The Citizen, 1995-07-26, Page 9THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1995. PAGE 9.
The Faces
of Business
Growing and prospering
in Blyth
Five generations succeed at Howson and Howson
Change has always been the name of
the game for Howsons as their feed
and flour mills grew and added services
as the years passed.
Today, the large Howson complex,
which stands on the 10th concession of
Morris Twp. , houses several silos, corn
dryers, flat storage, fertilizer tower
blender, warehouse space and offices.
The Howson history began in 1875
when William Howson and twin brother
Archibald rented a flour mill in
Aberfoyle before moving on to an
operation in Teeswater.
Even then, the men had visions for
growth as they installed the first roller
mill in the district.
By 1889, the brothers had decided to
split their operations, William going to
Wingham and Archibald moved to the
Arthur mill.
Starting the tradition of family
involvement, Frank Howson, William's
son became a partner in the Wingham
business in 1917.
Frank oversaw the changing times for
the mill, as transport converted from
horse-drawn wagons to trucks. The
company purchased their first delivery
truck, a Model T Ford, in 1924.
The next generation joined the firm in
1943, when Frank's son, Fred, became
a partner.
Four years later, the Blyth mill, in an
inoperative state, was bought. After
remodeling the old mill, the facility was
up and running within the year.
Frank and Fred ran the Wingham and
Blyth mills until 1950 when the
Wingham property was destroyed by
fire.
The operation in Blyth had a capacity
of 800 cwt. by 1957.
During the decade of the 60s, Fred's
sons, Jim, Bill, Doug and Bruce began
working at the mill and soon became
partners. The fifth generation joined in
1989 when Jim's son, Steve, became
involved.
Over the years, Howson and Howson
has continued to add new features to
their facility to meet the needs of their
customers.
Only three years after purchasing the
Blyth mill, five grain silos and a
warehouse were constructed on the
west end of the building.
By the following year, the feed mill
had been renovated, old machinery
replaced, capacity in-
creased and employees
numbered 13 with two
trucks on the road.
Soon bulk storage,
handling and shipping
arrived at the flour and
feed mill.
A 50 foot platform scale
was installed to assist in
the bulk shipping
operation.
In 1962, a pneumatic
system was added to the
operation, to replace the
bucket elevation for
conveying stock within
the mill.
Throughout the 70s,
construction continued at
the Blyth facility but as
the popularity of cash
crops grew, Howsons
decided to purchase the
Morris Twp. property in
1976.
A grain drying and
storage unit was
constructed on the new
site along with four silos.
Within four years,
another corn dryer was
added as well as two
more silos.
Expansion at Howson
and Howson continued
through the 80s and
culminated in the
construction of a large
new facility in 1994, in
Morris Twp.
At that time, a new feed
mill, warehouse and office
space were built, bringing
about the closure of the
facility in the village of
Blyth.
With the addition of a
fertilizer tower blender
and chemical warehousing in 1995,
Howsons' operation concentrates on
these aspects of business.
What started as a flour mill has
evolved to an elevator complex which
handles corn, soya beans, white winter
wheat and white beans and offers their
customers custom applications of
fertilizers and chemicals.
Evolution at Howson's has fed success.
41121
Howson & Howson are an agent for the Ontario Wheat Producers
Marketing Board, handling only white winter wheat
•Fast Unloading •Accurate Probe System •Trucking Available
Ontario Wheat Producers
We are now ready to receive your '95
White Winter Wheat and Barley Crops
We also buy, sell and store barley
FORWARD CONTRACTING OF CORN AND SOYBEANS
Howson & Howson Ltd.
FEED, SEED, CHEMICALS, FERTILIZER,
GRAIN ELEVATORS, CUSTOM APPLICATION
BLYTH, ONTARIO
523-9624 or 1-800-663-3653
*1121ia- -
Elevators 1 1/4 miles east of Blyth on County Rd. 25 then 1/2 mile north.