by Helen W. Smith
SIGNS OF THE TIME
In the years before neon and digital signage, local businesses in the 19th and early 20th centuries relied primarily on metal and wooden signs to advertise in the local community. The new exhibit, SIGNS OF THE TIME, coming in June will feature a number of these signs as well as letterheads and sales receipts which are among the Museum’s business collections. One of the most familiar signs of that period is that of Colonel Rockingham, the logo of Rockingham Poultry Cooperative.
Insert picture of chicken with BLUE SHORTS.
For about 45 years, “Colonel Rockingham” served as a symbol of Rockingham Poultry Cooperative, one of the major poultry companies in the Shenandoah Valley. A 1990’s article in the DNR described the trademark as “the perky rooster with swagger stick tucked under his right arm.”
Poultry production started in Plains District in the early 1900’s. In 1909, Dr. Ed Fahrney and Richard L. Miller opened the earliest processing plant in Timberville on the site of the old Farm Bureau Building alongside the railroad tracks. By the 1930’s as the industry continued to grow, poultry growers and local businessmen concerned about the price of chickens (about 11 cents per lb.) and the difficulty in finding local markets joined together to form a cooperative. The planners looked into new ways to increase and improve production. In 1938, intrigued by the success of the production line concept at the Ford Motor Company, a group organized by Howard S. Zigler of Timberville travelled to Detroit. They returned with a plan to build a new facility based on the same concept adapted for processing poultry. The Rockingham Poultry Marketing Cooperative, Inc. in Broadway officially opened on Oct.9, 1940 with Tom Heitz as General Manager/Treasurer and Vic Pringle as the Assistant General Manager. The cooperative opened with 233 members each paying $25 to join and a reserve of $33,000 for operating expenses.
Heitz and Pringle soon initiated an effort to create a symbol of the Co-op which would appear on all its products. They contacted Howard Pringle, brother of Vic, to come up with a logo. “Colonel Rockingham” was introduced as the official trademark in December 1948. The original, a chicken painted with a red comb and tail, a blue jacket, and yellow feet, appeared on poultry products and numerous promotional items including ashtrays, cigarette lighters, caps, and matches. They were widely distributed throughout the U.S and later internationally.
Benny Getz (now deceased), a longtime employee of Rockingham Poultry and a former member of the Museum was involved in the only major change made in the logo. In the early 1960’s, the Co-op changed its packaging for chicken from white to clear. Many of the managers felt that the blue jacket caused the chicken to look spoiled. So, to the dismay of many of the “old time employees” such as Benny, they decided to change its color. As Sales Manager, Benny visited distributors all around the east coast-New York, Boston, Washington, Richmond- carrying tray samples with different colored labels. The consensus was that brown was best. So, from the early 1960’s until 1980’s, the Colonel appeared in a brown jacket with an oval Rockingham in red and white and a yellow band as part of the company logo.
Insert picture of Benny with the new logo in Brown Jacket
In 1988, Rockingham Poultry merged with Wampler Food, Inc. and Horace Longacre, Inc. to form WLR Foods. Soon thereafter, a decision was made to drop the “Colonel” from all products sold in the U.S. Its popularity abroad, particularly in countries like Japan and China, convinced management to continue its use on foreign packaging. According to trademarks.justia.com, the “Colonel” logo officially expired and was not renewed in April 2006.
The new exhibit of local signage will be on display from June through December.
We encourage you to visit the Museum this summer. Which of these business signs included in the exhibit do you recognize?
COMING SOON
June 6 – 7 Fri and Sat. 8 am – 1 pm
SPRING INDOOR YARD SALE
June 8 Sun. 2 pm
Rev. William Zirk of New Market, VAwill speak on “The Forgotten People of Rockingham County.,” a look at the early 20thc Alms (Poor) Houses in the County. Bill’s grandfather and father were both superintendents at the House near Pleasant Valley.
