Los Alamitos sugar factory General Manager E.C. Hamilton, who assumed control of the factory in 1914, continued to update and modernize the Los Alamitos factory and the town seem to get into the act as well. The war in Europe no doubt had some affect on the price of beets and its availability. Government quotas were instituted. Somehow through this, the Los Alamitos Sugar Company — as did all the Orange County sugar companies — had a banner year. Not one to sit still, Hamilton continued to make improvements.
reprinted from Sugar: an English-Spanish Technical Journal devoted to Sugar Production., Dec. 1916, Vol. 18, No. 12, p604
The Los Alamitos Sugar Company will finish a long and highly successful campaign about Dec. 1, at which time 107,000 tons of beets will have been sliced and considerably more than 300,000 bags of sugar produced. This is far in excess of any previous year’s output in the history of the factory. The sugar content of the beets has held up remarkably well, considering the 2½ inches of rainfall which occurred in that locality in early in October. The average sugar percent to date and the average purity are both about 1 percent higher than at the close of the 1915 campaign.
The tonnage per acre has also exceeded the expectations of the Agricultural department, and everyone will concede that 1916 has been a “Banner year” for both the company and the grower.
Soon after the close of the campaign the annual barbecue for the beet growers and factory men, and their families, will be held at the famous Montana Ranch, which for many years has been owned and operated by the Clark interests. The ranch is located seven miles from the factory. These events in the past have always proved very enjoyable to all who attended and the 1916 barbecue will be no exception. There will be a game of baseball between the farmer boys and a picked team from the factory. This game will no doubt be hotly contested, as the factory team seeks revenge for the terrible drubbing given them by the farmers last year. In addition to the ball game there will be other sports such as running races, sack races, three-legged races, tug of war and last but not least, the “greased Pig.”
Extensive improvements are being planned for the campaign of 1917, the most important being the installation of the Steffens process, with complete equipment of the latest and most up-to-date machinery. The best of the individual features of the various Steffens houses throughout the country will be assembled in the building of this plant and it is expected that the result will be the most efficient Steffens h9use in the United States.
The boiler room will be remodeled and several new Sterling boilers installed to replace some of the old style boilers which have done service for many years. A concrete chimney 100 feet in height will be built to take the place of the steel stack now in use.
Two more Kelly or Vallez presses will be added to the first carbonation process and many other changes and improvements will be made to the main building to conform to the new process.
The sugar company’s activity in the matter of improvements, however will not be confined to the factory alone. Four or five new cottages for factory employees will be added to the seven which were built last year. [ref] The August 1918 issue of Sugar – reprinting a Jul;y 29, 1918 article in the LA Times — notes that the factory “have built ten up-to-date cottages and are now completing five more in an effort to relieve housing conditions.” The issue also noted that “there is now a large club house under construction to accommodate those without families. The building is of tile, with a large number of comfortable sleeping rooms with baths, commodious living room, equipped with lounges to afford a place of quiet enjoyment, library which will be supplied with all current issues of popular magazines and reading matter, pool and billiard room and also shower baths. The entire block adjoining the factory, where the cottages and clubhouses are located, will bne transformed into a beautiful park with numerous shade trees and flowers as well as being equipped with a tennis ground “[/ref] The present playground for children which was inaugurated last summer, will be enlarged and completely equipped with all manner of gymnastic apparatus. A tennis court and croquet grounds will be built and maintained by the company, and the establishment of golf links in the vicinity of Los Alamitos is under consideration.
The people of the town have evidently caught the spirit of enthusiasm as at the present time several buildings are in the course of construction. The local school h9ouse and grounds will come in for their share of improvements. New plumbing has already been installed, and the grounds will be filled in and planted to grass, flowers and vegetables which the school children will be taught to maintain as part of their education.
The prospects for campaign of 1917 are most favorable and another record breaker is looked for.
The May 1917 issue of Sugar repeated much of the above information, but added that “a large force of men has been employed all inter and many improvements and additions to the equipment are being brought about.” That issue also noted that
The children of the town are taking a great interest in gardening. A number of vacant lots have been plowed under and put in condition by the sugar company. Each child is allotted a certain amount of space, and will plant and care for his individual garden. The Department of ASgriculture will furnish the seed and prizes will be awarded to the best garden.
The May Sugar also reported that the Spring 1917 Southern California
beet crop was in satisfactory condition despite excessively cold weather in January and February, which made a large percentage of the crops slow to germinate. This resulted in a larger than normal acreage coming on for thinning at about the same time. Some difficulty has been reported relative to securing sufficient labor to handle the situation in Southern California, as elsewhere, but reports indicate that while some fields suffered to a certain extent on account of delayed thinning, taken as a whole the crop is in excellent condition. The small amount of rainfall and the unusual absence of fog may necessitate much more irrigation than would normally be required.