Dale W. McMillen
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Dale W. McMillen (January 27, 1880 - April, 1971) was a leading proponent of the use of feed supplements in animal husbandry. He founded Wayne Feeds and Central Soya.
He was known as Mr. Mac to friends, family, and coworkers.
McMillen was born January 27, 1880 in Van Wert, Ohio. He enrolled in Oberlin College, hoping to become a lawyer, but had to return home in his sophomore year to run the family business, a grain elevator, when his father became seriously ill. He stayed on, becoming a partner with his father, until striking out on his own in 1916.
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[edit] Wayne Feeds
Researchers at Ohio State University and other land-grant colleges were seeking to modernize the agricultural industry through their system of county extension agents, and one of the things they were promoting was better nutrition for livestock.
Complete feeds, however, were pricey. McMillen viewed this as am opportunity. He bought a small elevator in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 40 miles NW of Van Wert, and started Wayne Feeds to produce a concentrate of the protein, vitamins and minerals that were lacking in regular feed. A farmer would grind 70 pounds of his own grain with 30 pounds of the feed supplement to make a high-quality feed ration that could be profitably fed.
At this time, there was a growing interest in soybeans. Soybeans are a legume; bacteria nodules on the roots of legumes turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia through a process called nitrogen "fixing", enriching the soil. This alone made soybeans useful in crop rotation, but soybeans were known to be high in protein and vegetable oil as well.
The protein looked especially good to McMillen. A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company, established in 1922, was one of the first companies to succeed with soybean crushing mills. Another pioneer in the field was the American Milling Company in 1927. Wayne Feeds was profitable; American Milling had potential. They merged in 1929 to form Allied Mills, with McMillen as the first president. Allied Mills and Wayne Feeds are now part of Ridley Corporation, an Australian company.[1]
[edit] Central Sugar
McMillen was used to calling the shots, and did not enjoy runnign Allied Mills. By 1933, he had left that company to start a new business in a new location and a new industry. He bought the old abandoned Central Sugar sugar beet plant in Decatur, Indiana, about 25 miles south of Fort Wayne, refurbished it, and processed sugar in the 1934 season.
[edit] Central Soya
By building a soybean crushing facility next to the sugar plant, McMillen would have three important ingredients for animal feed: molasses for energy, soy meal for protein, and beet pulp for fiber. On October 2. 1934, McMillen incorporated the Central Soya Company, Inc., and a month later, he organized McMillen Feed Mills as a division of Central Soya to produce feed supplements under the brand name Master Mix.
Initially, Central Soya used an expeller to extract oil from the crushed soybeans. This produced a low yield of low-quality oil. McMillen hired researcher Norman Kruse away from Procter & Gamble to head up a technical department. Kruse went to Germany in December 1936 to find the best solvent extractor. At that time, only two companies in the US used solvent extraction. Archer Daniels Midland had a 130 ton Hildebrandt extractor and Glidden had a 150 ton Hildebrandt extractor. McMillen and Kruse bought a 275 ton Hansa Muehle (paternoster or Bolmann-type) extractor.
[edit] The Desolventizer-Toaster
Raw soybean meal is neither very palatable nor very nutritious. An enzyme in the soy meal prevents utilization of the trypsin amino acid. These problems had to be solved for feed supplements - and Central Soya - to succeed.
Hayword in 1937 reported that flavor and nutrition could be improved by heating the soy meal above 212F for a period of time. However, Central Soya received a patent in 1941 for steam-processing meal for better results and for a desolventizer-toaster in 1952. These provided income to Central Soya for some years, as they were important inventions that were adopted throughout the industry.
[edit] Lecithin
Central Soya began production and distribution of soy lecithin in 1939 when E.B. Oberg arrived from The Glidden Company. By 1943, largely on the basis of Oberg's work, they were selling 20 million pounds yearly. Until that time, lecithin in the US meant egg lecithin. Central Soya's Centrolex lecithin is a light yellow granular product, compared to the viscous brown oil others sell. Central Soya leased Glidden's soybean business and bought it in 1961.
[edit] Retirement
McMillen retired from Central Soya in 1953. In 1967 Dale McMillen, then an active 86 years of age, was chosen an Honorary Life Member of the American Soybean Association.
[edit] Legacy
In retirement, McMillen said that from his early years, he always told himself, "this day I will beat my own record," and he encouraged others to adopt that philosophy.
He also said, "We must pay some rent for the blessings and opportunities we enjoy while we’re on this earth," and is remembered as a significant philanthropist in the Fort Wayne area. He and his wife 74 acres of land to form the city's largest park in 1937, and his family has continued providing leadership and finances supporting community projects.
However, what Mr. Mac called Wildcat Baseball League as the greatest thing I ever did.
As Sports Illustrated tells the story, It was such a pleasant day in April 1960 in Fort Wayne, Ind., that 80-year-old Dale McMillen decided to take a couple of hours off from running one of the nation's largest soybean processing businesses and watch a Little League game or two. As he pulled up to McMillen Park (which he had donated to the city in 1936) in his chauffeur-driven Cadillac, Mr. Mac, as he was known around town , was pleased to see that things were already under way. Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that they were not the kinds of things he wanted to see.
Minor details are wrong - he retired in 1953 at the age of 73 - but the legend persists. He shared the crushing disappointment he saw on the faces of those 9- and 10-year-old boys that failed to make the team.
After discussions with other leaders, Mr. Mac organized a league for all boys who wanted to play organized baseball regardless of their skill level. Everybody makes the team in the Wildcat League.
The league philosophy is to play without pressure, for fun and to improve skill levels. On this day, I will beat my own record.
[edit] References
- Mr. Mac and Central Soya: The Foodpower Story, by Harold W McMillen, 1967
- "The Nutitional Value of Soybean Oil Meal Prepared by Different Methods of Oil Extraction" by J. W. Hayword in Oil and Soap, Volume 14, pages 317-321, 1937
- US Patent 2,260,254 "Process of Making Soybean Products", Norman F. Kruse and Welden L. Soldner.
- US Patent 2,585,793 "Soybean Treating Process", Norman F. Kruse
- "In Mr. Mac's Wildcat League, everyone gets to play" by Nicholas Dawidoff, in Sports Illustrated, April 4, 1988
