Loading...
The Clinton News Record, 1940-11-07, Page 3TIiU]PS., OV. 7, 1940 THE CLINTON N WS -RECORD PAGE St in KM - YOU ARE CODIALLY INVITED TO VISIT;. L ervic inton ANY TIME THIS WEEKEND — FRID'AY and SATURDAY — Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Attendants will be glad to answer questions and guide you through the building. You will see the Finest and Most up-to-date Refrigerated. Locker Service in Ontario l 'the Iiatkin Locker Service offers to do butchering of all kinds — to age and process these meats — in the latest and best ]mown manner, ready for cooking -- to wrap in waterproof paper in meal size packages, labelled with locker number;. date, contents and weight, and. stored m your locker at a temperature close to zero. Nearly all perishable fruits and vegetables can be preserved in this manner, as it saves all the vitamins in, many cases enhances flavor _ no loss at low temperature. Free Prize Drawing While visiting the New Batkin Locker Plant on Friday and Saturday don't forget lst PRIZE -1 LARGE LOCKER RENT FREE For One Year. 2nd PRIZE -1 SMALL LOCKER RENT FREE For One Year. to put your name and address on the cards provided. You may be the lucky winner of one of the 4 Big Prizes: 3rd PRIZE—PROCESSING OF ONE COMPLETE BEEF. 4th PRIZE -PROCESSING OF ONE COMPLETE HOG. Tickets to be drawn at 11 o'clock on ,Saturday night by Mayor Waters. One Women Tells Another "About the quickest way I can tell. • you about locker service. is to say that Howard and I don't really see bow we got along without it," an- swered Mrs, Herbert in reply to Helen's question. The evening before George, Helen's husband, had been reading one of his magazines. "There's kind of an in- teresting story here about this locker plant business that's sweeping the eountry. You know anything about it?" he had asked his wife. "Not any more than you do I guess," Helen had answered. "There's a plant here in town you know." "Yes, I know," George had answer- ed. "It's on State street. I remem- ber passing it a couple of times on the way home. According to this article here," he went on, "a lot of city families are saving a good deal of money and enjoying better food by using this locker service. Wonder if we know anyone that's using a locker? I'd kind of like to take to someone that's had some experience with it." "Mrs. Herbert up on the corner rents a locker," Helen had replied, "I remember last spring Mr. Walters at the meat market said he'd bet that she'd get pretty tired of frozen, dried np meat before she got through with it." Walters Prejudiced "Walters would likely be prejudic- ed," George had observed. "She al- ways bought Miller meat from there because tho,right honorable Howard was so particular about having every- thing on the table just right. If there was anything wrong with the stuff that came out of the locker you can bet that the Herbert family wouldn't be customers there very long. Why don't you ask her about it the first chance you get?" He concluded. It is a regrettale thing about city life that people lour or five doors away are practically strangers. Be- yond knowledge of 'the fact that Howard Herbert was a successful attorney who had been a county judge somewhere upstate before moving to Columbus a dozen years ago, Helen and George Simmons did not know the Herberts as well as a farm fam- ily would know people living 10 miles away. A. conventional "how do you do" or "nice evening" as they passed the Herberts' front yard on the way to the shopping center or neighbor- hood movie on a summer evening were .about the extent of their ac- quaintance. Sometimes Helen, would meet Mrs. Herbert at the meat mar- ket, but never at the grocery store. Mr. Herbert, she had murmured once as they met .briefly at Walter's Meat Market counter, was very particular about his steaks and roasts and in- sisted that she pick them out. The Herbert groceries, it was apparel*. were delivered from a service store. The -Simmons' carried theirs home from the cash and carry, City Neighborhood Life Those who understand the etiquette of city neighborhood life will Wader- stand that Helen Simmons could not just go to Mit. Herbert's door, like a census taker, and out of a clear sky ask a practical stranger how she liked locker. service. Strange as it may seem to those used to the informal- ity of rural life or small town life, it would have seemed to Helen a good deal like asking Mrs. Herbert if her husband ever beat' hen Probably that is the explanation r "taking hold" in the cities than in the small towns. Let something good hit your little town, and in three weeks every one knows Omit it. Of course scandal gets around quicker in the small town too—but that's an- other story that has no connections with this one. Several days later, as Helen was on the way to the shopping centre, Mrs. Herbert was in the side yard spraying her rose bushes. Reflecting that people who worked with roses were usually glad to have them ad- mired, Helen stopped to comment on how much she had envied the gorg- eous array of blooms in Mrs. Herb- ert's rose garden. lee Was Quickly Broken Sure enough, the ice was quickly broken and soon Helen Simmons and dVfary Herbert were comparing notes on flower culture like old high school churns. Inevitably, as always happens when two young matrons get togeth- er. the talk flowed toward the subject of the cost of living. A. little further on in their acquaintance would came mutual commiserations over the fact that 'husbands likes and dislikes in food were the strangest, most unpre- dictable things in natures. It was here that Helen asked about the Herbert's experience with looker ser- vice and received the answer related at the beginning of this story. It developed that the Herberts had wit originated the thought of using locker service, but had picked it up, from visiting a cousin of Mr. Herb- ert's' in Oregon the winter before. They had both been soimproeled with the quality of both meat and vege- tables that had been served thein in the Oregon hone that they were sur- prised to find that they w ' e m•+ "company" meals, but rather the reg- ular fare of this locker usin€'' .family. They had returned from the west i coast in February, about the time the locker plant was being completed in Columbus, and Howard Herbert had been one of the first to rr'erve a locker. "Howard and the boys won't touch anything but the most expensive cuts of meat," Mary Herbert explained,' "so we probably do save more by us- ing a locker than. lots of people would." "Why would that be?" asked Helen. Marks Up Better Cuts "Because the retail butcher, like Mr. Walters, has to put a pretty big mark-up on the betters cuts to make up for selling the less tender cuts at a sural] profit in order to get rid of them," Mary explained. "It's a good deal like taking a big profit on dresses at the beginning of the season to make up for selling some of them at a loss later on,' agreed Helen, thinking of George's business. "But when you buy a beef from the locker plant, don't you have to eat all of it?" she pursued. "That would be the most sensible thing to do," agreed Mary, "if you didn't have a pampered family like, mine, because there are plenty of ways to use every eut, but in our family it must be T-bone steak or rib roasts; so we buy only those wholesale cuts. Of course the meat costs more per pound 'that way than it would if we bought an entire quar- ter, but it is a great deal cheaper than buying a couple of pounds at .retail every day or two, and we find that the quality is much more uniform." "What else do you use your locker Why locker service has been slower/ for besides beef?" Helen asked. Congratulation to Clinton and Mr. Batkin An Refrigerator Doors used in this Modern Locker Storage Plant were supplied by Brantford Rerigerator Co. BRANTFORD ONTARIO "They have the most delicious hams and bacons you ever tasted," replied Mary. "They're cured right in mein own plant. By buying several of each at a time we get a very good price and leave them right in the locker until we need them. When we visit- ed Oregon; Howard and the boys thought that the frozen strawberries were about the best things they had ever tasted; so now we buy them by the case, along with frozen peas and cauliflower. You can get a lot better price if you buy in quantity, and they keep perfectly in the locker." "My husband will be interested in hearing about this," remarked Helen as she turned to resume her walk. "He was reading something about looker service in a magazine last night and asked me to find out more about it." "Better not ask Mr. Walters about it," admonished Mary. "He'll do his best to discourage you. He tried to discourage us, anyway." Baby Beef For 'Fite Locker "There's more to this locker service thing than you would imagine," George told Helen at dinner that evening. "1 was out to Pineville to- day to see about installing some new lighting in the store there, and Bol - singer insisted that I should go out to see the hew barn on his brother's place. While we were there a teen', drove up and loaded up about as nice a looking baby beef as you ever saw outside of a breeder's catalog, and I asked Bolsinger's brother if he was selling the critter. 'Not on your life,' he said, 'this baby is going to be our pride and joy on the table for some time to come.' Then he explained to me that this truck was sent out by the locker plant at Avery. I ec i " have known that if I'd stopped to read the name on it, but anyway this plant has a branch at Pineville, and they would take this baby beef over to Avery and butcher it. Then they would put it in their chill room for a couple of days and age it for a couple of weeks in the aging room, Bolsienc- er expalined. After that they would cut it up into regular retail cuts, wrap it, freeze it, and bring it over to Pineville to put half of it in Bol - singer's locker and half in his broth- er's locker. Dividing "How would they divide it," asked Helen, thinking of Mary Herbert's conversation that morning. "Bach one takes a hind quarter and a front quarter," replied George. "They do that right along. Whenever Bolsinger's brother has something to butcher he sells part of it to Hol- singer. That way they don't either of then put in so much at a time that they' can't use it up in two of three months. They say that's bettor than putting in six or eight months' supply at a time like they did at first." "Do they like this locker service then?= asked Helen. Move the Branch "They sure do," replied George "Boi.singer says that this branch locker room has been. in Pineville about a year now andthat so many of the business men and farmers around there have got to using it that it is all filled up, and this fall they are gong to move the branch ever to Hemphill and built a complete locker plant at Pineville. The main plant of this Pineville branch, over at Avery, has more than 600 lockers rented, Bolsinger tells me." "Well, Mary Herbert surely speaks well of locker service," Helen broke in„ "I had quite a talk with her this morning" "Sort of getting around for a win- dow trimmer's wife nhen't you? Was site really pleasant?" asked George. "She's not a bit uppity; answered Helen. "Of course you can toll that they live pretty well, but she doesn't brag about it. It is just a matter of course with Fier. She says that locker service is fine for them, because they use expensive cuts of meat that are high enough wholesale and even more so at retail. They buy lots of frozen fruits and vegetables by the case too, becau-se they can save money that way and the locker stores them until they're ready to use them." Vegetables Too "Bolsinger explained all that to me. He used to run, a ,grocery and meat market before he started to work for our firm," George said. "He claims we could have better meat than we're buying now at less cost if we used a locker. He's got quite a garden, and, they put up a lot of vegetables. He took me down to this locker room and showed me all the stuff Mrs. Bolsing- er had packed away—says it's a lot easier than canning it, and it tastes lots better." "You know you like the frozen peas and cauliflower we've had lots better than canned ones," Helen ob- served. "Yes, and how about that frozen asparagus?" George interrupted. "That was even better than fresh." "That was because they froze it fresh and tender where it grows," re- plied Helen. "Most of the asparagus I can buy here is shipped in, and it is pretty much dried out before it gets out to our store." "No reason why we couldn't freeze up some vegetables out of our gar- den," observed George, "and there are times, Bolsinger tells me, when you can buy locally grown stuff aw- fully cheap here." "Do you think we ought to have a locker, then?" Helen asked. "I'd like to try it," -George answer- ed. "The boss says that Howard Herbert is the most particular man about his eatiiig that he ever sa-w. I guess if he has been satisfied with what he has been getting out of his Iocker for six months it ought to be good enough for most anybody." Children Return Family councils are like so many other conferences. A lot of thinks are decided upon, but never acted upon. Shortly after the conversation related, the Simmons children, Gray, aged 11, and Bernice, aged 13, came home from. their respective camps. Helen thought more than ever about meat bills, but there was clothing to think of for the beginning of school and even a well .salaried man's in- come will not permit too many things being taken on at one time. Helen and Georgz talked several times about locker service in the fol- lowing six weeks. George went to Pineville a couple of times in that interval and always came back with some account of the Bolsinger's use of locker service. Now they were putting some cheaply bought eggs away for the following winter, next it was a dozen chiekens that some farmer wished to dispose of at an, attractive price. Helen talked several times with Mrs. Herbert who, became more friendly with each encounter. Mr. Herbert was particularly enthusiastie about a couple of trimmed loins 110 had recently bought and had put in his locker. Mary insisted that Helen take one of the steaks she had just brought home from this lot. When George cut into the steak that night at dinner he was all questions. What had it cost the Herbert's, what would it have cote; the Simmons' at Walters, or any other retail market? The Fishing Trip Sold It After all, though, it was the fish- ing trip that did it. If it had not been for George getting the chance to go on the fall visit to Northern Michigan with his boss and the two linen buyers, the Simmons' might not have gotten around to using locker service for some time. George shipped home a big box of fish on his license. One of the linen Cl' nto coal buyers was a bachelor with no local conneftions, so he turned his lot over to the Simmons' when they reached home. One hundred odd pounds of pike,. lake trout, and bass is a lot of fish,. even for a family of four, with one• who would just as soon not eat any• more fish for a while. Yes, you guessed it. The fish went. to the locker plant. "Good evening, Mr. Simmons." It. was Mr. Herbert who was also stop- ping at the locker plant. "Mrs. Her- bert has often spoken of your wife.. Glad to see you're using locker ser- vice. We think it's a fine thing. Hope - you like it." - "It was that steak of yours that really sold me," George answered. "Say, wait a minute, I want you to try one of these extra fancy bass out of my locker." RItAD THE ADVERTISEMENT€f IN THE NEWS -RECORD FIRST , on possessing the most modern refrigerator locker systetrz in Ontario. SECOND, on having so enterprising a firm as Batkin Locker Service to provide the public with this great 20th century convenience. The 285 -locker installation and large Chill Room are of f iciently refrigerated by Kelvinator units of the latest type and furnish the public with up-to-date cold storage for meats, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables. INSTALLED BY Wright Piano Co., Strathroy for BATKIN LOKER SER KELV!NAT E R OF CANADA, Limited, L'; NDDN, e