  President and son of the company founder, Bill McFatridge (seated) is shown with Doyce Worsham (left), oldest employee and first non-family member hired. Also with them is Carl McFatridge, grandson and namesake of the founder, who is in charge of test marketing for new instituional food items introduced in California. The
company's colorful history that had a one-pig start more than three
decades ago reached a dramatic climax in 1966 when Carl's Tasty Sausage
received the prestigious gold medal awarded by the International
Institute for Quality Selection, with headquarters at Brussels,
Belgium. More than that, the triumph was repeated in 1987 and
1988, with palms added to the seal the latter year for extra merit in
competition with foods from throughout the world. The gold symbol
appears on every roll of Carl's Sausage. The competitions were
held in Brussels, Geneva and Athens. This year's selections will
be made in London - with the pride of Whitewright, and an even wider
area, going for its fourth consecutive award. Claud Easterly, "A Whole-Hog Business: Carl's Sausage Offers Structure To Allow for Non-Family Members on Board," Denison Herald, July 16, 1989  Matriarch of the family, Mrs. Ola McFatridge, joined her late husband in establishing the company 24 years ago. Using a vintagetypewriter, she still serves as secretary-treasurer. With Mrs. McFatridge is office manager Wilma McFatridge, wife of the company president. After
34 years of unique progress as a family operated enterprise, Carl's
Sausage Co., Inc. of Whitewright has altered its corporate structure
with the creation of a board of directors that brings the first
non-family members into the management. Bill McFatridge,
president and son of the founder, explained that the step was taken to
diversify management preparatory to expanding the operation to
accomodate developments in the industry. Three of the four non-family members on the board are Denisonians W.E. Wilcox, retired banker and investor; Jerdy Gary, oil man; Robert Dye, public accountant; The fourth is Charles Kirkham of Dallas, a Merrill Lynch executive. Rounding out the board are family representatives, all veterans of the operation: Ola McFatridge, widow of the founder; Johnny Dobson of Sulphur Springs, son-in-law of Mrs. McFatridge and owner of the truck line supplying the plant, and Bill McFatridge. Family ownership is retained and previous officers remain: including President Bill McFatridge; vice-president brother of the founder, E.E. McFatridge, Ola McFatridge, the family matriarch who has served as secretary-treasurer since the beginning; Mrs. Bill (Wilma) is office manager, and Mrs. Marie Jones, daughter of the younger McFatridge, is computer chief. "We feel fortunate in having three new directores," McFatridge said. "They are successful businessmen in their respective fields and bring varied experience into our management. They will help with decisions as our operation adjusts to accomodate changes in the food business, which will involve an expansion of existing plant facilities." McFatridge said that public eating habits have changed sharply and that food suppliers must adjust to accomodate the trend. "People are eating more away from home, especially at fast food outlets, and we are targeting that market with new products, some already in production and others being planned." he said. Expansion plans are in the formative stage. Production of original items, principally Carl's Tasty Sausage, plus new items being introduced, has outgrown present plant capacity, McFatridge said. A separate unit will be built to handle new production and the present facility will continue to process the older line. Eventually, a new combined facility may be necessary, the president added. "We are looking at several sites, none more than 35 miles from here. We want to stay within that radius because we don't want to lose our employees. They are our greatest asset." McFatridge declared. Asked if Whitewright would be given preferential consideration, he admitted that "We like Whitewright, and Whitewright has been good to us." Largest industry in this southeast Grayson county community, Carl's employs between 55 and 60 people in the plant and a score more on the outside in sales and other work.McFatridge is proud of his crew's service record. Eighty-five percent have been with the firm at least 10 years. Dean of the group is Doyce Worsham, who joined the company at the start as salesman and first non-family member. A $10 million annual gross earns Carl's a respectable standing among the nation's meat processing firms. Between 30,000 and 35,000 pounds of sausage are processed daily for distribution throughout North Texas and some adjoining areas. In addition to its own brand, the plant packages sausage under seven different private labels for chain stores and warehouse outlets. New products include the increasingly popular sausage and biscuits, and patties and links, the latter going primarily to the institutional market, including schools, hospitals, restaurants, and others, especially in California. Institutional production now accounts for about 40 percent of the output. Between 100 and 125 hogs are processed daily, most of these trucked from Omaha, Nebraska and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Large hogs, weighing around 550 pounds are used exclusively. McFatridge explained that larger animals give a better taste to the sausage, provide a higher percentage of lean meat, and edible parts, including bones go into cattle, feed, fertilizer and some soap production. Skins, machine peeled smoothly from the carcases, are used for shoes, gloves and some other leather items. A rigid regiment of health and sanitation safeguards starts early with the federal inspectors making disease checks of the vital organs of each animal followed by a plant inspector's examination of the carcases for overal suitability.  Connie Whipple, quality control technician, rus one of several daily checks on fat content of sausage. She is also responsible for a rigid sanitation regimen at Carl's Sausage. The
quality control technician repeatedly conducts a variety of tests
throughout the day. Random samples of finished products are
checked to maintain a low fat content and to guard against any
impurity. Critical areas are swabbed several times with an
antiseptic culture to detect any possible bacteria growth. "We do a lot of handwashing," McFatridge said, "and wear a lot of gloves. All workers in the processing areas wear white smocks and caps." An all out cleanliness assault comes in the early evening when two of the day's nine hours of work are spent scurbbing all equipment and work areas with boiling water dosed with a sterilizing solution. The cleanup crews are followed by the quality control technician who makes exhaustive tests to insure complete sterility. Carl and Ola McFatridge operated a grocery store and market for several years in Durant, where son Bill spent his boyhood. In August 1955, they moved to Whitewright and leased a former food locker plant that spread into the present complex at the northeast edge of the Whitewright business area. Operation has an inauspicious start the following September 25 when just one hog was butchered. It was some time before more than a half dozen hogs were butchered in a full day. Ola McFatridge, whose husband died five years later, ground the meat, mixed and stuffed the sausage, and delivered the bags to seven Whitewright stores. Now nearing her 82nd birthday, she still is active as secretary-treasurer with a vigor that belies both her years and the early struggle. She uses a vintage typewriter and keeps books manually, while granddaughter Mari Jones double-checks with newfangled computer gadgets. Committed to his company leadership role with a rare measure of enthusiasm and energy, the 57-year-old Bill McFatridge also is an ordained Baptist minister. After receiving his divinity degree at Ft. Worth's Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he held pastorates at seven southern Oklahoma churches before turning to the family's business. His last pastorate was at Idabel, Oklahoma. Bill has not completely deserted the pulpit and frequently preaches for congregations without a pastor. He also performs marriages and conducts funerals. He is active, too, in area-wide civic and social service. Among other involvements, he is a member and past president of the Grayson County College board. He is currently serving on the State Board of Community Colleges and the advisory board of Southwestern Theological Seminary. NOTE: Ola McFatridge died June 20, 2008, at the age of 100 years and nine months; her death month and day were the same as her husband's in 1960. She was born in Celina, Collin Co., Texas on September 27, 1907, the daughter of Albert & Katy Kerr. The family moved to Mead, Oklahoma when she was a young girl. She married Carl McFatridge in Durant, Oklahoma, February 1931.- - - Holmes-Coffey-Murray Funeral Home, Durant, Oklahoma.  Whitewright History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |