George,

Here's a copy of the story my friend did for the GI Independent for the Silver Salute to be published on August 17th.

I thought you might want to see it.  He is interested in doing a story on Mads Andersen some time in the near future.  I'll keep you posted as you would have more info that I do.

Jane

Howard County was once home to a great poultry empire.
Anderson family helped put Nebraska on the map.
By Ron W. Sack

     On the west end of St. Paul’s Howard Avenue nestled between some trees stands a stately brick home. Most visitors to this central Howard County town have no clue of its origins or how the people who built it had shaped Nebraska’s poultry industry. Adjacent to the home is another brick building with size and stature. It, too, has origins of greatness as it was once home to one of the Midwest’s largest hatcheries. Both the home and hatchery were built by Paul and Mary Anderson.
     Anderson’s history traces back to the early days of Howard County. Paul’s father, Mads, came to Howard County in the spring of 1872. He was one of the five settlers who helped start the colony of Dannebrog.
     Mads was an inventor from day one. The roof on his sod house was the envy of all the neighbors because it was watertight. He invented a machine to extract starch from potatoes and even developed a trap to catch and crush grasshoppers.
     In the coming years he would develop several things that would enhance the lives of farmers. He would also dabble in a wholesale food and mercantile company but eventually got out of it to go back into farming.
     It’s a good thing he did. With the help of his three sons, he made his 400-acre farm near Cushing a showplace. He undertook new methods for irrigation and became interested in making the land roller fit the American farms and conditions. Those inventions led to what is known today as the Western Land Roller Company in Hastings, Nebraska.
     Paul was born in Dannebrog on November 5, 1874. His future wife, Mary Hansen, was born Franklin, Pennsylvania on January 23, 1882. The couple settled on a farm in Howard County near the village of Cushing and had four children—Alice, Elmer, Florence, and Hilma.
     In 1901 Paul and Mary began breeding purebred poultry on their farm. This was the start of Nebraska’s first poultry hatchery.
     Named the “Loup Valley Hatchery,” its humble beginnings were soon erased by the success of the business. A lovely three-story wooden home with a large wrap-around porch and elegant interior was built and soon became one of Howard County’s finest rural homes. The home, which has been abandoned for many years, still stands near Cushing and has always been one of my favorite places to photograph.
     There is no doubt that the couple possessed a keen sense of design—a design skill that can be seen in the other homes and buildings they built as well as the publications they created.
     Mary basically ran the hatchery business, especially in the early years. Paul helped out, but also focused time with the Loup Valley Seed Farm which raised and sold seed corn. Varieties included “Loup Valley Cattle King,” “Howard County Blair White,” and “Rainbow Flint.” Sweet corn, popcorn, canna bulbs, and gladiola bulbs were also sold. Prices in the 1920s were 26 cents per pound for popcorn; one dollar for 12 canna bulbs; and 50 cents for 12 gladiola bulbs.
     Promotional flyers for the seed farm stated “This year our corn matured in good season and we have corn that will germinate high and satisfy your corn want. Our corn is hand-selected, tipped and butted, shelled and graded, and sells at a price you can afford to pay—$3.00 per bushel.”
     While Paul was spending time with the seed farm, Mary was expanding the poultry business. In 1921, some of the prices for Anderson’s “Quality Chicks” were as follows—White Rock, 25 for $5.00; 50 for $9.50; 100 for $18.00; 500 for $85; 1,000 for  $165.
     Andersons and the Loup Valley Seed and Poultry businesses kept Cushing’s Burlington depot and Howard County’s country roads very busy with activity.
     1922 saw the Andersons install updated hatching machines and their capacity for that year reached 350,000 chicks.
     Then on June 15, 1922, the hatchery was destroyed by fire of unknown origins. The Andersons face a dilemma—should they rebuild near Cushing or seek a new location with a larger market? The answer was simple—move to St. Paul. It had a much larger population base and offered better transportation facilities, as both the Union Pacific and Burlington had branch lines that operated there.
     Soon the couple built “one of the best, most modern hatcheries in the United States.”
     Concerned about fire, the Andersons constructed their new hatchery out of brick. The new building boasted offices, sales rooms, and a large shipping room with piles of egg cases and chick boxes.
     By 1923, the Loup Valley Hatchery was Nebraska’s largest.
     After years of having Mary mainly at the helm, a 1923 press release announced “In rebuilding the hatchery we saw that it would be impossible to handle any other business on the side, so Mr. Anderson will now be associated with the business. There, it will be known as Anderson & Anderson, Proprietors.”
     Mary Anderson recalled the early history of the hatchery on opening day, “I started to hatch chicks many years ago with one small 240-egg machine, which was considered a large one at that time. I then hatched lots of chicks for our own use as I raised broilers. During the following years I also hatched chicks for many of my neighbors.
     “Over 10 years ago, I placed my first ad in a Nebraska paper. Then to my surprise I got an order and before that hatch came off, I had more orders than I could supply. My next puzzle was ‘how to ship them?’ Chick boxes were as new as shipping chicks. I shipped by express as it was many years later before the postal authorities took baby chicks by parcel post. They went fine and that gave me encouragement to enlarge my plant and continue in that business.
     “By honest methods and fair dealings my trade grew from year to year. I purchased more machines each year until seven years ago, when I could not begin to supply the demand for my chicks with the small machines, I began putting the mammoth size machines, disposing of the smaller ones.
     “We now have the most modern, up-to-the-minute mammoth machines with a capacity of over one million chicks and one of the best hatcheries in the country and the largest and most modern in the Midwest. Every chick we sell is hatched right here in our hatchery under our personal supervision.
     “Since we started the first baby chick business in the Midwest, many others have sprung up all over. Some have tried to imitate our methods and copy our literature and even our name to gain popularity, but we are the only ‘LOUP VALLEY HATCHERY’ and the original and old reliable one. Our competitors get as near as they can by using ‘Valley’ as there are now many ‘Valley Hatcheries’ over the country, but Loup Valley Hatchery is the original one.”
     St. Paul proved to be an excellent business location. The business boomed.
     A new logo was unveiled and expanded catalogs soon followed ultimately making their way into mailboxes across the country. Orders were now being sent all over to every state in the U.S. and patrons in Wyoming, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, and Kentucky were singing Loup Valley’s praises. Loup Valley Hatchery was now dominating both Nebraska and the nation’s poultry scene.
     One of the thousands of letters Mary received was as follows: “Dear Mrs. Paul Anderson...The order of assorted chicks arrived in North Platte safely with not one dead or crippled chick. We were delighted with their very evident quality and pep. We did not expect this quality in this class of chicks. We are very tempted to buy all of our chicks from you next year if your S.C. White Leghorns are as satisfactory as the broiler stock has proved to be. Thanking you for the prompt service and splendid chicks, we are, Glines & Walker.”
     Customers loved Mary’s chicks.
     Truck and rail were the two main methods used to distribute the chicks, but the Andersons would not be outdone. They sent the first-ever Nebraska shipment of 25 chicks via air mail during National Air Mail Week.
     Children Alice, Elmer, Florence, and Hilma were additional reasons for the success. The four children were used quite heavily in the promotional materials for the hatchery.
     Mary proudly stated, “Our children, born into the business, have a natural, inherited liking for poultry, breeding, and production. As they have grown older, we have found that it was almost impossible to keep them from attempting to do their part in the hatchery. We taught them to breed for quality only. They grasped our ideas very quickly and, before long, each had a place in the business and a responsible part to perform. Their ideas are modern, their education complete. They are familiar with purebred poultry and have suggested many improvements that have elevated the high level quality of our service. We believe that we have accomplished much by training our son and daughters in the business.”
     Andersons knew a growing business just couldn’t sit still and not promote itself, even if it was during the Great Depression. They went all out for their 30th anniversary. A magnificent 32-page, four-color catalog was produced and it soon became the envy of their competitors. Varieties included Single Comb White Leghorns, Single Comb Brown Leghorns, Single Comb Buff Leghorns, Single Comb Mottled Anconas, Single Comb Buff Anconas, Single Comb White Anconas, Single Comb Rhode Island Reds, Rose Comb Rhode Island Whites, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Loup Valley White Rocks, Golden Colored Buff Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, White Orpingtons, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Loup Valley White Wyandottes, Loup Valley Jersey Black Giants, Light Brahmas, Loup Valley Buff Plymouth Rocks, Loup Valley Rose Comb Rhode Island Whites, Loup Valley Single Comb White Minorcas, Loup Valley Single Comb Buff Minorcas, Loup Valley Mottled Anconas, and Single Comb Black Minorcas.
     Each spring over 1,200 mailings were sent. Many say it was these mailings that made St. Paul provide a “First Class” postal rating.
     Loup Valley Hatchery reigned as champion many times at local, state, and national poultry shows and brought home ribbons and trophies galore.
     In 1937, the Andersons built one of St. Paul’s largest and finest homes at the time. Their brick home soon became the benchmark for all homes in central Nebraska. Boasting three stories, an open walnut staircase, and a walk-out front terrace, it held, and continues to hold, a prominent location on St. Paul’s Howard Avenue.
     On December 10, 1938, Loup Valley Hatchery celebrated another grand opening—the opening of a downtown store and cold storage locker system. This building housed Anderson’s produce store which bought cream, eggs, and poultry and also handled their poultry feeds and remedies as well as supplies for the poultry producer. On the east side of the building was the cream and receiving room. Behind that room was the egg room, where eggs were counted and tested. Poultry was kept in the rear room. An extensive locker and cold storage facility occupied the main area for meat and vegetables. The cold storage facility filled a longtime void in the city of St. Paul.
     Today, the building still stands and for many years it was known as Havlik’s Market and is now home to Twin Loup Quality Meats.
     The 1940s saw Loup Valley Hatchery sponsor “Poultry Talks” every morning at 9:05 a.m. on KMMJ radio in Grand Island to promote their growing business.
     Loup Valley Hatchery and the Andersons never seemed to slow down until February 8, 1955 when Paul died.
     Upon Paul’s death, Mary decided to close the hatchery.
     Mary died almost 10 years later on February 6, 1965, also in St. Paul.
     The hatchery building stood silent on Howard Avenue until a 1984 tornado destroyed a large section of the rear portion of the building. The front section was proven safe and still remains standing.
     Their son, Elmer, would continue to make St. Paul his home. He and his wife, Lillian, had two children—Dave and Jane. Elmer died on June 28, 1979.
     Alice, the eldest daughter, never married and continued to live in St. Paul’s “mansion.” She died on May 28, 1990.
     Florence married Harold Williams and had a son, Paul. After Harold died, she later married Edward Hemberger. Florence passed away on April 24, 1998.
     The youngest daughter, Hilma, married Roy Welsh. They had one daughter, Betty. Hilma was the last remaining child of Paul and Mary Anderson, having just died on February 13, 2006.
     All four of the children’s obituaries, in one way or another, proudly stated that they were a key part of “Nebraska’s first, and largest, hatchery.”
     Indeed, they were.
     Their parents, Mary and Paul, were proud of that.

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Special thanks to Jane Anderson of St. Paul for providing outstanding photographs, journals, and history.