1921 elevator renovated in 2017 for a Malta, IL soybean processor
Northern Illinois Soybean Processing operates this 1921 concrete grain elevator in Malta, IL. Photo by Bruce Selyem.
In the 1860s, McCrea & Johnson built a wood grain elevator at Malta, IL next to the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad that became the Chicago North Western Railway in 1865. McCrea & Johnson advertised that they were “Dealers in lumber, lath, shingles, sash doors, blinds, coal, salt, cement and all kinds of grain.” Photographs from 1903 show no changes compared to the building drawing that was advertised in 1871, and there was no change to it when Geo. F. Ollmann purchased it in February 1921 from P. L. Mowbray, the owner at that time. By May 1921, the elevator sported a new battleship gray paint job, but sadly, the fresh paint job didn’t last for long, as the elevator burned down on Aug. 9, 1921.
Concrete Rebuild
Ollmann’s insurance helped to pay for a modern concrete elevator built on that site for him by Townsend B. Smith of Peoria, IL. The new Ollmann Elevator had two dump pits and nine bins of various sizes for a total storage of 30,000 bushels. “Geo. F. Ollmann” was cast into the concrete on the headhouse. There was a 10-ton Fairbanks truck scale and an automatic 10-bushel Richardson scale.
A Western manual manlift provided access to the cupola. The bucket elevator was encased in concrete, and a 10-hp electric motor powered it.
A two-room concrete office building, built next to it, had a parapet to match the parapet on the elevator’s cupola.
Obituaries, telephone pages and news stories reveal a little bit of the Ollmann elevator history between 1921 and 2009. According to Ollmann’s obituary, he ran the elevator for 40 years, so that would encompass 1921 until 1961.
Donald Carr of Carr Elevators Inc. owned the elevator when the DeKalb, IL Daily Chronicle of Sept. 24, 1976, reported that Carr had a dryer fire contained to the dryer and not affecting the elevator. Page 87 of the 1981 Yellow Pages has an advertisement for Carr Elevators Inc. – Don Carr, owner, and Chuck Martinson, manager.
Finally, according to his obituary, Warren Kenneth “Ken” Nelson became involved with the Carr Elevator in 1975. Eventually, Nelson bought the Carr elevator and owned it until 2009. On Dec. 11, 2009, Nelson and his wife Irene sold the former Ollmann elevator to a partnership of Ted and Kristi Weydert and their two sons, Nicholas and Kyle.
Northern Illinois Soybean Processing
Ted had farmed for 40 years, and during the last 13 years, he did so organically. After selling part of his land, he decided to invest in the elevator with the idea of extruding and expelling soybeans and other oilseeds for the food and feed markets.
He had big ideas that required a lot of hands-on renovations. Working on a shoelace, the three Weydert men set out to make the changes and additions necessary to start their Northern Illinois Soybean Processing business.
They worked weekends and any available spare time they had to make the necessary changes. The hopper-bottom overhead bins were free for the moving but required modifications. Nick says, “We used portable welders and battery-powered tools, We were quite an attraction for townspeople who often stopped by to visit and assess our progress. That’s how it is in small towns, where people care about each other, and cars yield to kids on bikes and people driving golf carts.”
In 2017, Northern Illinois Soybean Processing was ready to operate. Nick, who had been a high school chemistry and physics teacher since 2008, quit teaching and went to work full-time with his dad in the business. Kyle, though not involved in the day-to-day operations, is available when needed.
Today, the old concrete elevator and the office look exactly like the elevator and office looked in 1921. The manual manlift is still in place, and it is weighted for Ted. (Nick prefers to use the ladder.) An 80-ton truck scale replaced the original 10-ton scale; the dump pit has been modified since Malta’s water table is so high.
A side belt conveyor from the new scales delivers the soybeans to the bucket elevator. The original elevator belting and buckets have been replaced, although the concrete enclosure prevents using wider belting and larger buckets. Nick says, “I remind farmers when they comment how slow the elevator is, ‘Hey, the elevator is 100 years old. We are proud to be using it.’”
During any conversation with Ted or Nick, it is impossible not to be infected by their enthusiasm for their community, their customers, and their 1921 concrete grain elevator. They process soybeans bought from local farmers and store the beans in their vintage elevator. They sell the meal they produce to local pork producers and the oil to a local biodiesel company. Nick says, “We want to keep the local money local.” Other than doing basic upkeep, they have no other plans for the old elevator other than to keep using it.
Barb and Bruce Selyem are directors of
the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society.
Contact the society at 406-581-1076;
email: bselyem@cgehs.org.
Acknowledgments
Our special thanks Ted and Nick Weydert who provided current information on their 1921 elevator, and to Rob Glover, the director of the Joiner History Room in Sycamore, IL for his help in compiling historic photos and news stories.
From the Nov/Dec 2024 Issue of Grain Journal