Kearney Hatchery
Herbert Kendall - from
Indiana Took job with YMCA when attending University
of Indiana This job took him to Nebraska Wesleyn where
he met and married a Kearney girl, Ruth Kendall
1922 - Living in Grand Island, working for YMCA; raised chickens as a
hobby
Purchased the cottonmill property when the Midway Amusement Park went
bankrupt.
Built a chicken hatchery business
First called Acropolis Hatchery in the 1920’s
Name changed to Kearney
Hatchery by 1930
Products – baby chicks, eggs,
butchered chickens to eat
Also,
later, ducks, turkeys, geese
During the Twenties
a. Baby Chicks hatched and
sold in the spring
Jan 1924 – advertising 2000
chicks per week for sale
Sounds
like a lot but for farm flocks of 100 that is only 20 customers
b. Other Poultry
Products
Chickens to fry or roast
(dressed poultry)
Young roast duck, goose
c. July 31, 1929 – Acropolis Hatchery Ends
Seventh Year
One of only fifteen Nebraska
Accredited hatcheries in the state
d. Weather
Apr 24, 1929 – Damage from
High Wind with Rain
Largest individual loss was by Kendall at the Acropolis Hatchery.
Two buildings damaged including losing their roofs - excess of $1,000.
[$16,000 in 2021]
No chickens were lost and the incubator house was not damaged.
April
6, 1931 – Brooder House Burns
About 1
a.m. one of the brick brooder houses caught fire.
Over 1,000 month old chicks burned, as well as the equipment and a few hens
The incubator house, which houses the thousands of eggs which Mr. Kendall
hatches for himself and for many
other people, was not touched by the fire.
May 4,
1931 – a brooder house fire which fortunately was discovered before any
great damage had resulted.
During the Thirties
a. Moved Hatching to Town
1934 - Opened
business at 22nd & 1st Ave – 2 incubators @ 52,000 eggs each, sectioned so
not all eggs
hatched at the same time
Also
sold chick feed and equipment
Lester
Jensen manager of incubating part of business
Claremont Peck was office manager and bookkeeper
Continued to operate poultry farm at the cotton mill site
b. Coping With the Depression
July 9, 1938 advertisement
- Raise some late chickens.
Grain
is cheap. Hogs are scarce. Grasshoppers are plentiful.
You can turn cheap grain, soar milk and grasshoppers into a profit by
raising a late batch of chicks.
No
bother with a brooder is necessary.
During the Forties
a. Flock Owner Dinners
Fazed out poultry farm
by early 1940’s and moved into Kearney
Purchased eggs from farmers for
hatching
Dec 1939 – Kendall held 1st flock owners dinner
Chicken dinner
Speakers from ag poultry dept. at UNL and county extension office about
better chicken health
Became an annual event through the 40’s as Kendall worked to educate farmers
on raising healthier flocks for
better quality eggs and meat
Later dinners were turkey
b. The War
Effort
A series of Kearney Hatchery EGG-A-TORIALS in Kearney Hub
Kearney's first SHELL LOADING PLANT has been here for years. The Kearney
Hatchery hen.
A hen's nest is better than a machine gun nest.
Let Kearney Hatchery pullets bombard you with eggs
New Owners
After 30 in business, Kendall retired at age
65 summer 1951
Sold Kearney Hatchery to Lester Jensen and Claremont Peck
Peck sold his share to Jensen soon afterwards
Jensen
operated the business up into the 1960’s when apparently it was phased out
Item of interest -
Jan. 29, 1927 –
Experimental Farm
Project at School Proves Profitable
Kearney
State Teachers College farm west and north of the college
The
real purpose of the farm was to supply the college dining hall with meat and
vegetables….
Always been a few chickens on the farm, this spring farm manager planned to
raise 1,000 chickens.
Orders
had already been put in at the Acropolis hatchery for 500 baby chicks the
first of March. 500 more soon
“With this number, chickens can be supplied for the dining hall, and also
enough hens can be kept through the
winter to furnish the eggs for the tables.” |
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