dave ziegler Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Here is the rest of the Story as told me by Al Landis. Jacob G Kinsey Married Edna Longacher and Al Landis's Grandfather Henry Landis Married Annie Longacher they were sisters and that is how Al's family is related to Jacob G Kinesy! In 1933 Jacob G Kinsey came to see Hoarce Landis son of Henry Landis and Al's Father he wanted Hoarce to come work for him reopening the Kinsey Distillery Mr Kinsey was 75 yrs, old and taught Hoarce Landis to be a master Distiller. The #12 Still was a Continueous Still and the #10 was a Batch Still as told me by Al. Hoarce would come in every morning at 6:00-AM and run the #12 still till about noon each day. production back then was 80 barrels a day. Mr Kinsey hired Al at 17 yrs old to help with barreling and racking Barrels once things got going. When Hoarce came in at 6:00-AM Mr Kinsey would come over every morning before eating His Breakfast and go to the Boiler room to make sure the man running it had 100 pound of steam up before they started the #12 still. Mr Kinsey had two childeren A Girl named Edna and a Son named Nuewt. Al Told Me he racked the first 20,000 barrels of Whiskey in Warehouse out front next to where the Old Bottle house later built by Jacob Kinsey is.AL Landis & a Man named Oscar Tyson dumped the very first Barrels of Whiskey to be bottled there after Prohibition. They bottled them at that time in the Building that had the old Batch still in it the Kinsey Dsp-pa- #10 Rye Still, the Building a large Barn like building of which I have put many pictures in these Threads. Al Landis left Kinesy after 5 yrs His Father Hoarce remained the Master Distiller at Kinsey after Continental bought the place in fall 1939 and ran it till early 1951 when it was shut down in favor of the newer still's Continental had in Phila. Hoarce continued to work there and retired in 1963 after working security for Continental during his last years there he was very well Liked By Si Neuman and in late 1963 / 1964 Mr Neuman talked Hoarce Landis into coming back out of Retirement for a bit and going over to Scotland to help set the Still's he was building up and training men to be master Disitiller's there. Al's son Ken was in the service then in Germany and one day Mr Neuman was over there he asked Hoarce is there anything special I can do for you for all the work you have done to make this a sucess. Hoarce told him About his grandson Ken being in Germany and Mr Neuman paid to have him flown to Germany from Scotland to visit his grandson. After the stills were working good around 8 months or so Hoarce came home and retired for good. Three Generations of Landis's worked At Kinsey Hoarce his whole life, Al 5 yrs things got slow and he was laid off and went to work for Packard and Ken Landis my friend from the days I worked there who worked around 20 + yrs there till it closed in 1986 after bottling Antifreeze there and other industrial products. Al Told Me as I have said Si Neuman Loved the Linfield Plant and hoped to build new modern Stills there very soon but age caught up with him and he passed and not long after Kinsey Closed forever. Al also Told me that back in the Angelo Myers days Mr Myers was always sponcering the Boy scouts in Linfield and contiuned many years after leaving Kinsey due to Prohibition. Al Told me Grand Pop Jake that is what they all called Jacob Kinsey was a very kind man who if you worked for him would do all he could to be of Help to you. All He wanted was a fair days work and if things got done early you would go home and get the full days pay every time. He had one thing in his mind when he reopened at 75 Yrs old and that was to make Kinsey a Whiskey People would be proud to drink!Dave ZKinsey The Unhurried Whiskey------------------------------Join The switch To Kinsey------------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Mr Kinsey was a very hard working man even at 75 yrs old and as I wrote earlier was up and down to visit the still every morning at 6:00-AM. He was not ready to let age keep the Kinsey Name from becoming one of the best makers of Whiskey and his dream not coming true. He knew with the end of Prohibition that The People who had drank Kinsey would come back if it returned to the Market! And His Kinsey Penna Rye was till prohibition becoming a very well liked Rye one of the best around in Pa. It went on to sell very well and only the fact of Age 80's and money lost alot when he had to close at Prohibition caused him to have to sell it to Continental Distilling. Continental had started in 1913 and was big enough it just went to making all industrial Alcohols till Proohibition ended and made alot of Money as theirs were the very best of Industrial Alcohol's. Dave Z Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon---------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory------------------------------------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 The One thing that was told to me over and over By Al Landis was that GrandFather Jake what they call him wanted at all costs for His Whiskeys to be The Very Best that Could be Made not good but BEST and all his living Days He tried his best. And That is Why on the Bottles that were made it stated Mr Kinseys personally garenttied them! His word was his bond and Cost did not matter if It meant a great Whiskey be it Rye or the others! And because of his want of Quality Contiental used his Promise for years on Kinsey Silver and Gold Whiskeys after they bought the Plant and the lable brands!Dave ZKinsey The Unhurried Whiskey-----------------------------Join The Switch To Kinsey--------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 Here is a shot of the Picture from an Old Broshure I had Jeff put this on from the broshure but since then I have blown it up on the copier at work and now posting it hoping it is good enough to see all of the Plant as this is a pictuure from early 1986 when Publicker was doing Antifreeze and other Alcohol things there it is from a Broshure titled The Place With Space! It is a complete Aerial Shot of the Plant if it is not good I will try again as this gives you an Idea How big the place is. Dave Z Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon ---------------------------------------------- It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory ----------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 Here is a shot of the Picture from an Old Broshure I had Jeff put this on from the broshure but since then I have blown it up on the copier at work and now posting it hoping it is good enough to see all of the Plant as this is a pictuure from early 1986 when Publicker was doing Antifreeze and other Alcohol things there it is from a Broshure titled The Place With Space! It is a complete Aerial Shot of the Plant if it is not good I will try again as this gives you an Idea How big the place is.Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon----------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory-----------------------------------------------Just a bit before Publicker left the Kinsey Plant they had this Aerial picture of most of the plant above thread put on a Broshure made up trying to get People to rent or lease space there. I was lucky enough to find one Old Broshure that was with others rotting in the Bottle house in one of the offices the booklet spoke of all the room there and lots of room to build other things also. It as I said before was called" The Place With Space " I am going to dig it out from where I have it and take some more pictures of its pages.Dave ZOld Hickory Ameria's Most Magnificent Bourbon---------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory------------------------------------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 Just a quick Note about the racks in the Explosion Proof Warehouses and the Warehouses They were made of the strongest steel of that time, The Warehouses were built just before WWII started and were offical Bomb Shelters during the war. In their time they were the State of art. Continental had all the lastest idea's in them including some heat and some venting and air moving Fans the strongest Cement Terricota floors about 2 foot thick with 3/4 steel rods in the Cement. They as I show way back here on this thread had a thermostat so if you were in there working you could bring the heat up a little bit. Each was spaced the same amount away from each other to prevent the chance of Fire going to the next one in line.Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon========================================== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 A 7:00-AM normal day taking Barrels from the racks would be our crew getting Papers stating what lots to pull and from what buildings. They could be from one end of the plant to another and also which of the Warehouses with a dump trough we were to dump at. Then we would pull the barrels roll them to the dock to be loaded on the 1941 Ford Flat trucks a peice of wood stuck under the last barrel that load maybe 10 barrels or so per load per all 3 trucks they would be hauled to the dump building and unloaded by a smaller crew which would line them up according to Number and lot. Once we had pulled all the Barrels we would go to the Dump building and get the barrels staged in Lot numbers for dumping and they had to be dumped just as the Papers stated not one barrel lot wrong! Then we would roll each barrel up making sure it and all the rest would come up at dump possition on the trough. Once this was done if there was time left we would get a start on the next days lots till 15 minutes to quiting time 3:30 PM. The days went fast and there were always enough of us so no one worked to hard.We were given Coveralls from the company and good leather gloves it was a dirty Job the barrels after sitting for years had dirt and rust on them and you could get your hand on a sharp edge so they took good care of us. They also got us shoes for almost nothing from the old Shoe repair Shoe store in Pottstown back then so all our needs were met including Heavy WWI type Winter Sub Zero Coats to wear when It was really cold in and out of the warehouses. Everyone that worked there got a free warm Nice Coat a Light Green color heavy strong material that was sort of water proof also. How many Companies did that then not many but Publicker Industries always did. That is why if you meet anyone who worked there on the street they will tell you they liked working there, they treated us with respect!Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon=====================================Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey----------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 I don't know how many of you have ever been it a warehouse full of Filled aging Wishey Barrels that has been closed for many days or weeks. It was one of the very best of my Memories there is nothing like the pure smell of heavy Whiskey fumes! The air filled with blue vapors it was always something I enjoyed very much! Then the Dumping and smellling the whiskey being poured in the trough It was a job I also liked alot. And of course you had sometimes to have a sample for sure. I never really thought about it being anything explosive it just smelled so Dam good. Sometimes it was almost enough to knock you on your Butt. Being there back then I could never have dreamed that the place would go under, it just felt like this was something so skillful and well liked you would never have thought that possible. Back then Our Whiskeys and other products were so good that companys would routinely buy our whiskeys and even have us bottle it for them alot of times. We did many Liqours for Jacquins and sold much in bulk also. If someone would have said Dave Publicker will be out of bussiness in about 15 years after you were gone I would have told them they were nuts. But sadly after Mr Neuman died many bad things happen to Publicker they had bad batches of Whiskey I have some old Papers on that subject and just alot of bad moves and managing.Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon--------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 This time of year coming on Oct was always a Very Busy time at Kinsey, more dumping and lots of Bottling going on. Even the Old Kinsey Bottle house was going full tilt making Liqours for the Holidays. Things seemed more Happy those days People seemed to enjoy the little things in Life and we had good days back then keeping busy and enjoying our Jobs. Lots of Coal would be coming in for the Two coal powered Boilers and oil for the Backup boiler. Rail cars full of Pa coal being routed right behind the grain building area to be unloaded. I have met people walking there that had no clue to what the place was and I even had a Kid try to tell me it was a of All Things old Winery I put him in the know quickly. It is so sad to see such a giant place sitting in ruin when I left there it was in great shape and In a way I am glad I was not there to see it die! I can sit and remember all the good times, like the one guy who every break ate sitting on the toilet his name was Jim and you meet all kinds of people in your life. We alway had local Prooducts for us to eat for break, A treat Soda's Allentown Pa, LG Chips Easton Pa. the company believed in using and buying Local products and all our bottles were from Diamond Glass in Royersford pa and some of our Labels from Boyertown Packaging corp both also gone now! Publicker always bought USA stuff and always Local stuff if Possible and always the best of quality our Labels were the best in the industry. The things I have in my collection one of a kind most likely our for me Memories and History and will keep the Company alive even though it is gone. Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon===================================It seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory--------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 http://www.encyclocentral.com/13042-Publicker_Industries_An_American_Distiller_Of_The_Past_Century.htmlDave, is this an accurate summary?"According to a $250 million redevelopment plan the old Publicker site is to be transformed into a superport with terminal facilities for passengers and commercial goods. In 1989 the Environment Protection Agency took legal action against Publicker Industries which agreed to pay $13 million for the clean up. The EPA in partnership with the state and a private redeveloper, Holt Cargo Systems Inc has cleansed the area of all toxic remnants and plans to redevelop the site as prime commercial port area." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 The One thing the EPA never tells is the fact that when Publicker closed they Sold the Plants down in Phila for the mere price of 3 million "worth 10 times more" for 40 acres along the river with a agreement that Overland wrecking would by getting it at the next to nothing price a Legally Drawn written agreement Enviromentaly clean it up so there would be no cost to anyone! I think it was early 1987 when overland went in and were careless and caught things on Fire and before the night was over went into Bankrupsey so even though Publicker had a Lawyer written agreement and sold it for next to nothing to get it cleaned right by them, and till then Overland was supposed to be a very good enviro clean up company.The Epa made Publicker pay 13 million and never wrote on their site about Overlands getting away with what they did. Holtz Cargo now owns it and got it for next to nothing so Publicker sold it for 3 million and then ended up paying 13 million more and the sad part because they are no more, other then me no one tells the story of How they tried their best to do the right thing and lost big the 13 million killed them from doing anything else and that is the whole story Jono.I understand that it was a mess but they did everything they could with their loses to get it done and the burdon of the 13 million finished them forever. When they closed it everything was still running and Overland was supposed to keep security there and to be carefull and you had guys torching pipe lines without checking for stuff in them and had a blow up and I think a guy got killed but also the EPA never says about how Overland was supposed to start asap and let it sit for many months with no protection and when they started I think it was the first day they did this and jumped into Bankrupsey.History will show that Publicker Did all they could and ended up at the bad end anyway. I keep thinking also about the people who did a hostil takeover into the company stock and forced them to stop making drinking Alcohol and then Industrial and buying a Flashlight Company of all things! As I have said Mnay times if Mr Neuman was Living none of this would have happen it would still be there and cranking out all our awesome brands. They also lost Kinsey and the guy that bought it Lets it rot for 22 yrs now. They had sold it in 1980 and leased / Rented all the tankage and the big Bottling house and as things got worse the Guy just kept on raising the rent till they quit and The Guy who bought it just shut everything off and walked away to leave it to go to ruin 22 yrs now. Mr Neuman if He could see Kinsey would turn over in his grave it was a very special place for him and if he would not have died I believe he would have built a new still there that is why DSP-Pa-12 stood all those years for the grandfather Law and in 1980 Publicker was trying to get the Government to partner in a gaint Gasohaul Plant they had a 70.5 Millon Gal ablity till they shut Phila down. I have an old Sticker that says lets become Fuel indenpdent Publicker Gasohaul fuels!A Very Sad story of a Once Great Company that always tried their best to do right.Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon===================================Inver House Soft As A Kiss--------------------------Philadelphia The Heritage Whiskey========================== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 On Tuesday I will turn 61 years old and so this weekend I am going back in time drinking what I have left from the Kinsey Distillery. Yesterday I drank two shots of Kinsey Silver from a 1978 bottle given to me By my old Friend from Kinsey Ludy, and a shot of Inver House Scotch from 1978 from a bottle I bought from a neighbor! Tonight I had something that most Likely I am the only one that can have it. It is a famous Kinsey / Continental Distilling Drink calledThe Edinburgh ExpressIt is a shot of Inver House Scotch & A Shot of Peanut Lolita on Ice and it is awesome!I have always loved our Peanut Lolita and we were the Only Company to make Peanut Liqour. And I am very lucky that even though I do not have many of our Products I do have many cases of Peanut Lolita It is made with Bourbon and Peanuts and it is wonderful! Alot of people like Hazel nut Liqour to me the Peanut is a million times better. It is 53 Proof and with scotch it is unbelieveable. I have never tired this drink before but it is on noted on the back label so in memory Of Continental I had two tonight! Back it the Day Continental had a bartenders school out in Ca. Tomorrow I will have shot of what is left of my Old Hickory and on Tuesday I will have one of the last shots of my Old Hickory! Today I took a walk through Kinsey again and just remembered the good old days there. Most people know of Our Caffe Lolita but the peanut is the Best one they ever made. I have enough that Most of the rest of my Life I can drink it and I am glad as I do not find much Old Hickory anymore. Everytime I drink one of our brands I remember how good our stuff was. For a blended Whiskey the Kinsey Silver is smooth and very flavorful a little wood in the taste and at 86.5 proof it rolls down very nice. Till Ludy gave me this bottle a Pint bottle I had never had Kinsey and I am glad and thankful to have been able to drink some 30 yr old Kinsey Silver! I will continue to look for Continental Products and hope to find some vintage Old Hickory again soon! It will always be my favorite Bourbon and I think It was one of the Best back in the day!Dave ZOld Hickory America's Mosy Magnificent bourbon------------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory----------------------------------------------Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey---------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Thanks Dave for your kind gift, brought to me over this past weekend by Joe and Doug, of some great memorabilia from Publicker. One is an artist's rendering of some lab work and other industrial scenes in the distillery in the "washed out" white and pastel style popular 30 years ago and the other is some blank 100 proof and other strip stamps on a roll and sheet all fresh and new-looking. The first item was a promo hand-out from Packaging Services of Publicker. Real cool and much appreciated, Dave, as were the two Reading beers you included (current re-creations of a 1950's-era beer). I tried one with Koji and we both agreed the beer was old school to be sure! I've got the canned one still and will offer taste notes soon in another thread. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted September 26, 2008 Author Share Posted September 26, 2008 New Information about Kinsey I got today From Ludy! Ludy Started at Kinsey in Mid 1936 and worked there till Late 1939 when Jacob G Kinsey went Bankrupt. He then for the rest of 1939 till Early 1941 ran a small car repair right out the road from Kinsey. In Early 1941 Publicker Bought Kinsey at Auction sale and rehired Ludy and Horace Landis Master Distiller and others that had been there. Till early 1941 the Plant sat closed and nothing done till It could go up for sale. I found this out today when asking Ludy about how many years he was there. If It would not have been closed he would Have 44 yrs but because of the closing time had 42 yrs from 1936 to Nov 1980. All that time Kinsey sat with Whiskey in the Warehouses being watched and waiting for the Government to over see the selling. Once Continental had the Place they started right away to build the Explosion proof Warehouses and fill them and put in all the Fire Safety Systems. And all the ground Keeping and such. This is great Information from Ludy and I am glad I got it. I had called him today as I am having something Made for him to remember his yrs of service I got something from the Plant and I am having it done for me by fricky. When I give it to Ludy I will see if he will let me get his picture with it. Sometimes it takes asking things to find out others as I have Learned. These Old Timers Know so much and i want to get all I can from them while they are here.Dave ZKinsey The Unhurried Whiskey------------------------------Join The Swing To Kinsey======================= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozilla Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Great info, Dave. So, the big warehouses started being built in the early 40's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 One of the weirdest things for me is that there are so few old Continental Bottles full or empty around even though they were so big then. I as everyone knows collect all the old Continental Distilling Bottles I can find and when you go to flee markets and yard sales you never see there stuff but you find alot of small distillers stuff from way back. The only thing I can figuer is that because they were the Worlds Largest no one saved their stuff thinking they will always be around. That has to be it as that happens with lots of things people collect and many years later they are rare because no one saved them. Or in the Case of Jim Beam they made so much and people all kept them thinking they would be rare and they are everywhere! I am still trying to get hold of Al Landis to find out if he knows what happen to all the Whiskey that was in Kinsey when Prohibition started, he is about the only one who might know as his Father Hoarce worked there his whole life and when it reopened was the Master Distiller there. Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon-----------------------------------------------Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey-------------------------------Inver House Soft As A Kiss------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 Yesterday I gave Ludy a Barrel Stave with Kinsey Distillery and his years of Service there lettered on it and clear coated Thanks to Fricky for making it up for me from a Barrel Stave I got about 3 weeks ago at the Plant! He could Hardly speak. Most of His Years there were being a Cooper and It was him that gave me my Coopers Hammers 40 yrs ago.I will be getting a picture of Him with his stave soon and post it.He told me something I did not Know, Lot of Things I don't and that was that the Little grooves at both ends where the Heads go on the staves were called the Croz Next time I visit Him I want to get more some Coopering Information from him. He said putting a barrel together you would fit all the pieces then he had a special Ring Clamp to put on one end then you would Filp it over.Next put the Middle Hoop or hoops depends on the barrel then the end , tighten them them flip and put the other end one on then it is all in the feel of getting them tight enough to be ready to fill it. I Remmeber watching him and other coopers there and being Amazed also it was a very Hard job I tried it your Hands hurt after so many Barrels as hitting one Hammer with another.Dave ZIt Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory--------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fricky Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Dave,I am happy to learn that Ludy liked the Stave.I would like to know more about the history of whiskey barrel manufacture. Maybe you could ask Ludy a few questions concerning the consistency of the the length and thickness of barrel staves. What was the source of the components? Did their supplier work to specific specifications? Was their a quality control process for insuring component dimension consistency?Thanks,Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 Fricky and anyone else that wants to Know I just talked to Ludy and The staves and heads were all made at Publickers Cooperage Plant in Marcus Hook Pa. The reason for the different Widths was so you could get the Barrels to the right size. Our Standard barrels when we used the racks were two sizes. 48 gal & 50 gal . When Ludy wanted to learn to be a cooper He went to school at the Marcus Hook Plant they learned how to make all the components to make a barrel. They used tools to put the Croz in the staves to fit the heads. They Learned how to fit them togther with paper thin strips of wood between all the staves and each section of the heads which are wooden Dowed together with these strips. The strips are called Flagan they help to swell the barrel so it does not leak. When he and all the others learning finished the course they had to build their own 6 gal barrel. I remembered after he told me that he had showed me his Barrel He still has it and the Papers for Passing the test in Cooper School. Marcus Hook Plant had many Engineers and many Barrel making machines and tools. The barrels were built there and if needing repairs were fixed at Kinsey. All the parts were made at Marcus Hook and even when they built the 120 Gal and bigger Barrels they were made there, different Lenths were for bigger or smaller size Barrels. From what I have learned at that time Continental Had the biggest Cooperage Plant in the world! I will continue to ask him what I can and he told me his daughter took his picture with the Stave and is going to get it developed and give it to me so I can post it. He turned 90 on Sept 12 of this year. Dave ZOld Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon----------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fricky Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Dave,Thanks for the additional information. I understand the variation in stave widths; however, I still do not understand the variation in stave thicknesses. It would be interesting to see a picture of the barrel that Ludy made after completeing his training.Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 Dave,Thanks for the additional information. I understand the variation in stave widths; however, I still do not understand the variation in stave thicknesses. It would be interesting to see a picture of the barrel that Ludy made after completeing his training.DougOne more thing I forgot Fricky I knew about it but just plain forgot Publicker also Had a smaller Cooperage Plant in ST Louis Mo. They also Had a Bottling house In Lement Il. It was from the time of The Phila Bottling house and some of my Old Bottles say Lemont Il and Phila and the newer ones post 1966 say Lemont Il and Linfield Pa. They also had a large Chemical Plant in La. And a large Lab in Edystone Pa. and one on Chestnut St in Phila!Dave ZKinsey The Unhurried Whiskey----------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 One of the Hardest Jobs I had once I was bumped in the Warehouse was stacking the new 120 & bigger Barrels. They were so big they almost were round like metal barrels would be. We had to lift them on the Piles with a lift and have gangs of men work them in place. The fact that they sat on their Heads caused much leaking and the Whiskey fums were rather nice! To empty them we had a pump the whiskey out and to do that flip the barrel over to do it. The whiskey was then pumped into the Dump troughs in the buildings that had them. To Me it was one of the few mistakes Continental made trying to be ahead in the latest stuff. Scotch still always came in the 48 & 50 Gallon barrels and later on they also made 48 & 50 gal barrels for whiskey and Bourbon and rye again and stacked them. Ludy said to me That the Big ones were a Night mare for leaking at the head! Another thing they did was to put strips of charred Wood in the big barrels to get a better quality of Whiskey. They called them Floaters! In the end they went back to the smaller barrels sadly the racks were gone so stacking was all that could be done with them.I think the fact that while I was still there they started again filling the 48 & 50 Gal barrels alot and stacking them showed that they Knew the Big Barrel Idea was not good and very wasteful. The small barrels at least did not leak bad and were easier to work on and fix and flip back up and dump in the trough as no Pump needed. I am going to try and talk to a friend that worked there when I did around my Age to get any Points I have forgotten about the Big Barrel days. Also the day I took Fricky and Phils fan to Kinsey we saw one of the old Big Barrel hoops it wasDave ZIt Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old HickoryAmerica's most magnificent Bourbon================================ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Early this morning I got Al Landis on the Phone to ask him if His father Horace had ever said anything about whiskey that was at Kinsey when Prohibition started. His Dad never really said anything but He said Jacob Kinsey did not have alot of Barrles of Whiskey at that time and there were only the two small Wood and brick warehouses then. He said I did hear from some old timers that there were a few full barrles there but no one knew how many or what became of them! I will continue to talk to these Men I know to get as much as I can about the Place. By the way in doing some computer research I found the certs for Kinsey to be a War supplier for WWII for Alcolhol and grain and Livestock. But it just listed that and gave no details on how much. They were very early on in the war effort and that does not surprise me as they were always proud to be An American Company! They gave free whiskeys to the Men frighting the war and always donated Whiskeys to the Service Clubs for the Men.I was told by Ludy that I am the official Historian for Kinsey and Continental. He told me keep up the good work and that was a very neat thing to have one of these men say you are doing a great job keep it up.By the way when Publicker went out of Bussiness Ludy told me they made sure they all got their Pesions and to this day he gets his. They made arrangments for the Government to take the money in a fund so they would get their Pension. When you think how many places would have took it and ran today that is the way Publicker was.Dave Z--------------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old HickoryAmerica's Most Magnificent Bourbon-------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave ziegler Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 The Next time I talk to Ludy I want to ask him if he has any Idea how many Barrels we would dump on any given day. I know it was alot and if we had to take them to another warehuse to dump as some warehouses did not have troughs the old 1941 Ford trucks would be roaring back and forth all day. We had 3 when I started and two left when I left. One green one and two Primer red ones. We used to crank them up pretty good and fly back and forth and the only thing holding the barrels was a block of wood. I don't know of anyone that lost any off the trucks. We also later had a green 1953 Dodge light duty Flat truck it did not have the Pull power of the Flat Head Fords and only hauled half as much. But it had sides and we would get rides on it at days end and also to the break room back then, As the Place was so big.They had rails all the way to the very end of the road just before the Steer Pens and had a siding at the Weigh Blend House back there for tanker cars and could put a box car in front of any of the Explosion proof Warehouses.Back in the day they would bring box cars full of Barreled Whiskey to each warehouse and unload them.Taking the barrles out to the dock and on the truck took alot of time as we would go to whatever floor our paperwork said and then use a one barrel at a time Lift to lower the barrels out of the racks then one at a time on the cradle in the Elevator and down to the first floor then to the truck then to the Building with the trough and dump them and what ever we pulled had to be dumped that day. Some times we got done early and could take it easy other days we had to really move.There would be another team dumping where we took the barrels and that was a regular day in the warehouse back in 1969!Dave Z--------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old HickoryAmerica's Most Magnificent Bourbon========================== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozilla Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 How many people were on your team for work that day? Were the other crews about the same size? How many would be working in the 1965 bottle house durring the holiday season...would you hire extras? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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