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A First Class Flouring Mill
Hickey
By Jeff Morrison
Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, dry land farmers in northeast Wyoming were in need of a reliable market for their goods. Getting a profit from wheat crops was not only a matter of having a good yield and a good market price, but the cost of shipping the produce to market had to be factored in as well. A closer market meant a lower shipping cost and better profits. In January 1905, George C. Getchell presented plans to the Newcastle Commercial Club to “erect and equip a first class flouring mill” in the booming Wyoming town. Getchell and the club membership knew that a community that could build a commercial milling operation would instantly become the major center of the farming industry in the region. The plans for a 100 barrel mill were finalized that March and construction began in early summer. The mill was ready and opened in time for harvest season in early September, earning Getchell a $3,000 bonus for a prompt delivery date. The three-story mill, built of timber and stone quarried north of town, housed a variety of milling machinery powered by a 70 horse-power, coal-fired electrical generator. As it turned out, the generator could not only produce enough electricity to run the mill, but an ample surplus of generated power could be used for other purposes. Getchell was granted a contract to supply electricity for the Newcastle street lights the same week as the opening of the mill. His new enterprise was officially named The Newcastle Milling Company and Electric Light Plant. The mill produced a variety of flour products, seed and livestock feed. Nearby acreage was turned into a feed-lot. The operation not only serviced local farmers but the greater northeastern Wyoming area as well, thanks to the proximity of the railroad. By 1907 a siding had been constructed to bring grain cars directly to the site and the mill had a capacity of 65 barrels in a 24 hour period. Most of the flour produced at this time was sold under contract to an
Omaha grocery firm. The mill had also become one of the major employers in Newcastle and would remain so for many decades to come. Late in 1907, the day-to-day operations were taken over by A. C. Church, formerly of the Sundance Milling Company, who leased the mill in November. Church changed the name to The Newcastle Roller Mills in 1909 and began heavy advertising of “White Satin Flour” which had been a product of the mill since before he took over. In the next ten years he would expand the market for White Satin to include grocers and bakeries as far as 200 miles away. Church eventually bought the mill outright and continued to produce and promote flour products for more than a decade, outlasting a brief partnership with F. O. Yeats along the way. In the fall of 1919, Church sold the Newcastle Roller Mills to a Spearfish, South Dakota pioneer, D. J. Toomey, who renamed the business the D. J. Toomey Produce Company. At the time of this purchase, the operation was the largest flour mill in Wyoming, producing 80 barrels per day. Under Toomey’s management, the mill began a period of physical expansion which continued until 1947. In 1920 he contracted a Kansas City construction firm to build a concrete grain elevator which had first been proposed by his predecessor, A. C. Church, and had been in the planning stages
just prior to Toomey’s purchase of the property. Over the next three-plus decades the original building was expanded to include a warehouse and offices plus two wooden silos behind the elevator. D. J. Toomey turned the daily operations over to his son, Howard, who managed the family business until his death in 1964. Under his leadership the mill officially became Toomey’s Mills, and gained international notoriety. At some point Howard began developing self-rising flour mixtures. Using family friends as an unofficial “focus group”, Toomey perfected recipes for flapjacks and later biscuits. At this time, prepackaged flapjack mixes were rare. After he perfected his flapjack mixture, so the story goes, Toomey asked a local restaurant manager to try it out on his customers. The manager was reluctant to feed his customers an un-proven product until Toomey agreed to let him try a case for free. When Toomey later returned to see how the customers liked the mix, the manager promptly ordered another case. Toomey’s Flapjack Flour and Toomey’s Biscuit Mix were huge successes for the mill. Their distinctive yellow boxes with bright red lettering became familiar sights in homes and restaurants all over the Midwest and West Coast during the mid20th century. The packaging has since become collector’s items. Milling operations ended at
Toomey’s Mills in 1965. The buildings and all the milling equipment they contained were left abandoned for the next ten years. In 1974 the property was bought by two couples, Tom and Judith Mitich, and Cable and Vera Jones, who began converted the milling portion into a restaurant. As renovations proceeded, most of the original milling equipment was found in place and intact, as if ready to begin turning out flour once again. Once the largest flour mill in Wyoming, the aging building began a new era of existence when it reopened as a restaurant called “The Old Mill Inn”. Doug and Larita Brown purchased the property in 1995 and continued with the renovations and improvements. In 2008, the structures that comprised Toomey’s Mills were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Although George Getchell’s “first class flouring mill” has survived for 117 years, it’s not likely to survive another five years. In 2011, the property and buildings were sold to Maverick, Inc. with plans to tear down part of the main building, including most – if not all – of the original 1905 mill, to make way for a gas station and convenience store. Despite the efforts made by the Weston County Historical Society and the Weston County Historic Preservation Board to prevent its destruction, the future of this historic landmark remains very much in doubt.
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Dad and Daughter Ball
Astor Place Riot
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By Mike Borda
When talking about unique events in American history, many different moments may come to mind. One situation, however, certainly ranks among the most unique in our country’s history. This event is hard to imagine when looking through the lens of the modern American, but all too real to those who were involved. During the 19th century, going to the opera was not only a social event, but a status event as well. Those who could afford (and understand) opera were considered among the social elite. Moreover, the most elite of the elite were the actors who performed those operas. In New York City during 1849, two men towered above all others in prestige and celebrity. Those men were American Edwin Forrest and Englishman William Charles McCready. The tension between Forrest and McCready had been building for years, and both men had extremely loyal fan bases. These were the two rock-stars of their day, and their rivalry was well known amongst the people. When you add in the resentment many Americans still felt toward British elites, the anxiety ran high when McCready was slated to perform at the Astor Opera House on May 7, 1849. Ironically, while McCready was to be performing Macbeth that night, Forrest was also playing Macbeth, not far away. That night Forrest’s fans bought out the Astor, and actually interrupted McCready’s performance by heaving rotten eggs at him while he was on stage. Three days later, on May 10, even more of Forrest’s fans came to the Astor, and
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were determined to make McCready realize that he was far from welcome. Some estimates place the number of rioters at 10,000. Local officials, fearing that things might get out of hand, called the state militia to keep the peace. The performance was a disaster, and it was all McCready could do to get out of the building in one piece. When things began escalating outside on the street, the militia fired rounds over the heads of the rioters to calm them. In the process, however, they ended up killing 22 onlookers. Surprisingly, tempers did cool and sadness set in over the casualties. The next night, another riot broke out after a town meeting called to discuss the previous night’s events. This time, however, the police and militia were prepared and able to stop the rioters before too much damage was inflicted. This event, so strange to us today, affected the culture of the time a great deal. The opera gradually became less popular, as people looked away from elitist activities. Opera houses dwindled in popularity, and the Astor Opera House itself would not survive another season. American history is filled with events that while strange and obscure, had a great impact on society as a whole. The Astor Place Riot was one such event. While it did highlight the prejudices and anger of the day, it also shows that we have always been passionate, and generations past are much similar to ourselves than we often realize.
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