Mill interest of Scotts sold to the
Clarks
by Al Smith
Three
members of the family of the late Ray T. Scott have sold their stock in
Auburn Mills Inc. to the John W. Clark family, making the Clarks the sole
owners of the firm.
Auburn
Mills Inc., is the second largest flour and corn meal milling company in
Kentucky. Originally built and operated by Jack Gordon as a corn mill in
1876. It is one of Logan County's oldest industries.
Members of the Scott family have been involved in the ownership and-or
management since 1911.
John
W. Clark, president of the mills is married to Elizabeth Scott Clark,
daughter of the late Ray T. Scott and his first wife, the late Addie Ruth
Flowers Scott. Ray T. Scott, son of the John W. Clark, is executive vice
president pf the mills and his mother is secretary-treasurer.
Members of the Scott family who have sold their stock to the three Clarks
are Mrs. Bonnie B. Scott, widow of Ray T. Scott who was president of the
mills at his death November 14, 1972, and two other children of the first
marriage of Ray T. Scott - William Scott of Louisville and Mrs. Sally
Scott Pollard of Lexington.
Auburn
Mills, Inc., produces white flour and white corn meal with byproducts as
stock feed. distributed in seven states, the firm's labels are Scott's
Auburn Leader Flour, Scott's Pearl Meal, Clipper Corn Meal, and Polar Bear
Flour. They are also packaged in about 30 private brands.
Sales
volume is close to two million dollars a year, double that of 10 years
ago. The mills can store 250,000 bushels of grain and the flour and corn
mill now each has a capacity of 800 hundred weight per 24-hour day.
About
35 persons are employed in the business which is now in another expansion.
New lines of packaging machinery are being ordered, according to John
Clark. The firm hopes to double its grain storage capacity to 500,000
bushels in the next decade.
John
Clark has been with Auburn Mills, Inc., for over 12 years after spending
nearly 18 years with the Logan County Hospital, the last seven as
administrator.
He is
a former president of the Kentucky Millers Association and is treasurer of
the National Soft Millers Association. He is on the board of directors of
the Kentucky Feed and Grain Association and chairman of the association's
grain committee.
Ray
Clark is a graduate of Kansas State University with a major in milling
science and management. He is a graduate of Russellville High School where
he was a leader in the Explorer Scouts. He is treasurer of Shakertown
Revisited, Inc., which manages Shaker museum buildings, and produces the
annual Shaker pageant at South Union in east Logan County.
Joe
Crain is the chief miller, Robert Covington is in charge of production,
and Tommy Anderson is in charge of shipping.
Locally grown wheat and corn have supplied the mill for many years. Auburn
Mills, in turn, has helped stimulate wheat and corn production in Logan
County, making this one of the larger wheat producing counties in
Kentucky.
