This digital collection contains over 5,000 scanned images representing 645 documents that pertain to the business endeavors, acquisitions, and publications of WLR Foods Incorporated.
[Identification of Item], WLR Foods digital records, 1984-2002, SC#2003, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
Donated by William D. Wampler to Special Collections in February 2008.
The creator or commissioner of the scans is unknown. In December of 2007 the discs were reviewed and appraised by Jeffrey Evans, then President of the Green Valley Auctions, Inc. In February of 2008 William Wampler donated the collection of compact discs to Special Collections. After initial review it was discovered the “Wampler-Longacre Scans, Disc 1” was blank. That same month Mr. Wampler was notified of the error and the “Wampler-Longacre Scans, Disc 1” was replaced with a working disc.
The files on Disc 1 through 6 were created using a HP PSC 5100 at 200 dpi. The files on disc “Wampler Foods Historical Records” were scanned at 150 dpi.
Wampler Foods began in 1927 with the founding of Wampler Feed and Seed Company. Wampler Feed was the first turkey feed company to contract directly with farms to grow poultry. Under the direction of founder, Charles W. Wampler Sr., Wampler Feed and Seed flourished during the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. Wampler Feed revolutionized the poultry industry by pioneering the use of incubators to hatch turkeys and early adoption of cooped turkey growing. Upon the retirement of Charles Wampler Sr., his son, Charles Wampler Jr., took over as manager of Wampler Feed and Seed. In 1969, Wampler Jr. working with Herman Mason joined Wampler Feed with Virginia Valley Processing to create Wampler Foods. The merger brought poultry operations in hatcheries, feeding, growers, and limited processing together into one corporation. Further expansion of processing and increased distribution capabilities fueled the search for subsequent merger opportunities.
During World War II, the American labor force began to diminish. This shortage had a great effect on the agricultural community as farmers and farm workers left to join the war. By 1943, the labor shortage forced Congress to allow draft deferments for farmers and hired men. Horace W. Longacre, a passive Mennonite, sought to serve but not to fight. He considered farm draft deferment a peaceable alternative. In order to qualify for the deferment, Longacre bought 84 acres of farmland in Quakertown, Pennsylvania in 1944 and began selling eggs and vegetables. He soon moved exclusively into poultry operations, processing, and dressing chickens. By 1948, Longacre expanded his business into Virginia and was working with Herman Mason as a feed supplier. Eventually, he moved away from poultry feed and focused entirely on processing. At the peak of his success, Longacre employed over 700 people and continued to further capabilities in dressing and distribution. It was under these circumstances that Longacre’s business became an attractive merger option for Wampler who was seeking to expand in processing. By 1984, the merger was complete and Wampler-Longacre was formed.
The Wampler-Longacre merger set the stage for a new acquisition; in 1986, Wampler-Longacre acquired Rockingham Poultry Cooperative which expanded Wampler-Longacre into chicken production and also set the stage for the formation of WLR Foods Incorporated.
In 1988, WLR Foods hired fortuitously James Keeler as CEO and retained Charles Wampler Jr. as Chairman of the Board. During a hostile takeover attempt by Tyson Foods in 1994, Keeler proved to be a valuable leader in stopping Tyson. The company also went public that year with stock selling on NASDAQ. By the early 1990’s, WLR was packaging poultry into 250 different product lines from hotdogs to burgers. Throughout the 1990’s, WLR Foods continued to expand. In 1990, Golden Acre Foods was acquired along with Cassco Corporation, an ice and cold storage operation. In 1992, Round Hill Foods and the Southern Ice Company were purchased. In 1993, WLR acquired Commonwealth Ice Company and the Beverley Company.
In 1994, Fortune Magazine had listed the company prestigiously in the top 500 companies in the nation. That same year, WLR Foods recorded sales over 700 million and attracted the attention of Tyson Foods Incorporated which attempted a hostile takeover by offering shareholders $30.00 per share which was well above the fair market value at the time. James Keeler, a former lawyer, aggressively fought Tyson Foods by rallying shareholders and using loopholes in Virginia law to prevent a payout from Tyson.
Following the takeover attempt, WLR Foods continued to be a successful leader in the poultry industry and acquired Cuddy Farms Incorporated which strengthened its turkey production and processing operations. However, by 2000 WLR Foods was on the decline with stock shares dropping to $4.59. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation bought and absorbed WLR Foods thus ending the corporation’s fourteen-year dominance of the industry.
The WLR Foods digital records, 1948-2002 consists of over 5,000 scanned images. The bulk of the collection is comprised of documents pertaining to WLR Foods Incorporated. The remaining documents relate to Wampler Feed and Seed Company and Wampler Foods and are pre-1984 in date. The 645 documents that make up the collection have been arranged by similar topic and broken down into nine unique series.
Series I: Stock Activities, holds stock reports, NASDAQ market reports, and letters to stockholders of WLR Foods. The majority of this collection spans a nine-year period from 1991 to 2000. Two documents in Series I cover the stock activities of Wampler Foods from 1976 and 1979. Also included is a letter written to WLR Foods shareholders regarding the hostile takeover attempt by Tyson Foods. This series contains 175 documents.
Series II: Meetings and Minutes, comprises minutes from Board of Directors meetings, Shareholder meetings, and WLR Foods Executive Committee meetings. The majority of this series spans 1985 to 2000 and contains 157 documents.
Series III: Financial Reports, includes financial statements from 1955 to 2000. The reports relate to the Wampler-Bryan Company, Wampler Foods, Golden Acre Foods, Wampler-Longacre, and WLR Foods. Of the 85 documents in the series, 34 report on the finances of WLR Foods’ many subsidiaries. The bulk of this collection ranges from 1989 to 2000 and details the quarterly reports of WLR Foods. Also included are eleven of the company’s annual reports.
Series IV: Publications contains WLR Foods’ annual newsletter, “Dimensions.” These newsletters were distributed primarily to employees and community members. They document the company’s growth and history and feature spotlights on employees. One publication which predates WLR Foods is a document titled: “Eat More Turkey” by David W. Evans in 1960. The majority of this 68 document series dates from 1988 to 2002 with some publications as early as November 1984.
Series V: Acquisitions, Mergers, and Takeovers includes documents from the merger between Wampler Foods in Longacre Farms in 1984, acquisitions by WLR Foods of other companies such as Cuddy and Cassco Ice, several documents on the hostile takeover attempt by Tyson Foods in 1994/1995, and the buy out of WLR by Pilgrim’s Pride in 2000. This series spans 1984 to 2000 and contains 58 documents.
Series VI: Announcements, Memos, and News details company announcements and memos such as new chairman elections. Additionally, news and press releases on topics such as quarterly reports, and company endeavors are also included here. Then president of WLR, James Keeler, released two news reports to shareholders panning the hostile takeover attempt of Tyson Foods in 1994. This series contains 44 items and covers the years 1987 to 2000.
Series VII: Audit and Examination Reports deals entirely with the separate companies that eventually merged to create WLR Foods. The series begins in 1948 with a report on examination from Wampler Feed and Seed Company. Other companies included in this series are Wampler Foods and Virginia Valley Processors. Each of the examination accounts for the business’ balance sheets and were conducted by certified public accountants from Harrisonburg Virginia. The specific accountants vary from year to year. 39 documents make up this collection with the bulk of material spanning 1958 to 1978.
Series VIII: Various Documents includes multiple types of company publications such as four iterations of WLR Foods philosophy, by-laws, expenditure requests, and a notification of Wampler-Longacre changing brand name to Wampler. There are 22 documents in this series that covers the years 1987 to 1996.
Series IX: Correspondence is the smallest of the nine series, totals eight documents, and spans the years 1988 to 1991. The correspondence varies between WLR Foods’ several subsidiaries.
The size or number of items in the given series arranges the nine series in this collection. Series I being the largest and comprised of 175 items, and Series IX being the smallest with 8 items. Items are arranged in chronological order within each series. Each document that does not have a known date associated with it is listed as undated in the date field and placed at the end of the series.
Series creation and chronological arrangement were imposed during processing due to the absence of a clear original order. Because the collection is solely digital, there are no box or folder numbers associated with the items. To access the digital images that represent the physical documents, a researcher will need the series number, item title, and corresponding date.
I: Stock Activities, 1976-2000, bulk 1991-2000.
II: Meetings and Minutes, 1970-2001, bulk 1985-2000.
III: Financial Reports, 1955-2000, bulk 1989-2000.
IV: Publications, 1979-2002, bulk 1988-2002.
V: Acquisitions, Mergers, and Takeovers, 1984-2000, bulk 1984-1995.
Chintala, David Michael. Correlation between export sales and stock price. Harrisonburg: James Madison University, 1997.
Fife, Tom. Activity-based costing systems and their applications in the poultry industry. Harrisonburg: James Madison University, 1993.
Whiteley, Laura E., "WLR Foods, Inc." In International Directory of Company Histories Vol. 21, 1998, edited by Tina Grant, and Jay P. Pederson, 534-536. Detroit: St. James Press, 1998.
Letter to Stockholders of Rockingham Poultry Inc.
Affiliation of Wampler-Longacre & Rockingham Poultry Coop.
Circuit Court of Rockingham County: Voluntary Dissolution of RPMC, Inc.
Appendix B, Articles of Incorporation of New ABC Inc.
Appendix C, Bylaws of New ABC Inc.
Merger with Round Hill Co.
Buy out of WLR by Pilgrim's Pride Inc.
Buy out of WLR by Pilgrim's Pride, Inc.
Purchase of Cassco Ice & Cold Storage, Inc.
Notice of "Plan of Merger"
Articles of Restatement of WLR Foods, Inc.
WLR Foods, Inc. - News Release - Common Stock Dividend, etc.
WLR Foods, Inc. - Golden West Foods Announcement regarding NC Fa.
Investment Opinion from Davenport & Co. of Va, Inc.
By-Laws of Rockingham Poultry, Inc.
Letter to Mr. Delbert Seitz concerning a "revolving line of credit"