HR1385 LRB094 21163 HSS 59494 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois are pleased to recognize milestone events for
4 businesses in our State; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Alsey Refractories Company has been privately
6 held and operated since 1906 and celebrates 100 years of
7 business this year; the company specializes in the private
8 branding of High Duty and Medium Duty firebrick for major
9 manufacturers within the refractory industry; it also serves a
10 dealer network with High Duty and Medium Duty firebrick,
11 mortar, castable, and dry milled fireclay; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Alsey Refractories Company was organized in 1906
13 by Matthias Hoots as the Alsey Brick and Tile Company; the
14 original plant was constructed from lumber used in the 1904
15 Worlds Fair in St. Louis; Alsey Brick and Tile Company made
16 shale brick using the stiff mud process and burned it in twelve
17 wood-fired beehive kilns; and
 
18     WHEREAS, In 1911, H.T. McLaughlin, operator of McLaughlin
19 Mining Company, bought Alsey Brick and Tile from Matthias Hoots
20 and combined the two companies' operations of clay and coal
21 mining; and
 
22     WHEREAS, In 1917, Alsey Brick and Tile created a company
23 town within the town of Alsey, Illinois, called "Checkertown",
24 most of which still remains today; in addition to operating a
25 boardinghouse, the company built housing from its own stiff mud
26 acid brick for its workers and rented them to workers; during
27 later years, these homes were sold to individuals or plant
28 employees; in 1918, the twelve beehive kilns were converted
29 from wood to the coal mined by Alsey Brick and Tile's mining
30 operation; over the next few years the plant facilities were
31 enlarged and improved; in 1928 a dry press was added, allowing

 

 

HR1385 - 2 - LRB094 21163 HSS 59494 r

1 the manufacture of Intermediate and High Duty brick to be added
2 to the line of stiff mud products; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Alsey's first laboratory testing took place in
4 1930 and production continued steadily in spite of the
5 Depression; during World War II, Alsey Brick and Tile
6 manufactured circle brick to line "Warm Morning" stoves which
7 were used to heat U.S. Army barracks; mechanization came to
8 Alsey in the postwar years; in 1948, electric motors replaced
9 steam boilers to power the plant's machines, and the forklift
10 enabled the palletizing of brick; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Today, Alsey's mission statement recognizes the
12 customer as the company's most valuable asset; the company
13 strives to serve in a friendly, personal manner while
14 maintaining the utmost in professionalism and timeliness;
15 therefore, be it
 
16     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18 we recognize the 100th anniversary of Alsey Refractories
19 Company; and be it further
 
20     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21 presented to the company.