FISHERMAN'S PACKING CORPORATION

Fisherman's Packing Corporation was founded in 1928 and 1929 by Purse-seine vessel owners and operators. When they first opened, there were 80 stockholders, and after 35 years in business there were 229 stockholders. This article is merely an introduction of how the cannery began. Fishermen are mainly interested in catching fish and not in packing it. As a rule, they are "free spirits" who love working outside in the elements and don't like the restrictions imposed on them by working indoors. During the early years of fishing, the fishermen faced numerous disappointments in finding markets for their fish. When salmon was scarce and difficult to catch, all buyers were eager to purchase all the fish they could; however, when the "big years" came, the canneries turned down many boats because they had no room. It was due to these circumstances that the vessel-owners banded together and formed Fisherman's Packing Corporation under the organizer and manager J. R. Morris.

At the time FPC was organized in 1928 the company distributed 22 'TPC" Pennants to it's captain members in order to keep it a small, manageable business. (Even though there were 35 boat owner-operators that organized FPC) But by 1931, more than 80 pennants were flying from the mastheads. This 400 percent enlistment quickly increased the total value of the corporation's fleet. They quadrupled the facilities and pledged to accept every single fish that its members caught. At the beginning of the 1931 season, the cannery was valued at considerably more than $250,000. This relationship between cannery and fisherman was a whole new concept. Instead of the fishermen fishing for the cannery - the cannery was operating for the sole purpose of caring for the daily catch of the seiners. This attitude was officially emphasized, by the fact that no one could acquire stock in the company unless they were purse-seine owners and that the purse-seine was in use as such.

The organizer and manager of Fisherman's Pack Corporation, J.0. Morris, operated the cannery with substantial operating profit . He was a multitalented individual, he managed FPC and was associated with several similar companies - always showing a profit even in the leaner years. He started out with a trading post on the Quinault Indian Reservation in 1900 and bought salmon for the W.W. Kurtz Cannery of Hoquiam, WA. After four years, he became superintendent of that plant and was there for a total of I I years. In 1913, Morris went to Everett, where he organized the Everett Packing Company and got a two-line cannery into action. His partners were S.P. McGhie and S. Chase. This business expanded into Alaska where in 1916 a plant was built at Herendeen Bay, Bering Sea. When he came home that fall, the three partners took on W.R. Lord into the firm and established the well-known Nootka Packing Company on Vancouver Island. They started other smaller canneries during this time although Everett Packing Company continued as the central business of the partners and in time, that cannery became the chief buyer of seine-caught salmon on Puget Sound. Then in 1928 FPC was formed. The fishermen purchased Everett Packing Corp and retained Morris as manager of the new institution. At this same time, he was still manager of all his previous canneries and guided each one into profitable seasons. Finally in 1930 he relinquished all other managerships and devoted himself exclusively to FPC. In April of 1935 J.0. Morris met with accidental death and Peter Covich was elected president and Lee Makovich was elected general manager. The following year, Jack Repanich was elected president and held the office through 1938. In 1937, the company purchased Booth Fisheries in Anacortes, WA and moved everything from the Everett Plant to the new Anacortes location, thus establishing its operations in the "heart" of the fishing area.

In 1953, FPC passed their first milestone marking the Company's 25h Anniversary. The company was incorporated just two years prior to the worst depression in the history of this country, yet they survived the depression period, became a success, and had a bright outlook for the future. The period between 1953 and 1963 was not the most successful years for the company, but their cash position and surplus account had remained constant and respectable dividends were paid annually with the exception of the year, 1957. The company also paid special dividends during some of those years to the producing stockholders. Looking into the financial reports further, it was shown that a profit was made every year with the exception of a small loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1961 and a loss for the year ending March 31, 1963.

The salmon industry throughout Puget Sound and Alaska had been plagued by poor runs for several years with the worst failure in it's history in the year 1962. That particular year should have been a banner run, but the fish did not come. Also during the years from 1953 to 1963 FPC doubled the number of stockholders with many of them being producing stockholders, owning their own fishing vessels. This was one of the main reasons that the company's financial situation stayed in the "black" because the new stockholders helped the company maintain a large fishing fleet. At the time of the 35 th Anniversary, Fisherman's Packing Corporation looked forward to a bright and profitable future. As with other industries, the fishing industry had it's problems. There was the increased world population and other countries were no longer just fishing off their own shores, the demand for food was so great that they were invading the coastal shorelines of sovereign countries (like the U. S -, Canada, and Alaska). There was also the problem of getting enough fish up to spawning sites because of the invading fleets, the tribal nets in the rivers, and the growing population moving out along the spawning sites and destroying fish habitats. Although, since then, there has been much progress made towards solutions, even though there is still very much that should be done.

The operations go as such: When the day was done, the FPC tenders came out so that the Pennant carriers could unload their fish. They started with the pinks, then the sockeye, coho, and finally the chinook. As the fish passed over the rail, a count was kept of each type and the amount of each. If the catches were exceedingly heavy, a different method was used, There were six or seven receiving stations throughout the sound which had highly efficient mechanical equipment that enabled half dozen craft at a time to unload. This" was the brainstorm of the engineers at FPC. There were two distinct types, but each had the same basic operating principal. They provided sufficient berthing space so that four to six seiners could lie alongside at the same time and pitch their fish into separate tally-chutes, where they were counted as they slid aboard the floating station. The salmon didn't stay aboard the station, but passed directly from the tally-chutes to a belt conveyor which carried them the entire length of the barge or float. This conveyor elevated the fish to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, and by a gravity spout delivered them to a salmon scow or tender moored beneath. A hundred thousand fish could be handled in an evening at one single station and the only limit in capacity would be the availability of enough scows or tenders.

The FPC had scouts go out to judge what the take would be each day and wired the manager's office so that he would know how much fish would be expected the next morning. Before the catch reached the wharf, all cans, cartons, and packing crews were on hand. It was possible to estimate the catch so accurately and the timing of the tenders arrival that there was very little, if any waiting time for the crews before they started work on the day's catch. To keep the ocean-caught fish fresh that came from Cape Flattery, barge number 2, was stationed at Neah Bay. This unit was provided with an ice house, an electric generating set, a wireless telegraph transmitter and receiver, and large, comfortable quarters for the men that were stationed there. Along it's sides, three seiners could unload and by mooring a fourth on the off-quarter of the tender - all four seiners could be unloaded simultaneously.

The barge was constructed so that the long conveyor passed through the ice-house at the delivery end of the station. As the fish moved along, men shoveled ice on the conveyor where it became thoroughly mixed with the salmon as they were chuted into the carrier's hold. This was, truly, ingenious planning and the proof of it's effectiveness was the excellent condition of the salmon at the time of delivery to the cannery. This system was so well articulated, that the salmon, from the time of their catch to the time of their delivery to the fish-house foreman, arrived in perfect condition. Mishaps and misunderstandings could not occur because of the inter-communications between all stations during the moving of the fish. Many fish or few, the whole quantity was dealt with on a regular schedule and with precision timing. This was how FPC became one of the greatest processors of its time.

STOCKHOLDERS

Fisherman's Packing Corporation (as of 1963)

In the first thirty-five years of the company's existence, many of the original stockholders had retired or had passed away. Some of their stockholdings have been transferred to, or purchased by, persons other than fishing boat operators interested in the successful operation of the Fisherman's Packing Corporation. In the past several years (before 1963) the development of gill net fisheries has expanded and the company, accordingly has included the gill net fishing in its operations and today (1963) a good number of gill net --boat owner-operators are stockholders. Having developed exceptional machinery while building special floating equipment, FPC then set out to reduce time-losses at the cannery dock. The mathematical minds at FPC decided that three large, powerful hoists would do the job - Each hoist held a heavy brailer-hoop from which a rope-mesh sling hung. Then they figured that they could improve on that method and built a more efficient unloading and elevating machine. It was a housed-in bucket-and-chain unit, non-rigid and movable. This apparatus was placed in service during the 1931 season.

Complete separation of the butchering and dressing work was made possible by constructing the receiving depot or "fish-house" at the seaward end of a long wharf. This wharf extended a distance of a hundred yards into the bay. Inside the cannery the utensils used in the initial stages of canning were placed. There were seven fish bins on one side of the room, this is where the hoists and elevators discharged the fish. These bins were not designed for storage, but only as a means for keeping a small supply of salmon in the plant in between the tender unloadings.

The inside of the FPC plant was painted entirely in white enamel paint. This covering had a gloss and hardness almost comparable to glass. Being pure white, it shows the slightest stain. At the end of the day, men scrubbed the walls with brushes dipped in lye water. Others would be busy with brooms and scrapers, While another man manages a high-pressure hose. During these times of “scrubbing down" the plant was completely sanitized. Four "Iron Chinks" received the salmon as they were drawn from the battery of bins. The chinks performed the primary functions of butchering and delivered decapitated and eviscerated fish into the hands of fifty women employees who completed the dressing. The women were told that they were not to process any fish that they would not take home and cook themselves. The women took this very seriously and carefully followed through with the dressing of the fish on a clean wooden cutting board. There was water continuously running over the fish, the cutting boards and the women's hands. After the salmon had been hand-dressed, repeatedly washed and rinsed, they journeyed to the cannery proper, upon what was (at that time) declared to be the longest mechanical salmon-conveyor in existence. When the fish arrived at the cannery proper, they were segregated into species and then passed through gangs of rotary knives that cut them into segments of exactly the proper length to fit into the cans. There was one gang-knife slicer on each of the seven lines of canning machinery in the factory.

Before the filled cans were permitted to pass into production, they were passed down the center of an inspection table. They were each looked over and any can that looked over-weight, underweight, or loose filled, were lifted out. When the salmon cans were ready to go into the capping process, a machine man passed ultimate judgement from his point of view. He watched every tin that passed to make sure that there were no protruding bones or anything else that might lodge between the edge of the can and the lid to prevent the can from sealing properly. Approved cans were sent on their way to the first of two machines that performed the capping process. The first machine placed the lid on the can and the second machine crimped the top into place. Then the cans were washed with needle-spray as they left the crimper, passing directly into American Canning Company vacuum sealers which exhausted much of the atmospheric gases from their interiors while at the same time the lids were hermetically sealed in place.

Next, crews of men received the cans and arranged them in shallow metal trays, tier up the trays seven high on low iron trucks and wheeled these, six to a charge, into big Wells-type retorts. These giant pressure cookers were of the most efficient type. They had doors at both ends and were covered with heat-conserving insulation. The temperature dials and pressure gauges were arranged high above the workers so there could be no accidental bumping of the dials. The can-cook retortman moved back and forth over the top of the pressure cylinders on a cat-walk. By a system of signals -he communicated with the crews on the floor who were in charge of filling and emptying the cookers, as to when each cylinder needed attention. Cooking the fish required an hour and a half after the vault-type doors were closed and locked, slightly more than ten pounds of steam pressure was admitted to the interior and the processing took place at temperatures of approximately 242 degrees. At the conclusion of a ninety-miinute sterilization period, the salmon was ready to use as food.

The retorts were opened from the rear end and the cars were run out and the trays lifted down. One at a time, they were placed on slowly-moving chains of a long conveyor taking them to the rear of the plant. On the way they entered a long trough of cold water called the CC cooling tank" and was where the final process of sealing took place. The cooling tank drew most of the heat from the cans, causing their bulging ends to collapse inwardly as condensation relieved the internal steam pressure., and the weight of atmospheric pressure was felt. This diaphragm action produced clearly audible clicks. When the trays came to the rear of the cannery after going through the "cooling tank", they were lifted from the conveyor chains and were slid into the wide metal sleeve of the Douglas Cooler-Dumper. This mechanical casing machine was built in such a fashion that the sleeve can be rotated through a one-half turn, the cans and the tray thereafter slid out of the sleeve upon a slowlymoving fabric traper. The tray was then on top of the cans (upside down) so that one of the workers could lift it from the cans and hang it on hooks moving these trays back to the beginning for re-use. The cans were left upright on their ends and moved a few feet forward on the belt then the tins fell one row at a time into two metal channels. A half of the row rolling away to the right and the other to the left. Each channel terminated into a magazine where the cans dropped through slots automatically arranging themselves in tiers which form within a metal frame. An operator placed an empty case over the frame, touched the foot pedal, and the mechanism instantly injected twenty-four cans into the base of the box. A second pressure on the pedal and a second lot of twenty-four cans fell on top of the first twenty-four. This completely filled the container.

Labeling of course was done entirely by machinery. Several crews of women and girls were occupied in this department. Two women took the cans from the discharge tray of a round-can labeling machine and dropped them into a case as fast as the cans reached her hand. A ton or two of labels were kept constantly on hand and were stored in cabinets where the packages of each sort and size were stacked neatly. One noticeable provision was a special short-cut wharf or pier that was built to connect the warehouse proper with the labeling and differentiated storage rooms. This allowed the hand trucks (loaded or unloaded) to make shorter trips and more trips. This made for less traffic and more efficient use of moving the canned goods. (Sleasman 1999)

Fishermen’s Packing Corporation

Founders and original stockholders of the Fishermen’s Packing Corporation of 1928 and 1929 were:

NAME YEARS OCCUP BOAT NAME CITY STATE

BARCOTT, FRANK 1929 Fisherman Cleveland Anacortes Washington

BARCOTT, KUZMA 1929 Fisherman Tatoosh Everett Washington

BERRY, JACK 1929 Fisherman Meridian Tacoma Washington

BOROVICH, SAM 1929 Fisherman Luxor Tacoma Washington

BOZANICH, ANTON 1929 Fisherman Arctic Bellingham Washington

BOZANICH, JACK 1928 Fisherman Augusta Everett Washington

BOZANICH, PETER 1928 Fisherman Antarctic Seattle Washington

BRADONOVICH, JOHN 1929 Fisherman Florida Seattle Washington

BRESKOVICH, JOHN 1928 Fisherman Olympic Tacoma Washington

BUDANICH, JOSEPH 1929 Fisherman Vigilant Seattle Washington

BURICH, VICTOR 1928 Fisherman Wisconsin Tacoma Washington

CAREVICH, PETER 1929 Fisherman Frances Tacoma Washington

CLOUD, JOE 1928 Fisherman Harmony Gig harbor Washington

COSTELLO, ANTON 1929 Fisherman Leader Bellingham Washington

COVICH, MARION 1929 Fisherman Favorite Seattle Washington

COVICH, PETER 1929 Fisherman Favorite Seattle Washington

DOROTICH, PAUL 1928 Fisherman Limited Tacoma Washington

DOROTICH, STEVE 1929 Fisherman Editor Tacoma Washington

DRAGOVICH, JOE 1928 Fisherman Congress Everett Washington

DRAGOVICH, VINCE 1929 Fisherman Marysville Everett Washington

EVICH, JOHN 1929 Fisherman Avalon Bellingham Washington

FIAMANGO, PETE 1929 Fisherman Ranger Tacoma Washington

GAZIJA, SAM 1929 Fisherman Tulip Queen Bellingham Washington

GILICH, TONY 1928 Fisherman Victory Gig harbor Washington

GREEN, PHIL 1929 Fisherman Janet G Seattle Washington

GREGET, LUCAS 1928 Fisherman Elizabeth Bellingham Washington

HUGEV, MIKE 1928 Fisherman Genevieve H Seattle Washington

IVANOVICH, MATO 1928 Fisherman Southland Gig Harbor Washington

JOHNSON, MARTIN 1928 Fisherman Mildred Seattle Washington

JONCICH, NICK 1928 Fisherman Sunlight Everett Washington

JUGOVICH, PETER 1929 Fisherman Stanford Tacoma Washington

KALOPER, VICTOR 1929 Fisherman Arkansas Seattle Washington

KINK, DICK 1929 Fisherman St Paul Bellingham Washington

KORDICH, ANTON 1929 Fisherman New Oregon Tacoma Washington

KULJIS, ANDREW 1929 Fisherman Tiger Bellingham Washington

KULJIS, MITCHELL 1928 Fisherman Swan Bellingham Washington

LEESE, WILLIAM 1929 Fisherman Mermaid Everett Washington

LOVROVICH, JOHN 1929 Fisherman Brac Gig Harbor Washington

MAKOVICH, LEE 1928 Fisherman Advocator Gig harbor Washington

MALJICH, JOHN 1929 Fisherman Glory of the Sea Gig Harbor Washington

MARDESICH, ANTON 1929 Fisherman Chinook Bellingham Washington

MARDESICH, NICK 1928 Fisherman Sunset Everett Washington

MARDESICH, TONY 1929 Fisherman Arizona Everett Washington

MARINKOVICH, NICK 1928 Fisherman Emblem Tacoma Washington

MARINKOVICH, PETER 1928 Fisherman Advance Tacoma Washington

MARKOVICH, GRACIA 1928 Fisherman New York Bellingham Washington

MARKOVICH, MARKO 1928 Fisherman Memento Gig Harbor Washington

MARKOVICH, PETER 1928 Fisherman Advocator Gig Harbor Washington

MARTINIS, PAUL 1928 Fisherman Iceland Everett Washington

MARTINIS, VINCENT 1928 Fisherman Frostland Everett Washington

MATSON, ED 1928 Fisherman Elk Bellingham Washington

MIJICH, JOSEPH 1928 Fisherman Parmount Tacoma Washington

MILOS, PETE 1928 Fisherman Oregon City Tacoma Washington

MILOSEVICH, NICK 1928 Fisherman Buccaneer Tacoma Washington

MLADINEO, TONY 1929 Fisherman Katherine M Tacoma Washington

MORRIS, J. O. 1928 Fisherman Everett Washington

MOSICH, NICK 1929 Fisherman Success Tacoma Washington

MUSKOVITA, THOMAS 1929 Fisherman Elector Bellingham Washington

PECARICH, TONY 1928 Fisherman Calendar Bellingham Washington

PLANCICH, VINC 1929 Fisherman Frisco Tacoma Washington

REPANICH, IVAN 1929 Fisherman Lion Seattle Washington

REPANICH, JACK 1928 Fisherman Oakland Seattle Washington

SCARPONI, PETE 1929 Fisherman Empress Gig Harbor Washington

SERKA, PAUL 1929 Fisherman Oceanic Tacoma Washington

SIMETOVICH, FRANK 1928 Fisherman Reliance Tacoma Washington

SPANJOL, MARION 1929 Fisherman Rally Hoquiam Washington

STANICH, MARTIN 1928 Fisherman Welcome Gig Harbor Washington

TORETICH, NICK 1929 Fisherman Florida Seattle Washington

VITALICH, JOHN 1928 Fisherman Elliot Seattle Washington

VITALICH, LOUIS 1929 Fisherman Mercury Tacoma Washington

VITALICH, NICK 1929 Fisherman Rhode Island Bellingham Washington

VITALJICH, NICK 1928 Fisherman Red Feather Bellingham Washington

VODANOVICH, MATT 1929 Fisherman Latouche Tacoma Washington

VUKOV, JOHN 1929 Fisherman Concord Seattle Washington

ZANKICH, ANTON 1928 Fisherman Elizabeth Bellingham Washington

ZITKOVICH, JOHN 1929 Fisherman Rough Rider Seattle Washington

ZUANICH, DICK 1929 Fisherman Andrew Z II Bellingham Washington

Petrich, M.