Good Neighbors

     On a recent Friday foray to the Green Dragon in Ephrata (see "Market Day" 1/24/12) I stopped at one of the local meat shops to inquire about the scrapple (see "Everything but the Oink" 2/1/12) they were selling.  "Do you make it yourself?" I inquired, thinking that a Lancaster County butcher would certainly have his own recipe for the Pennsylvania German delicacy.  He replied, "No we purchase it in bulk from Hatfield Quality Meats."  Gee, I drove over an hour to buy a product that I could have gotten directly from the producer who is only 10 minutes from my door.
     Yes, I and many others in the area are indeed fortunate to have HQM as a neighbor.  Not only do they provide excellent pork products to the consumer, they are also one of Montgomery County's leading employers.  They are also very good neighbors lending support to numerous charities and events with manpower, equipment, and products, as well as generous financial support.  And who hasn't heard of Hatfield Dollar Dog Night at Citizen's Bank Park during Phillies home games? 
     But the giant meat producer had a humble beginning.  It was in 1895 that Mainland butcher, John C. Clemens, transported pork products by horse and wagon to a market in Philadelphia.  Soon after, he opened the Pleasant Valley butcher shop and hired others to assist him in processing a variety of pork products for sale.  All was going well until a devastating fire leveled the building.  The Clemens family took that loss and turned it into a gain when they purchased a large plot of land in nearby Hatfield Township.  There they rebuilt and were able to expand their operation on a scale much larger than the original Mainland property would have permitted.
     Old Timers (myself included) recall when they were known by the name "Hatfield Packing Company" and had the smiling porker on their logo. 

     But as their markets expanded into areas unfamiliar with hog butchering, they changed their name to its present moniker and the logo was adapted to portray a brightly shining morning sun.  Now Hatfield products can be found in super markets from Maine to Virginia and include breakfast and deli meats, fresh cuts of pork and of course the ever famous Philly Frank.  For many of us in the neighborhood Hatfield meats are the standard by which we measure everything else.
     I've had the privilege of touring their facility on numerous occasions.  It is an ever expanding maze of offices, rooms and processing floors.  My father was one of the carpenters involved in an early expansion there and told me that a portion of that addition was built over a stream that flowed though the property.   A seemingly endless caravan of trucks delivers hogs daily and in less than 24 hours they become bacon, ham, and pork chops.  It is an amazing operation to behold as meats are sent off to be smoked, chilled or packaged.
     We are indeed fortunate to have such good neighbors.