Friends,
Demolition of the 96,000 square foot Grocery Mix Building at Pillsbury continues this week. The 8000lb wrecking ball is making good progress and it is easy to imagine that the sugar tower on the roof of the building will come down this week. Yesterday the second floor forklift bridge that connected the Grocery Mix Building and the AB-Mill came down. The 6-foot shears on the trackhoe that cut the bridge were impressive to see in action!
Earlier this week we welcomed a 50-year Pillsbury employee back in Springfield as he traveled from Murfreesburo, Tennessee. He drove here to see the buildings for one last time. He worked in the Springfield plant early in his career then took the job transfer option offered in 1991 when Pillsbury sold the Springfield Plant to Cargill. He stayed on with Pillsbury for another 30-years in Murfreesboro. An extraordinary career. We visited with several former employees in the viewing area this week. They all have great stories to tell.
Railroad tie date nails became a new and interesting item for collection at the site earlier this year. In the railroad industry prior to the 1970’s, when railroad ties were replaced, a heavy nail with a date stamp would be driven into the tie to mark the year that the tie was installed. So far this year we have found tie nails with dates of: 1949, 1951, 1952, and 1958. Back in the early days of the Pillsbury plant there were 11 sets of tracks coming into the property. Many of those early railroad ties are still buried in the ground at the site.
It has been a fun and interesting week for the project. We have learned a lot about the history of the plant and the people that worked there. We have also enjoyed everyone’s commentary and speculation on how the big demolition would (or should) proceed. Please, take the time to stop by and enjoy the show as the wrecking ball continues pounding.
Thanks for being a part of this important community project.
~ Team Pillsbury