Blue Valley Creamery Company

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Blue Valley Creamery Company was a company that operated many creameries and milk plants across the United States.

Blue Valley Creamery Company
Blue Valley
Fate Acquired by Beatrice Foods
Successor Beatrice Foods
Founded  ???
Defunct  ???
Location National
Industry Dairy
Products Butter, Milk

Contents

[edit] Locations

Blue Valley Creamery Company headquarters were in Chicago at 1137 West Jackson Boulevard (some sources indicate South Jackson). A Blue Valley Creamery Institute was found at the same address. This building appears to have been later used by Archibald Candy Corp., maker of Fannie May and Fanny Farmer candies. Blue Valley creameries and other offices were found from the east coast to the great plains, including:

Cream buyers were located in various locations.

[edit] History

Blue Valley Creamery was acquired by Beatrice Foods around 1939.[2]

[edit] Trademark

The federal "Blue Valley" trademark (registration #1086552) for use in dairy products, namely milk, low fat milk, and butter, was filed 1977-06-30 by Beatrice Foods Company and is expired. Similarly, the "Blue Valley" trademark (registration #1088264) for use in dairy products, namely ice cream, was filed 1977-09-12 by Beatrice Foods and is expired. According to both registrations, the trademarks' first commercial use was in 1907.[3] A trademark registration on file with the Ohio Secretary of State indicates the "Date[] when the trade-mark was first used anywhere" was "September 1894".[4]

[edit] Antiques

Various Blue Valley products are found in antique markets. Examples include

  • Ink blotters with the slogan: "Good cream deserves a good market ― Blue Valley"
  • Cream cans

[edit] FTC Action

In FTC Complaint No. 1064, 1925: "The respondent is engaged in the manufacture of butter and obtains its cream or butterfat from farmers by the direct-shipment plan, Involving the use of cans or containers which are the sole property of the farmer and which are accepted for shipment by the transportation companies without record of shipment other than the shipping instructions attached to each can. Unfair methods of competition are charged In that the respondent adopted a plan of substituting for all other tags or shipping instructions found on the cans, Including those Inteded to insure the safe return of the can to the owner, its undetachable tags or plates bearing the permanent shipping instructions, 'When full ship to Blue Valley Creamery Co.,' thereby making it difficult for farmers to ship cream to competitors and bringing about the receipt by the responsdent of cream intended for its competitors, In alleged violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission act. Disposition: A stipulation having been entered Into in lieu of testimony, the commission entered the following order: It is now ordered that respondent, Blue Valley Creamery Co., Its officers, directors, agents, representatives, and employees, cease and desist from attaching to shipping cans or containers not belonging to respondent any plates or tags bearing shipping instructions such as 'When full ship to the Blue Valley Creamery Co.,' or their equivalent, without the consent of the owner of such cans."

[edit] Supporter of the National Dairy Council and American Dairy Science Association

Blue Valley was a corporate supporter of the American Dairy Science Association. Otto Frederick Hunziker, head of Blue Valley's research laboratory, was a charter member and third president of ADSA. Edward K. Slater was a Blue Valley public relations manager in Chicago who helped found the National Dairy Council. H. C. Darger (Chicago), L. S. Holler (Chicago), W. A. Cordes (Chicago) were also Blue Valley employees and early members of ADSA.

[edit] Potential Sources of Additional Information

D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, Univ. of North Carolina Asheville, FOOD FILE, PG 4: "Blue Valley Creamery Co. - source for butter 1922"

National Archives' Central Plains Region (Kansas City), RG 9 Records of the National Recovery Administration, Folder 5: Blue Valley Creamery Co., PRA

University of Illinois at Chicago, A Century of Progress Records, Box 64, Folder 1-1845 Blue Valley Creamery Co. "A Century of Progress International Exposition was held in Chicago during the summers of 1933 and 1934 to commemorate the incorporation of the city in 1833. This collection consists of the incomplete operating records of A Century Progress World's Fair."

THE PAPERS OF HERBERT HOOVER, Commerce Papers Series: "Blue Valley Creamery Institute, 1925"

Grand Rapids Public Library, The Michigan Tradesman, 1883-1944: Blue Valley Creamery Co., New corporations, 1942-03-04, page 13, col 4

Photograph of Blue Valley Creamery mercantile building, "1137-43 West Jackson Boulevard", dated 1924, University of Minnesota Libraries, Manuscripts Division, Northwest Architectural Archives, Record #atc3467

Parker, Milton E., "Princely Packets of Golden Health" (A History of Butter Packaging), http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/ref/MiltonEParker.pdf (1948)

A "Blue Valley Creamery Institute, 1137 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois" is listed as a member in February 1930 of the American Society of Animal Production. http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/1930/1/220.pdf, p. 220; http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/1931/1/322.pdf, p. 322

[edit] Reference List

  1. ^ Adams, John D. (1923). Three Quarters of a Century of Progress 1848-1923 - A Brief Pictorial and Commercial History of Sioux City, Iowa. Verstengen Printing Company, 110. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. “BLUE VALLEY CREAMERY CO., Manufacturers of Creamery Butter: The Blue Valley Creamery Co., with 21 large butter making plants in this country, selected Sioux City as the site for a plant in 1907. Since that time it has become recognized as the plant in the chain that produces the best butter. Thirty-five people are employed during the fall and winter. This is increased to 60 or more during the busy spring and summer season. Cream is purchased direct from the farmers in Iowa. South Dakota and Nebraska, and occasionally from Wyoming. No receiving stations are operated by this company who maintain that they prefer to give the margin of profit to the producer than to the middleman. Another advantage of this method of obtaining cream is that it enables the plant to better grade the cream and keep the quality uniform. The butter bearing the Blue Valley label is sold in quarter, half and one-pound packages.” 
  2. ^ Registration of Fictitious Name, Springfield, MO: State of Missouri, 1939-03-15, <http://www.sos.mo.gov/imaging/18195099.pdf>. Retrieved on 7 June 2008 Beatrice Creamery Company has purchased the business, good will, trade names, trade marks and other assets of the Blue Valley Creamery Company at above locations and will continue the business at said locations under the name of Blue Valley Creamery.
  3. ^ U.S. P.T.O. Trademark Electronic Search System
  4. ^ Trade-mark Renewal Application, Columbus, OH: State of Ohio, 1976-02-17, <http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/reports/rwservlet?imgc&Din=E130_1288>. Retrieved on 7 June 2008