King of Potato Chips

Marko Narancich, who, as a young man, came to the United States from the depressed homeland of Croatia in the district of Lika, changed his name to make it more "Americanized". The name he chose, Marcus Nalley, has become famous in the food products business throughout the Northwest. The business he founded, though now part of a multi-national company, still bears his name. In 1903, when he was thirteen years old, Nalley followed his older brothers to the United States. "'I arrived in New York with fifteen cents in my pocket. I couldn't speak a word of English,' he once reminisced. Nalley traveled to Montana where his brothers worked in the copper mines. In Butte, he worked as a cook. He began frying potatoes and bagging and selling them for five cents. His companions laughed at him, but he said, "You wait and see, these potatoes are going to make me a lot of money," and they did. From Butte, he moved to Anaconda and worked as a meat packer. It was his first exposure to the world of business. "I learned to cut meat, but best of all, I learned how to figure. From cutting meat to preparing food was a natural step. In Chicago, he worked in a hotel as a dishwasher, bus boy, fry cook, pantryman, and chef. In 1913, he was made chef on the first "Olympian" on the Milwaukee Road, running between Chicago and Tacoma. He felt at home in the Pacific Northwest, so he left the railroad to follow his profession here. At the old Bonneville Hotel in Tacoma, as a master chef, he became a specialist in making a new potato delicacy: Saratoga Chips. Nalley borrowed money and bought hand-operated equipment for peeling, slicing, and frying the potato slices. In his apartment kitchen, he made and packaged them. He delivered them to grocery stores and door to door. As the demand increased, the business grew. He was a pioneer in the now multi-million dollar potato chip industry. The Boss', as we called him, worked the hardest and the longest hours. He would get up at four o'clock in the morning, start the factory running, load a delivery truck and spend the long day selling and delivering his products. He worried the most, too, as bills seemed to mount faster than revenues." Problems with keeping quality in the packaged food abounded, but Nalley' rose to the challenge, and thus his business grew. In 1941, the first plant was opened in "Nalley Valley". It had expanded to several plants and office headquarters, and eventually was sold to a national firm. Nalley's products became one of the largest food businesses in the state. "Uncle Mark", as he was best known to his many friends, was a warm and generous man. He loved life and he loved people. He was an avid conservationist and was state chairman for Ducks Unlimited, a fund raising organization devoted to the restoration of wildfowl breeding grounds in Canada. He served for many years as a state game commissioner. Marcus Nalley, who died in 1962, was a respected citizen who helped his fellow man. The Tacoma Chamber of Commerce, in 1931, named him "First Citizen of Tacoma". The Pierce County Board of Commissioners, just a few months before his death, presented him with its "Outstanding Naturalized Citizen Award". The state of Washington has benefitted from the talent, ambition, and perseverance of this Croatian immigrant.

Adam S. Eterovich