Cudahy comes down
Demolition was underway last week on the former Cudahy building in Russell Springs.
Special to The Times Journal
A well-known landmark in Russell Springs has been taken down.
Just after noon on October 16th, the old Cudahy Cheese Plant was undergoing demolition to improve the looks of the land.
Property owners say, “It is expected to take a week or so to clear the property removing the building and the foundation.”
The 70-year-old building holds a lot of history for the community.
In April of 1955, Russell Springs saw Cudahy open-creating 15 jobs for the area.
Equipped to handle 70,000 pounds of milk, the first day’s operation saw 10,000 pounds of milk from Russell County made into what locals called, “yellow goodness”-CHEESE!
It was a complex operation.
After the milk cans were unloaded, each one was emptied into a machine, the weight recorded, and a sample for a test was taken.
Afterwards, the milk was emptied and weighed again, it flowed through stainless steel pipes into a large bin.
When it became full, the milk flowed through pipes to the pasteurizer.
It had to have a certain percentage of butterfat, but if the percentage was too high, it would be removed by a separator after it went through the pasteurizer.
After the separating process, the milk continued through the pipes to a large vat where it was agitated or stirred for about six hours to form “curd.”
In addition to the agitation, a substance called “rennet” was added to the milk in the vat-causing the milk to sour quicker, and in the presence of bacteria, it converted the milk sugar to acid.
This acid caused the casein of milk, which is milk’s principal, solid constituent to separate as a curd, leaving a thin, watery portion called whey.
The curd was “ditched” so the whey could run off and the curd became firm.
The curd was then “cheddared,” and slabs of it allowed to stand and attain the proper texture.
When the right texture was determined, the curd was cut into small pieces, sailed, and pressed into cake form.
After that, the cheeses were boxed and stored for slow ripening for about 90 days.
Based on the amount of the first load of milk received, around 1,000 pounds of cheese was processed.
In September 1974, after 20 years of operating as Cudahy Foods Company, there were plans for expansion and making of Italian Cheese.
At that time, the plant employed nearly 30 people and 20 route men were on the job.
Pete Cook, the company manager at the time, said the current plant was processing 150,000 pounds of milk per day and with the expansion, around 240,000 pounds of milk was expected.
In June of 1981, the Cudahy Cheese Plant officially closed.
In late November of the same year, a workman’s torch reportedly ignited a flame that gutted the building.
Eyewitnesses said at the time, they had removed five compressors and as the sixth one was cut, flames shot across the room, and in a matter of minutes the building was engulfed.
The owners of the building at the time of the fire were Lester Bernard, Dorothy, Edward Earl “Bub,” and Earl Rippetoe.
The night of the fire, at Russell County High School, the public address announcer told basketball attendees to avoid the area of the cheese plant because the structure was on fire and the potential of dangerous chemicals inside.
Over the years, the building has been a skating rink, the “Ice House”-an ice making facility that served local businesses, a distribution center for food commodities, a day care center, and sporting goods store.
The previous owners were Theo and Peggy Branscum.
As the demolition takes place, current owners say they wanted to take down the “eyesore” in town and make it look better, and will likely sell the property in the near future if other options do not present themselves.
