WORTHINGTON - Almost none of us are at just the right place at just the right time. Of course. Most often that never happens.
I was trying to remember when I could say I was at the right place at the right time. One thing came to mind. At the back of the Hotel Thompson there is a small building from a later date. Dr. R.W. Lowry once had his office there. In a later time this was headquarters for the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber secretary was John Sebold.
We began each day at the Daily Globe making our rounds - the police station, municipal court, city hall. I had been at coffee with Judge Henry Fauskee, and I stopped off at the Chamber office on my way back to the Globe. “Anything new?’ I asked John. “Nothing,” he said. Maybe we talked about the weather. Sure is hot. Two young men - strangers - came to the door. “Mister Sebold?” one asked. “I am Sebold,” John said. “Well,” said the young man, “We just stopped by to tell you Armour and Company is going to build a production plant - (abattoir, they called it) - at Worthington. This will replace the plant we had at Sioux City.”
Right place and right time. Worthington in that era devoted many, many hours to community growth. What could Worthington do to get more people, more houses? No one ever thought of an entire hog production plant - business people thought in terms of Hershey bars, not whole plants.
I was at the right place at the right time. I had news for the Daily Globe, news for every subscriber. John Sebold and I were the only two who knew it.
Armour was a famous name in America at that time. It was the biggest operation in Chicago. Armour, S.D., was named for it. It was a key industry at Sioux City. Now Armour was coming to Worthington. That was big news. Campbell Soup was already busy at its plant processing chickens on Ninth Street. Now Campbell’s was to be joined by Armour? Who ever guessed? The Daily Globe called The Associated Press at Minneapolis - Armour is coming.
Through the passing of years, Armour became Swift. Swift Packing Co. Swift was a big and familiar name. Swift became JBS with little notice.
I was in a short line at a cash register. “Where is your husband working now?” the clerk at the register wondered. “Oh, he got a job at Swift,” the woman replied. In the minds of many through the local area, the hog production plant on Worthington’s east side remains Swift. JBS? Don’t know what that is.
Well - JBS, headquartered in Brazil, is the world’s largest meat packing operation. It is in the news lately because of the JBS decision to purchase the Cargill pork business, making JBS even bigger. Huge. Campbell Soup came to Worthington. Campbell Soup is gone. JBS is as big as the Campbell plant and the old Armour operation put together. Worthington seems sometimes not to recognize what it has. For example, JBS sometimes “processes” 12,000 hogs in a single shift. An awesome pile of pork chops. Some of them can be found in China. JBS is a player on the world stage.
JBS has transformed Worthington, of course. Workers from Somalia and Laos, Costa Rica and Mexico have come to Worthington for jobs - have come to JBS for jobs.
Although it exceeds anything Worthington has ever seen, the JBS plant seems to be taken in stride. JBS is the biggest operation Worthington has ever known. Hundreds of area residents come together there each morning - first shift. Hundreds more come together late each afternoon - second shift. The JBS payroll is the cornerstone of Worthington’s economy, supporting in part everything from local businesses and restaurants to Worthington’s churches. JBS imports hogs from farms in the Worthington area on to farms from all across Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas. It has become an important element in the region’s economy.
I would have liked to be at the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce office on the day two young men came through the door to report Swift had become JBS. I would have had some big news.
Ray Crippen is a former editor of the Daily Globe. His column is published on Saturdays.
