The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1956-06-07
Imperial Plant
To Close Doors
Will Continue To Make Cot
tuqe Cheese For Limitde
Time Only

Intentions to completely close the
Imperial Ice Cream plant of the
Fairmont Foods company within
90-day period, was announced this
week by company officials
The plant will cease receiving
graded milk as of June Is, but will
continue to produce cottage cheese
for a three months period.
Closing of the plant, which will
affect eighteen employees, eighty
milk patrons, and in fact the en-
tire community, is due to excessive
costs and other economic problems,
it was pointed out by F. Paige Hick-
man, manager
Due to regulation of the Health
Department which went into effect
last August the plant was not per-
mitted to use ungraded milk for
the manufacture of ice cream, and
it was found to be too costly to use
the grade A milk for this purpose.
We simply have to move to an
area where the hauling problem
will not be such an item Mr.
Hickman said
A letter to the patrons of the
plant explain the problem the com
pany has had since curtailing the
milk receipts in order to comply
with regulations in the state and
counties where the milk was used
and distributed.
The company contacted Mary
land and Pennsylvania firms and
it was announced that the H. w.
Walker company, of Somerset, Pa,
would buy all the milk and pay as
much as the patrons have been re-
ceiving from the Imperial company.
Mr.. Hickman said that effective
June Is his company would pay
condenser prices for all milk re-
ceived but that the quantity would
be limited to what can be used in
making cottage cheese. He said they
would be able to handle 800 gal
Ions a day, which is about a fourth
of what is being handled today.
AT the present time the COM
pany's eighty patrons have been
bringing in approximately $4,000
gallons Of milk per month which
amounts to a monthly payroll of
some $4,000 Prior to last August
the company had about 300 patrons.
Mr. Hickman announced that as
of June Is, six persons would be
relieved of their positions, Albert
Upole Wade Janoske, James P.
Kemphfer, Jr, Julian Erwin,
Claude Rodeheaver and Jasper
Purnell Twelve other persons will
be retained on temporary basis
and it was probable that these
twelve would be transferred to po-
sitions in other plants of the terri
tory. MIR. Hickman expects to be
transferred to another operation
on June 80
This will mean a loss in payroll
of about $4,000 per month, it was
stated
The plant began operations here
many years ago as cooperative, and
operated as a milk receiving sta
ton for number of years prior to
being taken over by the Imperial
Ice Cream company. In recent
years it has been a part of Fair
mont Foods. Managers in recent
years have been Prentice DeBerry
and the late D. c. Updyke Mr..
Hickman has been manager of the
local operations for the past six
years.
The economic situation does not
affect the Carnation company oper-
ations, since its product is process
sed and canned and comes under
the Pure Food and Drug laws and
is not regulated by State Health
department laws.
Howard White, local manager of
the Carnation company, which has
milk receiving station here, said
this morning his company would
accept any amount of acceptable
milk at its local station.
Mr.. Hickman stated that the
closing of the local plant here
would not affect the delivery of
ice cream products to any of the
local area.