A trip in to the Old Continental Bottle house 1966 State of the Art

[sandiefett]

Sorry about all those replies. Have to find out how to reply correctly. Vaguely remember something about a bad batch of liquor. If memory serves me correctly, the company tried to blame it on bottles that sat around too long. Don't remember outcome. I know that every once in a great while someone found a fly in a full bottle and sent a nasty letter, bosses would come out and raise cain, saying the bottles were not blown out enough. On some of the bottling lines, the bottles were blown out by hand and some had automatic blowers. Most of the flies were found in the bottles from the automatic blowers. County Fair was a good brand and I always liked the labeling. Did not like doing BIB, too much commotion, paper work, had to seal the room (so to speak). As a production clerk, it was a lot more responsibility for me. Had to account for every government and state stamp at end of run and especially had to make sure I did not go over the order, which was difficult. Boy, you sure are bringing back memories. After 22 years with the USPS I had forgotten a lot of them.

Hey Sandie do you remember during the last months the bottling house still was bottling Whiskey of a bad batch of Governors Club that had a musty,moldy smell? I found some old Letter head and some old copies of Letters to state stores and the company from Troy NY and Kenmore NY about bad Whiskey. Also I found some letters begging the Company to find out where they could get Some County Fair Bottle in Bond Bourbon. One from a Man in Memhpis TN who traveled to Montano every summer and got County Fair Straight Bourbon there and He asked if they could give him places in Tn, Ok or Miss where he could get it when at home in the Winter,and He wants some Badly the letter is dated 10/10/79. Quite a statement of How Good Our County Fair Was. I am lucky to have a couple of Old Bottles and have a wee bit now and then. The Mans name was Robert R. Milner and He said ours was the very Best!
Hope you can give information on the bad batch of Governors!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Well Here are some shots gotten about two weeks ago inside the 1966 Bottling house.
1. Back side of bottling house safety sign
2. Other side of sign
3. Cabinets in Quality Lab
4. Another shot in the Lab
5. Honeywell quality Instruments
6. One of the Units they all have the paper disc in for a day that never came!
7. Pumps with stainless heads missing stolen
by the creep that stole stuff all during Christmas last year after telling people he was buying the place so he could steal. May his Luck Be rotten for many years to come!
8. Explosion Proof Telephone like mine but ruined.
9. Old Candy vending machine lunch room with remains of candy never removed
10. Bottom of vending machine note the old candy wrapper at bottom some kind of Peanut bar.
11. Looking down from the hill at O warehouse at the 1966 Bottling house on the right you can hardly see it for the trees.
Well thats it for 1966 bottle house pictures I will be putting some plant pictures on the Memories Thread also!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[G.H.Adams]

Dave

Thanks for all you do as it's a shame that Pa. and this countries distilling history is being allowed to disappear. It should be preserved for the future.

[dave ziegler]

Thanks Greg this is a work of Love in memory of the Old Distillery and Publicker Industries! I was overwelmed when I walked into H warehouse the last one ever built by Jacob G Kinsey in 1936 at the age of 78 years old, so I feel a duty to preserve and talk of the days Of Kinsey and Publicker Industries.

The Old Warehouses were not a place for someone big or tall as looking at my pictures in the last post of the space between the racks where you rolled the barrels out was very tight. Looking up I saw one of the old original wooden barrel holders on a chain on the wooden rail, I am going back this weekend to try and get it for History.

I will also try to get some more last shots while it is standing. What memories came back looking at the controls in the Feight Elevator. You would have to be super careful to not load anymore then the right amount of Barrels or you ended up like me crashing hitting bottom.

It is very hard for me seeing the Oldest buildings ruined like they are, but It is important to me to show everyone looking here what the areas look like so you can imagine how it was back in the day! It was truely The Most Beautiful Distillery in the World back in the days I worked there.
Dave Z
It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[G.H.Adams]

Dave

Good luck and be careful. Those old building can crumble under your feet before you know it. I like to explore old abandoned mines both silver and copper in the southwest. I've had some close calls and my wife thinks I'm stupid. But it is what it is. We all do what we like.

If it was not for the work you are doing, all this distilling history, about Kinsey and Publicker would just fade away.

[dave ziegler]

Here are some more of my Warehouse H return trip pictures!
1. A very Old Water Fire extinguer from the Late 1930's 1940's gotten for History from warehouse H
2. I found and brought out a 11 foot long wooden Pole that has a hook and point on its end this was used in the Old warehouses to reach high when in the racks to pull the wooden shock out from the last barrel and to push and pull barrels in hard to reach area's. I took it to my Friends place till I can figure how to get it home.
3. First shot looking up the racks with Fire Sprinkler Line.
4. Where second level door was front of Frieght Elevater
5. Looking up at the racks in Warehouse H there were 5 main levels with each floor having lettered sections divided by numbered sections so you could easily find the Lot of Barrels you wanted.

Dave Z -- Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey For Unhurried Moments

[Roadsaw]

The pole looks like a old pike pole used in the fire service. Of course there are many uses for them.

[dave ziegler]

Today the first thing I want to talk about is people who live in Pa and are the Worst Vandels of all in that They look on here see my Pictures then go steal stuff that is Historic they see in my pictures! I hope they get caught and go to Jail. Example 3 weeks ago when I first went into Warehouse H I found two old Fire Extingusers and brought the best one Home also in my Picture of the Elevator there was an Old No Smoking sign which I left for history on the wall and Now when I look at my picture with me in the Elevator the sign is gone, as well as the extinguser.
My wish for all of them is that if they are stealing after looking at my pictures here is the Police take them in, they are not one bit better then the worse thriefs. No doubt the exstinguser went for scrap and they have no feeling about destroying things.

Even in my pictures these creaps are destroying Kinsey. But enough I had an idea that someone was looking for this reason so I did not talk about the old solid Brass elevator Plate the last neat thing for History left in H, till I got it Last week I was worried when I saw it clearly in my shot but It is safe at Kinsey east marked placed in a safe holder and ready to be given to a Museum when my days end It says "Reading Elevator Company."

Everything I have gotten I give to museums or if I have alot to people I know to keep the memory of Publicker and Kinsey alive. I have a letter witnessed by five co workers dated and signed in my bank box with my will stating none of my Distillery stuff can be sold it all has to go to Museums and Historic societies for this reason. To me to sell any of this historic stuff is to sell out History.

When My Friend who was the top man in Marketing for Publicker told me I was to be the offical Historian for the Company I relised all the things My History Teacher taught me and the 2 years I worked in a Antique Auto Museum led to my great love for the saving of History.

On a day you would work in Warehouse H it would be cool like the newer warehouses but the Lighting was not as good and there were less vapors as the building was not as tight as the newer explosion proof ones. There was one door in and one dock and the only way to get the barrels out was through the front door, not easy as the door was just wide enough for the barrels and not a bit more. This warehouse unlike the older wood and brick ones did not have ladders going up the five levels. The Only way up was the freight elevator. Full The Building held 20,000 48 gal barrels.

Once you were up with a very small explosion proof lift someone would get in the space and start rolling barrels out of the section the papers for that day picked. It was dirty work as the small space and the Dust that was on the wooden racks.

Also that Old Pole I got from H warehouse was used to reach up in the 3rd rack above your head as it was just below the next level unless you were tall but then you spent your time bent over in the racks.

You would use the hook on the pole to pull the chained wood schock that held the barrels in place out and you could use the Hook to pull barrels that you were having a hard time reaching.

The one thing I had never thought about back then and no doubt the reason most of the fire drills were done in this area, was The only way in was the front door and the only way down from the upper levels was the freight elevator. If anything Happen and you were up top you would have been done for. But because we felt very safe working at Kinsey for Publicker it never came to my mind till all these years later.

You had just that one door to get out and on the upper levels their were a couple on windows but you would have had to get through them and jump somehow.

When I think about this I just relise how safe Kinsey was in spite of the presnt dangers of the Explosive stuff there! It makes me proud to have worked there.
Also I am sorry for the negative stuff earlier about the Thiefs going into Kinsey but it breaks my heart when someone destroys or steals for scrap money from History. History is bigger then all of us and it must be kept and passed on. I am one of a few people left that worked there and I feel very serious about telling the History of Publicker Ind./Continental Dist/and Kinsey Dist!
Dave Z
Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey For Unhurried Moments

[dave ziegler]

Today I want to post some more of the actual operating pictures of the 1966 Bottle House & the Old Kinsey Bottle House known as "Happy House or HH" That Sandie Kindly sent me.
Here are a few more blasts from the past something is screwy on the way they Loaded so I have click on another picture to get the one I want so here we go back to those wonderful days and Bourbon and Liquors and much more at Both the 1966 Bottle House and the Old Kinsey Bottle house!
1. Bottles running down one of the middle lines in the Big Continental Bottle house for repairs, the good news if I mess up what is going on Sandie can tell more about it.
2. Inver House Scotch Miniatures running down the line, Sandie says this was one Job they did not like much doing the Miniatures.
3. Cal Roberts The Fire Chief taking a break in the Lunch room in the 1966 Bottling house vending machines in back ground.
4. Back incoming area of The Big Bottle House
5. Nellie stamping the serial number on each case of Skol Vodka before it passes through the last bulhead wall to be put on a pallet. At the end of each line where the box passed through there was a sprinkler just for safety.
6. Bottling Liquors in the Old Kinsey Bottle house the Blonde Lady was Steffie. The Girls called the Old Origianl Kinsey Bottle House "Happy House" because you could get a drink there much easier then in the big bottle house.
This was the glory days for the Old Kinsey bottle house and it looks great.
7. Caff'e Lolita applying neck strippers labels to the bottles The fence tells me they were putting the neck strippers on at the Big Bottle house after they were brought over there by fork lift on Pallets from the Old Bottle house for shipping. That Fence still stands in the big bottle house in the middle lines. Sandie notes that they ran out of something in the labeling and finished them in the big bottle house.

I will try to get some more of these pictures to work and put on here soon, looking at them I almost feel like I am a 19 year old Guy going in the Old Bottle house to clean it for operation, those were the Days!
Enjoy these very Historic pictures and Thanks Sandie for sending me these from your old scrap Book.
Dave Z - It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Today lets take a walk back to sept 1966 the day I started working at Kinsey. The first thing I had to do was report to the Plant nurse to give her my information, height,weight color of eyes. Then she told me Young man always be careful not to get hurt, and especialy after 2:00 pm as that was when she had her bourbon and coffee for health reasons. By order of her doctor. Being young I believed her and thought the Poor women. Later I found out she enjoyed a big Coffee and bourbon every day and one day I walked in at 2:00 Pm to say hi, to see her with her giant stephosope on a guys chest at his heart saying I can't hear your Hreat he sat here with his eyes rolling back and I hurried out before I brust into Laughter there. She had drank too much Bourbon and coffee.

The next thing the first day was to report to my New Boss John Zuber and very nice man and a great boss to work on the yard gang. I remember that first week we had one of the dirtiest jobs on the gang emptying a couple of rail car loads of Coal.

No mask just my coveralls up in the car standing on the coal pushing it down to the opening below. When the day was done not only was the coal black you were too! Having had asthma as a kid it was hard breathing up there.

Another early job I put in for was sweeping all the old buildings out front the old Dsp-pa-12 still and grain buildings. The first thing I saw sweeping was the really old Honeywell paper disc quality machines, which had fresh new disc's never used in each place from spring 1951 the last time it ever ran!
Then there was the Old cyprus fermenters the one next to where we rang out full of Carp and sucker fish from the river the guys had put in years ago. We fed them every day at quiting time. We were told by the guys only Wonder bread for them for strong bones and bodies like the old ads.

Then there was the week we had to clean sweep the rear fire escapes of each explosion proof warehouse. I never saw so many dead pidgeons and we no masks those days so we were blowing black dirt out of our noses all week.

When winter came there was snow to be shoveled and always stuff to haul down to the dump down on the way to the river.

One fond memory I have there was John Zuber my boss and I had just a tiny amount of trash on the old 1946 Blue ford Pickup we used. John said to me Take the trash down to the dump. It was 35 minutes till quiting time, it is going to take you till 10 minutes before quiting time to unload then come back and pick me up. It took about 2 minutes to unload so I sat and took it easy till time to get the boss.

I will write more about working each day soon. But the one thing I want to say is every single one of the Old Kinsey buildings was well kept and clean and sprinkled and sweept out regularly. Every building including ones not used for anything were kept right up to standards always. Roofs were fixed if they leaked, things were really in good condition. They had full electric power and were sprinkled.
Dave Z
------------------------------------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon