This souvenir booklet was published to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the John Morrell and Company in Sioux Falls. Page three gives a brief historic overview of John Morrell and Company, while pages five and six provide a more in-depth overview of the company’s history specific to the Sioux Falls area. Despite the economic hardships of the Great Depression, the plant saw a four-fold growth in business from 1920-1930. The text notes that over 1,700 employees from the plant entered service during World War II, and the company “contributed heavily to the Red Cross, Community Chest and War Fund drives.” Photos in the booklet depict the various phases of the company’s growth in Sioux Falls. The majority of photos show buildings in many stages of construction, as well as, groups of employees from the across the plant. Pages eight and nine are comprised of an aerial photograph of the 1949 facility and portraits of the leaders within the company responsible for establishing and expanding operations. Pages 12 and 13 provide an updated look (circa 1949) at the Sioux Fall facility. These two pages showcase the depth, breadth and potential of the operation. At the time, over 3,400 people were employed throughout the plant, and the postwar construction of four new buildings had finished. At the time this booklet was printed, the Sioux Falls campus included more than 100 buildings. Page 14 (inside of the back cover) lists the executive, supervisory, and purchasing employees.
Collection Description
This booklet is a part of the larger John Morrell and Company, Sioux Falls Plant Records available at the Center for Western Studies. The collection consists of photographs, negatives, printed materials, and scrapbooks of John Morrell and Company since the construction of its Sioux Falls meatpacking plant in 1911. The photographic collection contains interior and exterior scenes of workers and equipment. One series of photographs covers the construction of the first John Morrell and Company plant in Sioux Falls. Printed materials include a set of MORRELL'S MAGAZINE (1945-1965), a company-published periodical, and TRIMMINGS, a wartime magazine reporting on the activities of former plant employees serving in the armed forces during the Second World War. Both periodicals were published at the national headquarters (Ottumwa, IA) level, but include references to Sioux Falls branch happenings.
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