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I grew up around the area, I lived only a few blocks away from the
Rath Packing Company and 18th street bridge. And I have seen the
closing of Rath Packing Company. I had several a lot of Uncle’s
that have worked there. There is a lot of memory that I have from
my childhood, memory I will never forget. No matter what happen to
the old neighborhoods. The container is a micro size 1 ½ x 3/8
I have placed the cache near the 18th street. The City of Waterloo
has replaced the old bridge with a new one. The 18th street bridge
was built in 1931, was the longest and the most costly bridge in
Waterloo according to a 1939 in the Waterloo Courier. It spanned
758 feet and cost $93,000 to built. Currently the City of Waterloo
is putting in a The Riverwalk Loop. The Riverwalk Loop is a planned
system of walking and recreational trails along the Cedar River
from the U.S. Highway 63 bridge (Mullan Avenue) to the 18th Street
bridge. The Riverwalk Loop will connect the east and west sides of
downtown Waterloo as well as link into the extension of the Cedar
Valley regional trail system. The Riverwalk will have visitor
kiosks, performance spaces and other pedestrian amenities. The Rath
Packing Company (Rath) of Waterloo (Iowa) opened for business on
November 24, 1891, on the Cedar River. Initially, the company
concentrated on hogs, but by 1908 the company was also slaughtering
beef and soon lamb as well. Business thrived; lucrative contracts
to supply meat to the Armed Forces during both World Wars helped
the company grow. Growth and profitability were also spurred
between the 1930’s and 1950’s by innovations such as the fancy dry
curing of bacon and the vacuum canning of meats. By the company’s
fiftieth anniversary in 1941, the small regional packing house in
Waterloo had grown into the nation’s single largest meatpacking
facility with branch facilities in 12 states. By the end of World
War II, Rath was the fifth largest meatpacker in the U.S. Through
two world wars, stock market panics, depression, and drought, the
company had failed to show a profit in only four of its years. The
years following World War II brought labor troubles. A 1948 strike
at the Waterloo plant resulted in the death of a striking union
member and riot. Iowa National Guard troops were called in to
restore order. Holding firm, Rath management eventually outlasted
the union in negotiations, but labor relations remained sour. The
1960’s and 1970’s were difficult times for meat packing companies.
Competition was fierce and the industry had become high volume, low
margin. Profitability was hurt by a decline in per capita pork
consumption beginning in 1960. By the mid 1970’s, Rath’s
50-year-old four-story plant was obsolete. The new model for
packing houses called for single-level plants with continually
moving automated disassembly lines. In addition, Rath’s workforce
was predominantly middle-aged, older than the industry average for
packing houses, and thus burdened with higher than average wage and
benefit costs. In 1980, Local 41 of the United Food and Commercial
Workers Union which represented most of the labor force, negotiated
a plan that, in exchange for wage and benefit concessions from the
workers, gave them control of Rath’s board of directors. The
employee-owned Rath operated at a loss in 1981-1983. After a series
of further financial setbacks, Rath ceased operations in 1985.
George John Rath (varyingly referred to as George Rath and John
George Rath) was born in 1821 in Breitnau, Wurttemburg province,
Germany. He came to the United States in the late 1840’s and
eventually settled in Dubuque, Iowa. In Dubuque, Rath began a
merchant business, making and selling soap and tallow candles. He
also began a pork packing operation. By 1873 he had a new partner
in both endeavors: His son, E.F. (Edward Frederick) Rath, doing
business under the name George Rath and Son. In February 1891, the
Rath’s small pork packing plant and retail market in Dubuque was
destroyed by fire. The fire came at a time when many growing towns
in Iowa were trying to attract meat packers to relocate or open
operations in their communities. A packing plant was a major
acquisition for a small but ambitious town. Such a business meant
locally-available fresh meat, employment, and typically created a
livestock market, all adding to local commerce and prosperity. The
Raths were approached by the Waterloo, Iowa, Board of Trade (a
Chamber of Commerce forerunner) and were eventually won over.
Incentives included $10,000 in capital, land for a plant, and tax
concessions. At some point during this process, George J. Rath
decided not to leave Dubuque and not to continue in the meat
packing business, rather to stay with his mercantile business. His
son E.F. Rath, and John W. Rath, a cousin from Ackley, Iowa, began
the Waterloo venture.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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