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Hog Butcher
Fri Mar 19, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Carl Sandburg called Chicago "Hog Butcher to the World," but it could not have been
without Ol' Man Winter's icy, helping hand. Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather
Notebook.
The confluence of railroad lines around Chicago made it the ideal distributor of
western livestock to eastern markets in the mid-nineteenth century. At first, railroads
moved live animals, but economics soon showed it cheaper to transport dressed meat
than lowing cows and squealing pigs.
In winter, this wasn't a problem, as subfreezing temperatures kept the meat fresh as it
travelled east. But in Summer, the meat quickly spoiled within the hot, closed
boxcars.
George Hammond solved the problem in 1868 with a specially-designed railroad car,
literally an ice-box on wheels, to send beef from Detroit to Boston. Chicago meat
packers quickly adopted the concept; after all, they had been shipping ice by rail to their
packing plants for several years in order to store dressed winter hogs through the
warmer months.
At first, packers took their ice from the Chicago River but soon demand outstripped
supply. That ice, like the river, was also horribly polluted, releasing sickening odors
when it melted, and harboring dangerous bacteria. Importing ice from afield, solved
both problems.
As a result, an ice harvesting industry grew in nearby northern Indiana and Illinois, then
spread to Wisconsin's colder climate and abundant lakes as demand increased.
Chicago's Swift and Company alone used 450,000 tons of ice annually.
The ice trade not only re-energized the pork industry, earning Chicago the title of "Hog
Butcher to the World," it also revolutionized the beef industry, making fortunes for men
such as Hammond, Gustavus Swift and Phillip Armour.
Thanks to our contributing writer, meteorologist Keith Heidorn. Our show is supported
by the National Science Foundation and Subaru: Driven by What's Inside.
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