A little more popping history about Vinton
When Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, Newton had no idea the law could be used in processing popcorn. Neither did the manufacturer of this gravity separator who built the machine for mining purposes. The Donley’s discovered it could be used for processing popcorn. By the law of gravity, the kernels are separated by weight, the small kernels and the chaff falling into one bin, the larger, better kernels moving on to another opening. This was a far cry from what the machine was made for but it did the job.
A three-man job! What one man can do, three can do faster. This is the sacking and packing process for the Vinton Popcorn Co. On the left, Marion Donley fills the sacks from an automatic machine that stops temporarily when 2 full pounds of corn have been released. In the center, Felix Ramires, the Donley’s handy man, seals the bags closed with a patented sealing machine then hands them to Bert Donley who places them in 24-sack boxes ready for distribution to the firm’s many outlets. The popcorn was shipped to many places in the U.S.A., and foreign countries; England, Africa, Portugal and Spain. So it goes, the World’s finest popcorn was produced right here in Vinton, IA. On Jan. 1,1966, Donley and Martha Jager took possession of the Vinton Popcorn Company from Bert and Maude Donley and their son, Marion Donley. The Jager’s expanded the business from two employees to 16 and added several new products such as crunchy nuggets and toasted sunflower seeds, peanuts, soybeans and others.
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Most farmers were familiar with the Clipper Fanning Mill. Bert Donley is standing beside his fanning mill which separated the foreign materials from the popcorn.
When Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, Newton had no idea the law could be used in processing popcorn. Neither did the manufacturer of this gravity separator who built the machine for mining purposes. The Donley’s discovered it could be used for processing popcorn. By the law of gravity, the kernels are separated by weight, the small kernels and the chaff falling into one bin, the larger, better kernels moving on to another opening. This was a far cry from what the machine was made for but it did the job.
A three-man job! What one man can do, three can do faster. This is the sacking and packing process for the Vinton Popcorn Co. On the left, Marion Donley fills the sacks from an automatic machine that stops temporarily when 2 full pounds of corn have been released. In the center, Felix Ramires, the Donley’s handy man, seals the bags closed with a patented sealing machine then hands them to Bert Donley who places them in 24-sack boxes ready for distribution to the firm’s many outlets. The popcorn was shipped to many places in the U.S.A., and foreign countries; England, Africa, Portugal and Spain. So it goes, the World’s finest popcorn was produced right here in Vinton, IA. On Jan. 1,1966, Donley and Martha Jager took possession of the Vinton Popcorn Company from Bert and Maude Donley and their son, Marion Donley. The Jager’s expanded the business from two employees to 16 and added several new products such as crunchy nuggets and toasted sunflower seeds, peanuts, soybeans and others.
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