country into townships,
but l must close. Kindest regards to
all.