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

[dave ziegler]

I just wanted to say that I am so glad I got as many shots as I did inside the 1966 Bottle House and the Old Kinsey bottle house as the vandels have now stolen piping from both,Plus stainless Pump heads even small stainless tanks. In both buildings destroying them.

Just before the Holidays a guy called the Realter that for years has offered the Kinsey plant on the market to meet him as He wanted to know the price being asked. They met him there and told him and then all during the Holidays He pretented He was going to buy the place telling neighbors that, while he went in there late at night with battery powered flood lights and stole many things including the Priceless old Hand blender Ludy used in the Old Bottle house and sold the stuff for scrap. I was very suspious as soon as I heard about him walking around all the time and taking stuff, as when you buy a place you Do Not go in there and take things first. So I got someone to call the Realter and ask if he was truely buying the Plant and they said after meeting him there they never heard from him again. Well I was mad as Heck so I told the people that watch the place to watch for him and get the Cops.

Yes the Cops got him but he only had wrenches on him and no stuff sadly so they could only arest him for atempting to steal, still since then things are ok again and the buildings are locked tight. Someone Like this is the worse Kind of Criminal stealing historic stuff just to make money never careing about History or what is right. I can only hope His day will truely come when what goes around comes around.

If there is one thing I can't stand is someone stealing historic stuff to just take it to the scrap dump.

And the fact that he pulled this stunt of pretending he was buying the Place tricking People while stealing like nuts shows that con men are still alive and well! I have lived long enough to smell out a crook like this but He and whoever helped him just plain destroyed anything they touched. I am so glad that I saved as much historic stuff as I have.

Dave Z

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Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey

For Unhurried moments

[wadewood]

Off topic alert - a lot of metals are approaching all time highs; copper among them. We have one cul-de-sac that goes all out on Christmas decorations. 2 days before Christmas, thieves came through and stole the heavy duty extensions cords. Nothing is sacred when it comes to these scumbags. One of these dyas, instead getting away with stealing copper or other scrap metal, they are going to get some lead.

[dave ziegler]

In 1966 We had a major Snow storm in Jan much worse then the ones we have had last week and the week before and I can remember well in the fall of that year having started there driving through the Plant shoveling snow in the Old 1946 Ford Pickup the Yard gang used with heavy chains on the back tires. It was no easy task shoveling all the 14 Explosion proof warehouses out and their walkways and all the walk ways to the 3 company Houses.

Plus shoveling down at the coal pile and boiler house and the Old warehouses out front and the old DSP-PA-12 still. With 199 acre's it was a very big task. As soon as we could travel through the road in the plant we went to all the warehouses where dumping and racking were to be, to get the docks shoveled and the driveways. As the dump gangs had to wait for us to clean the docks and building drive ways.

While we shoveled many of the men in the gangs sat and drank Whiskey!

One thing the warehouse guys did good was hide bottles in every Building they worked in so they could get a shooter as they called it when they wanted it. Many a time I would watch an old timer pace off so many steps and go into a rack and come out with a pint of Straight Whiskey. They hid their whisky in racks, under air circulars behind cabinets you name it they hid it.

I'll tell you what when one of those old timers could not find his Flask he paniced. These guy were Hard working Whiskey Drinking Men who loved their Jobs and loved siping good straight Whiskey.

We were well protected when shoveling as the Company gave US Sub Zero Army Jackets, and coveralls so we were not cold. Looking at the Plant in ruin I wonder how we ever got the place clean of snows those days but we had a job and we did it with Pride in the Company we worked for.

As I have said several times writing here That Sept of 1967 I was 20 years old when I got my very first Paid weeks vacation and I remember driving down to the Old Atlantic City NJ in my 1963 chevy as we went over the Walt Whitman Bridge and seeing the Old Hickory sign below in the Publicker Plant saying to My Mother I am so Proud that I work for Publicker and have a paid Vacation and a great Job!

The Snow would blow into giant Piles when the River winds blew it between the 14 Explosion Proof warehouses. The Buildings were only 20 years old the year I turned 20 being completed in 1947 except for the Warehouse U which was built in 1951 and later became the 1966 Bottle House. The Warehouses looked very Beautiful back then so well made that when I walked around Kinsey in late 2004 it was sureal for me to see it rotting and being Vandalised. The first time I stood and Listened even though I knew no Old 1941 Ford Flat trucks would ever roar through there ever again. They are gone and so is Kinsey but as long as I can write the spirit of Kinsey / Continental Distilling and Publicker will live on! "If you have time check out my new Pictures on my other two Threads"

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[Jono]

Dave, was it all shovel work? Any tractors with blades?

Snow throwers/blowers were not as prevalent then.

[dave ziegler]

Jono there was plenty of Shovel work with the Snow but we had an old tractor with a big blade to push the snow also to clear the roads. It was a big place but we had to get it all clear by days end so as to not have any operation held up! But clearing the Warehouse docks was always done right away by hand and we started by doing the ones where dumping or racking was going to be done that day.

We had to keep going at a good pace but somehow it does not seem hard in my mind today as I was young then and never afraid to work hard.

Dave Z

====================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Sadly now the big 1966 bottle house sits and rots but in its day it was the most modern bottling house on the planet! We also had some of the best ways to keep people from repetative problems working the lines.

Every person worked a different line every week which also helped them to have knowledge of how each line ran for emergensies. The bottling house was ahead of its time with emergensy battery powered safety lights for power outages its own Nurse for injuries and a large lunch room with windows to see outside during the day in nice weather by raising the large metal roll door there.

The big Bottle house and all bottling in the old Kinsey Liqour bottling house jobs paid a good bit more then warehouse and even more then the yard gang.

I myself even if I could have bumped perfered the freedom of going in and out on the job to being inside all day and just about every job I have ever had I did great on was of this type!

When the bottle house opened in sept 1966 alot of people from the plant Maintaince and warehouses with lots of time went to work in the bottle house to get inside out of bad weather and hot weather. Ludy was one of those who chose to go into the bottle house as a bottling machine repairmen. He did this job till he retired in 1980 after 42 years!

When Mr Neuman died in 1976 the last years till sept 1979 everyone still worked at their normal jobs. When the company stopped the bottling of Spirits the place was retooled, then the bottle House reopened in 1980 doing industrial chemicals lots of the old timers with time left till they could retire went to the bottle house to keep their jobs once it reopened.

When I look back I am glad I left a few years before that as I would have hated seeing this end come to the Company.

It was the great job of safety equipment in it that was done when building the Bottle House that made it the safest Bottling House of its time. At the end of every line where the cases came off the Line there was a sprinkler above the hole in the last bulkhead wall. and sprinklers all through the line process's.

I have not been in the plant since Nov 2010 and expect to see lots of vandels work when I get there soon before the weeds take over. The people who watch the place tell me that lots of stainless pipe is gone in the bottle house and all the stainless heads on the many pumps. I will be able to tell by looking there and then at my Pictures from last year.

It will be a sad time but also a good thing for me to walk there once again.

Dave Z

=================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Here are four more rare Angelo myers Pictures I was able to get through much research. These are all from the 1900 to 1907 period, after that Angelo myers disapeared. But Mr Jacob G Kinsey got what he wanted his whiskeys getting well known, and liked He sold them till Prohibition started and when it ended in fall 1933 he reopened the Distillery at age 75 and ran it till fall 1939 when he went bankrupt.

94 years later The plant closed forever, Mr Kinsey died around 1952 at age 94.

Dave Z

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Sometimes on weekends I look to see what the Kids are putting on U Tube about Kinsey and It amazes me how they take stuff I write and suddenly become experts about the Place. But if it keeps Kinsey and Publicker alive in history and I am all for it. Here are two Pictures the first is of a page out of the Old union book about are products for new members, the second picture I have put on a long time ago but it is fitting with all the excitment about Makers mark and putting the new floating slabs in. This letterhead is from 1962 when we were experimenting adding new slabs into Bourbon mash whiskey being put in used barrels. The date was Sept 7,17 1962 It also says they were not permitted to do this but could do it with Neutrol Spirits. It is a very interesting Paper and one of many letter head papers I have.

So Continental Distilling was already doing experiments with chared Slabs what we called Floaters when we started putting them in our 380 gal Barrels and 120 gal ones and even one Floater in some 48 gal barrels.

When I look at the industry today I see many inovations started by Publicker all those years ago.

It was Mr Neumans grand plan to own and operate a Distillery in Scotland and ship the Scotch here to be filled to save greatly on Taxes and no one can disput how big a seller Inver House Scotch was when we Bottled it at Linfield making it afordable to the working person who wanted to try Scotch.

Dave Z

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Inver House Scotch Soft As A Kiss

[squire]

Floaters, great term, thanks Dave, and again I appreciate the efforts you are making to keep a piece of Bourbon history alive.

[dave ziegler]

Floaters, great term, thanks Dave, and again I appreciate the efforts you are making to keep a piece of Bourbon history alive.

[dave ziegler]

Well Sat April 2 and April 25 day afer Easter I made trips into Kinsey to see how bad it is right now, I took some pictuers which I will post on all 3 threads according to what the picture is.

1. Going into the Plant on Monday looking from the front gate.

2. Front dock along the 1966 Bottle House

3. Another front shot of the 1966 Bottle house as trees and weeds take over the dock which once could service 3 box cars and 10 trucks at a time.

4.Front and side of the Big 2 football field long 1/2 football field+ wide bottle house.

5. Side view of Bottling house to show how wide it was besides long.

6. Front Water Tower and side of the bottle house.

7. Last remaining Continental Distilling truck vandelized and trees making it disappear back dock of the 1966 bottle house.

8. Trees taking over the tall black Whiskey inlet tanks to the incoming side of the bottle house.

I will post more plant pictures today on the other two Threads it gets harder to stand the longer the place sits rotting.

To think over 200+ people worked just in the Bottling house and now the only work going on is the rain water destroying the building and the vandels doing all they can to strip it of its famous history.

If I could go back in time to April 1979 they would be bottling Old Hickory and all out other Products right now. Men would be rolling Barrels in the warehouses and the Old Kinsey Bottle house would be cranking out Liquors.

Those really Were The Days My Friends

--------------------------------------------

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

Dave Z

[dave ziegler]

I am posting 3 pictures that butch who worked at Publicker around the same time line I worked at Kinsey created from from a large Picture I have, and gave Him one of that were given me by my friend who was high up in Marketing for Publicker. Butch took the Picture

and made two small ones of parts of the Bigler street plant and explained what the areas where. And also A Picture He took when he met me at Kinsey on Sat afternoon. The two original Pictures of the Bigler street plant at one time hung at the Company Headquarters on 1429 Walnut Street in Phila. Butch and I are going to get the pictures restored for History! I also have a real nice third one which all I had to do was put a new wire on to hang it in my Work office the one I get restored will go on the wall at my house.

1. Here is the Bigler Street Phila Plant

From the Large Picture I gave Butch of the Bigler street plant he made the next two closeups of specail area's.

2. this one is the Bigler Street Engineering Dept, the building with the Vent stacks was the supervisors Lunch room.

3. The AA ( Acetic Acid ) Plant which anyone who ever went over the Walt Whitman Bridge back those days will remember the Famous Old Hickory Neon Sign up on top of the building.

4. A picture Butch took of the Old Publicker sign at Kinsey Yesterday when I took him for a trip through the Plant.

I also Posted 8 Pictures I took last week and Early April at kinsey on my Memories thread today.

Dave Z

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Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey For Unhurried Moments.

[dave ziegler]

On Sunday around 11;45 I took Ethen and his wife on a walk through Kinsey and then coming out to the front Ethen was able to climb where I never could have to get me 8 Shots of the second floor of the Old Grain drying Building what is left of it. He was able to go up a rickety Old Ladder to the second floor however the ladder vandels had to the 3rd Floor was too shaky!

1. Through 8. These are all first time shots of the grain drying building long after the people who claimed they were fixing the Place were stealing any metal they could get striping the building and removing the metal system to take the grain to the final grain process buiilding and into the still.

9. This is a picture of the old Metal system that ran the grain from the two silos to the drying building. A was lucky enough to get this back in 2002 taken by someone else it shows what the silo's had back when i worked there.

I will be posting more pictures soon on the Memories thread and Mike found me a type of Whiskey Thief in the ruin of the old Bottle house I have to take a picture of it, plus I have some more Whiskey Barrel and inside tank storage pictures and one of my Friends found a rare perfect Glass site gauge for the Old Tank in the old Kinsey Bottle House that the jerk who stealing metal cut up and stole.

Dave Z

====================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

In early May I took 3 different groups through Kinsey and still have some shots to Post. Last night I was thinking about the 1966 Continental Distilling Bottling house and what an amazing thing it was in 1966! The day it opened it was the Most Modern and largest Bottling house in the World. It was an amazing thing to open it in 1966 and open the Inver House Distillery in late 1964. Publicker always thought Big and bold when they did anything. We had if not the first, one of the very first Computer Driven Bottling Lines Old Line A-1-F which could do 40,000 Bottles a day by itself! Plus 10 other lines and the Old Kinsey Bottle House to do all our Many and great Liquors. What a difference now from then when the parking lots overflowed with workers, at one point 600 people working at Kinsey and 2 shifts in the Bottle House. I hope to go with my Friends into the 1966 Bottle House to get pictures again and see how much has been stolen from there too. I saw Ludy over the Memorial day holiday and he is doing ok, he will be 93 in Sept.

I showed Ludy the Old Whiskey Thief that Mike found for me in the ruins of the back side of the Old Kinsey bottle house. And I am going to post a couple of pictures here and the rest in the memories thead.

1. Explosion proof Electric Header in warehouse Q.

2. Me leaving holding the Barrel Head Ethan found on his tour with me.

3. Warehouse C last of the barrels from the Lot Frickys and my Barrel came from slowly being destroyed by leaking water in the warehouse.

Note Tankage in the background.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[mozilla]

Picture 2 is one of my alltime favorites.

It shows Dave on the facility grounds. That's the one we have been missing all this time.

Good work Dave.

[dave ziegler]

Jeff I always enjoy getting back to Kinsey but rarely has anyone been with me to take a picture of me with my Camera, its a first and that weekend taking 3 different groups for a tour was awesome!

It made me think back to the last year I worked there and stacking 380 gal Whiskey Barrels 2 tiers high bottom heads down. That was work as we Had to put ply wood sheets down and then about 5 to 6 guys had to slowly roll barrels into place on their bottom head.

And talk about leaks it was an Idea that Continental really messed up on. It started with 120 gal barrels then the cooperage plant made these giant 380 gal ones, that buldged like crazy. Sadly there are no ones left to take pictures of.

Here is a Picture of the only surviving 120 gal whiskey Barrel missing its head do to vandels.

1. 120 gal experimental Whiskey Barrel early 1970's next step was 380 gal ones!

Still I think about what inovators Continental Distilling was. Forty Eight years before Makers Mark tried floaters as we called them, in early 1962 Continental was asking the ATF to be able to try them. So very sad to know they are gone, and hopfully their memory will go on with my writting and pictures.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[sandiefett]

Hi Dave, I don't know if I am doing this right, but here goes. Your comments about the 360 gallon barrels brought back a lot of memories. When the bottling plant closed in December of 79' we were laid off for 7 months. In July of 80' a hand full of us were brought back. I had the good luck to work in the warehouses. My job was to shook (breaking barrels apart) the 360 gal barrels. Very hard work. Another guy worked with me. First job was to take the belly hoops off and then the top and bottom hoops. This would cause the barrel to collapse. If it was dry inside, I got full of charcoal, if it was wet, I went home smelling like liquor. Cannot describe what I looked like at the end of the shift, but my husband would just shake his head when I came home. When I first went over to the warehouse, we had to get the barrels down from the boards that you described. I remember one of the boards shifted and my Dad almost got seriously hurt. The interesting thing is that my Dad was a Cooper and a lot of those barrels were made by him. Do not think he made any of the large ones, however. Anyhoo, just had to reply, sorry to go on so. I have 20 years of memories of that place. Most good, not all!

Sandie

Jeff I always enjoy getting back to Kinsey but rarely has anyone been with me to take a picture of me with my Camera, its a first and that weekend taking 3 different groups for a tour was awesome!

It made me think back to the last year I worked there and stacking 380 gal Whiskey Barrels 2 tiers high bottom heads down. That was work as we Had to put ply wood sheets down and then about 5 to 6 guys had to slowly roll barrels into place on their bottom head.

And talk about leaks it was an Idea that Continental really messed up on. It started with 120 gal barrels then the cooperage plant made these giant 380 gal ones, that buldged like crazy. Sadly there are no ones left to take pictures of.

Here is a Picture of the only surviving 120 gal whiskey Barrel missing its head do to vandels.

1. 120 gal experimental Whiskey Barrel early 1970's next step was 380 gal ones!

Still I think about what inovators Continental Distilling was. Forty Eight years before Makers Mark tried floaters as we called them, in early 1962 Continental was asking the ATF to be able to try them. So very sad to know they are gone, and hopfully their memory will go on with my writting and pictures.

Dave Z

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[sandiefett]

Hi Dave, I don't know if I am doing this right, but here goes. Your comments about the 360 gallon barrels brought back a lot of memories. When the bottling plant closed in December of 79' we were laid off for 7 months. In July of 80' a hand full of us were brought back. I had the good luck to work in the warehouses. My job was to shook (breaking barrels apart) the 360 gal barrels. Very hard work. Another guy worked with me. First job was to take the belly hoops off and then the top and bottom hoops. This would cause the barrel to collapse. If it was dry inside, I got full of charcoal, if it was wet, I went home smelling like liquor. Cannot describe what I looked like at the end of the shift, but my husband would just shake his head when I came home. When I first went over to the warehouse, we had to get the barrels down from the boards that you described. I remember one of the boards shifted and my Dad almost got seriously hurt. The interesting thing is that my Dad was a Cooper and a lot of those barrels were made by him. Do not think he made any of the large ones, however. Anyhoo, just had to reply, sorry to go on so. I have 20 years of memories of that place. Most good, not all!

Sandie

Jeff I always enjoy getting back to Kinsey but rarely has anyone been with me to take a picture of me with my Camera, its a first and that weekend taking 3 different groups for a tour was awesome!

It made me think back to the last year I worked there and stacking 380 gal Whiskey Barrels 2 tiers high bottom heads down. That was work as we Had to put ply wood sheets down and then about 5 to 6 guys had to slowly roll barrels into place on their bottom head.

And talk about leaks it was an Idea that Continental really messed up on. It started with 120 gal barrels then the cooperage plant made these giant 380 gal ones, that buldged like crazy. Sadly there are no ones left to take pictures of.

Here is a Picture of the only surviving 120 gal whiskey Barrel missing its head do to vandels.

1. 120 gal experimental Whiskey Barrel early 1970's next step was 380 gal ones!

Still I think about what inovators Continental Distilling was. Forty Eight years before Makers Mark tried floaters as we called them, in early 1962 Continental was asking the ATF to be able to try them. So very sad to know they are gone, and hopfully their memory will go on with my writting and pictures.

Dave Z

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Hi Dave, I don't know if I am doing this right, but here goes. Your comments about the 360 gallon barrels brought back a lot of memories. When the bottling plant closed in December of 79' we were laid off for 7 months. In July of 80' a hand full of us were brought back. I had the good luck to work in the warehouses. My job was to shook (breaking barrels apart) the 360 gal barrels. Very hard work. Another guy worked with me. First job was to take the belly hoops off and then the top and bottom hoops. This would cause the barrel to collapse. If it was dry inside, I got full of charcoal, if it was wet, I went home smelling like liquor. Cannot describe what I looked like at the end of the shift, but my husband would just shake his head when I came home. When I first went over to the warehouse, we had to get the barrels down from the boards that you described. I remember one of the boards shifted and my Dad almost got seriously hurt. The interesting thing is that my Dad was a Cooper and a lot of those barrels were made by him. Do not think he made any of the large ones, however. Anyhoo, just had to reply, sorry to go on so. I have 20 years of memories of that place. Most good, not all!

Sandie

Hi Sandie glad to hear from you been wanting to give you a call about Kinsey. As I remember once they were filled and had aged, to the right time and proof we used a Pump to pump out the Whiskey and then as you said many of them sat there empty till you started tearing them apart. They were Hell to move full on the Ply wood boards they would sit on, when we ran them up to the second layer. It took about 6 or 7 of us to move them on the head rim to where they had to go on the pile. We would lift the edge and roll till we had them layered on the Pile as many as we could. Let me tell you 360 gal is alot of weight to move rolling a barrel on its bottom head. Also they leaked through the bottom head big time.Your Dad and Ludy were the best Coopers I ever saw and no doubt he had put many of those barrels togther. Good to hear from you!

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Hi Sandie glad to hear from you been wanting to give you a call about Kinsey. As I remember once they were filled and had aged, to the right time and proof we used a Pump to pump out the Whiskey and then as you said many of them sat there empty till you started tearing them apart. They were Hell to move full on the Ply wood boards they would sit on, when we ran them up to the second layer. It took about 6 or 7 of us to move them on the head rim to where they had to go on the pile. We would lift the edge and roll till we had them layered on the Pile as many as we could. Let me tell you 360 gal is alot of weight to move rolling a barrel on its bottom head. Also they leaked through the bottom head big time.Your Dad and Ludy were the best Coopers I ever saw and no doubt he had put many of those barrels togther. Good to hear from you!

Dave Z

-----------------------------------------------------------------

It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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

[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

====================================================

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.