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Mr. Charles Gray
Hancock County Historical Society
January 31, 1995
Page 2
moving his family - I'm not sure.) My uncle, Randolph, was five years older than my dad, and their brother, Carl, was five years younger. A sister, Clara, died in infancy.
Mr. Torsch visited the plant very few times over the ensuing years. He was a very slight man, stiff, erect and ridged.
He was an impeccable dresser, clad in black suit and shoes and a high starched collar. His vocal delivery was clipped and terse - a real no-nonsence type person. He greatly enjoyed my grandmother's cooking and found meals at their home a high point in his visits. After many years of successful operation Mr. Torsch, I am told, deeded the Peerless Plant to my grandfather. Dad thinks it was probably not a gift but, for many years of loyal service, was sold to him at a greatly reduced price.
The Peerless Plant was located on the bay, about three miles north of town, built partially on pilings over the water.
My father recalls that it was a block long. A long pier extended into the bay from the plant. The ships came along side the pier and unloaded their catches. A much smaller building, housing the boilers was beside the plant on the south side. Between 1910 and 19^0 an ice plant was erected south of the plant beside the boiler building. It was an "L" shape;with the open side of the "L" facing away from the bay. After 1920 a soft drink bottling works was added to the ice plant filling in the "L" and forming a square.
My grandfather's office was behind the plant about 100 yards away. A shipyard was located adjacent to and north of the plant. There were two marine ways where the large skooners were winched from the water,bow first. They were scraped, recalked, and painted with red lead below the water line.
I'm sure all of these operations were on the same property--the boiler building and ice plant/bottling works were separated from the main building by a small shell road.
A builder named Dietrich built both the ice plant and bottling works of concrete and cinder block. The storm (1922-23??) left the entire plant a wreck and a loss. The cinderlblock buildings were so tightly packed with shells that they couldn't be removed with a hammer.	J
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