Model Railroading on the Cheap

   I spent several years attempting to get a nice graphic of the old Master Mix Feed monogram that I remember from the 1950s. That includes looking for old correspondence with a letterhead, advertising materials etc. My uncle had a feed mill and marketed the products developed by McMillen Feeds from Iowa. The name and company is now long gone from modern awareness as mergers and acquisitions have taken over the small time operators. Yet still the images I recall from my youth keep tugging at my heartstrings.  I recall that this colorful graphic was even painted on the side of some buildings near the feed mills. However by the time I got there with my camera, the images were so faded and weathered as to be unusable.

   I tried an unusual method to acquire that image. I purchased an old feed sack at an antique shop with the Master Mix logo in nice red, white and blue colors. I then hung it on my back yard fence to get a good digital photograph in natural light (in about July 2001) for insertion into the computer. This effort was not very successful so I eventually drew my own graphic with the MS paint program directly into the computer.   

   Later in my travels I found a black covered hopper car by Bowser labeled “McMILLEN FEED MILLS” built in 1953, reporting marks CSX 112 which I am pretty sure, was this same company. (Possibly Central Soya?). Here together is the seldom seen McMillen Feed Mills covered hopper used for shipping livestock feed grain and my Master Mix Feed sign at the feed mill in Hillton Junction.