Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-09-10
SUGAR FACTORY
And Possibility of
Normal School

EnthuSlaStlc endorsement .
George c. Cary's plan to build a bi.
sugar factory in the Summerville dis
trict of st. Johnsbury to employ be
tween SO and 100 men was given a
meeting of the Commercial Clul
last night in Pythian Hall. The clul
voted unanimously to recommend tt
the town and village that Mr.. Car.
be given ten years tax exemption OF
the new property if he will locate
here instead of in other cities OF
towns which are striving to get thi.
business away from st. Johnsbury.
The club also gave its enthusiastic
support to a plan to bring the State
Normal School to St. Johnsbury.
President E. G. Asselin welcomed
the members to the meeting and in
referring to some of the accomplish,
mcnts of the Commercial Club men.
toned the recent Fourth of July eel
cbration which was a success in
every way and with all it's bills paid
The secretary announced that the
bills for the current year would be
sent out this month. He then pre-
sentcd the names of the following
new members, all of whom were
elected: Ralph Q. Hamilton, Ken
meth ]. Kirk, Roy d. Skinner, DR..
V. P. Genge, Ralph d Sherry, Her.
bert A. Smith, Impey & Cummings,
James B. Campbell, Daniel Noel,
Shirley X. Brigham, Fred c. Gibson.
The president then presented
George C. Cary, who was received
with hearty applause. Mr.. Cary in
a convincing and forceful manner
outlined his future plans and gave a
brief history of the development of
the maple sugar business in St.
Johnsbury.
"Caledonia county is about the sixth
in the list of sugar producing coun-
ties in the state being lead by Or
leans, Franklin, Washington, Rut-
land and Chittcnden and St. Johns
bury is not by any means the largest
sugar producing town in this county
as it is behind Danville, Lyndon and
Groton. But l started the maple sug-
ar industry in St. Johnsbury some 27
years ago and now this town is the
recognized maple sugar center of the
world. l used to sell the sugar in
tubs, but gradually found that Can
ada was getting the trade and that
the big dealers would not take the
Vermont product. The dealers
would pay four or five cents more
pound for the Canadian sugar be-
cause they could buy it in cakes. So
I turned my attention to boiling the
syrup into cake sugar, boiling the
product at 253 degrees and soon
found that every customer wanted
cake sugar. We put it up in better
shape than the Canadian product,
with a registered trademark, and
soon brought the big buyers back to
Vermont so that the past season $50
carloads of cake sugar were produc-
ed at our factory.
"In the past much of our sugar has
never come to st. Johnsbury, but has
been shipped from our warehouses in
Ohio, New York, Maine, Vermont
and Canada. Now the business has
grown to such proportions that we
want a factory that will take care of
three or four carloads day and an
annual product of several hundred
cars. While White River Junction,
Rutland and Burlington may be bet
ter shipping points, on the whole St.
Johnsbury is now regarded as the
central sugar producing place of the
world. l expect our company will get
the same privilege on billing the cars
from the starting point to destination
with stop over at st., Johnsbury,
and if so all the cars would come to
st. Johnsbury and the product be
melted at the new factiry. i
81 have already bought lot be-
yond the Follensby mill in Summer
vile and would like to erect on it a
building about 20 by $50 feet. This
would allow us to install 80 steam
kettles of 200 gallons capacity, where
we only have ten now, and give US
a chance to handle at least a dozen
cars at time. The past year we had
Is cars arrive in day and
it was great problem how to un-
Other cities haveapproach-
me for exemption and suggest
ed other inducements, but l started
this business in St. Johnsbury 27
years ago and consider this my home.
But l do feel that the town ought to
do well by us as it has done by out
side manufactures. do not want
any exemption on any of my proper
ty except the proposed new industry.
We will do our part as in the past.
expect the new factory will employ
from so to 100 men and they will be
employed most of the year and per-
haps throughout the year. We will be
able with our larger factory to buy
as much syrup as we can obtain and
then market it in cake form" )
Mr.. Shields then read the proposed
petition. to be presented to the select
men and village trustees calling spec
al meetings to exempt the new prop
erty, and by rising vote it was
voted that these meet
ngs should be called as soon as pos
'ible and that the Cary property
should be exempted from taxation
or period of ten years.
James Cosgrove supported this
MEASURE, saying that he understood