No more Nalley's: After nearly 100 years, plant will fill its final can of chili in Tacoma Saturday

Where the sign once read, “If it’s Nalley’s, it’s good,” now let it proclaim, “If it’s Nalley’s, it’s gone.”

Gone for good.

Founded in 1918, the company that gave its name to Nalley Valley will fill its final can of chili during the day shift Saturday.

Fourteen of the company’s 153 employees will remain on the payroll to dismantle equipment and load the last shipments to distributors.

The lights will finally go dark in the fall.

Founded in a small kitchen at Ninth and Market streets downtown, then grown to fill a plant on Puyallup Avenue and finally settled on 22 acres in the namesake Nalley Valley, the company has seen a handful of owners since the mid-1960s: W.R. Grace, Curtice-Burns, Birds Eye and finally Pinnacle Foods, owner of brands including Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Paul’s, Mrs. Butterworth’s, Vlasic, Van de Kamp’s and Tim’s Cascade.

Pinnacle announced last year that it would close the Tacoma operation and move production to the Midwest.

That meant the lives of hundreds of employees and their families would necessarily change.

THE NALLEY FAMILY

“I’m going to get a résumé together and start from there,” said Cody Richardson, a 26-year Nalley’s veteran, facility maintenance lead and shop steward for the International Association of Machinists Local 297.

Richardson and two colleagues spoke with The News Tribune last week.

“We’re a family. We’ve worked together for years,” said Gwen Crittendon, a 37-year employee and currently safety implementer, production spice formulator and shop steward for Teamsters Local 117.

“We’re talking about making a yearbook and involving everybody so we can stay in contact,” she said. “It’s a sad time that a family is going its own way. We’re going to keep that alive, passing phone numbers and emails.”

Of the 139 employees who will lose their positions before the end of this month, two will transfer to a Pinnacle plant in Fort Madison, Iowa – the new home of Nalley’s chilis and stews – one will transfer to a facility in Wisconsin, “and others are interested,” said human resources and safety manager Andee Handeland.

Crittendon said she began her career with Nalley’s at the “fresh-pack” pickle plant.

“A lot of college kids paid for their college through fresh-pack,” she said. “It was really busy during the summer season. I remember making a lot of money pushing pickles.”

The company once absorbed 60 percent of the state’s cucumber production.

Just as longtime Tacoma residents can remember the aroma miles around when pickles were packed, so does Crittendon recall Log Cabin Syrup.

And the short-lived Phyllis Diller Chili.

“We had the best seafood sauce anybody made,” said Richardson.

“It’s been really nice the last couple of weeks,” said Crittendon. “We’ve been making so much chili now, all the spices in the air.”

Potato chips came first for founder Marko Narancich – Marcus Nalley – there at the end of the First World War. Not too many people hereabouts had tasted such a thing, and if they had, they likely called them Saratoga chips.

At one point, in the best of times, Nalley’s processed 17 million pounds of potatoes annually.

The company once ran 200 trucks and used 40,000 pounds of sugar daily.

After potato chips came mayonnaise.

Later, it was Tang salad dressing.

The new Old Fashioned Red Salad Dressing did not fare long or well.

And who remembers Cheese Pleasers?

“We’re working on keeping the legacy alive,” said Crittendon.

The Nalley archives will be donated to a local institution, said Pinnacle spokeswoman Elizabeth Rowland last week.

And the name will live on, she said, as the brand of “more than 30 canned meats, beans, chilis and stews.”

WITHOUT A JOB

“A number (of the employees) will need to be retrained. The jobs they have now will not be in demand. Their skills will not be in demand,” said Mic Stump, employment and training specialist and Rapid Response coordinator for WorkForce Central, a Tacoma-based agency that offers employment outreach.

After Pinnacle announced the layoff of 139 workers, Stump conducted a survey of Nalley’s employees.

“They needed very basic computer skills,” he said. “Also, employees had been there for a long time – 10, 15, in some cases 30 years. That is unusual these days.”

“The majority are talking about retirement,” said Richardson. “I’ve got one Machinist – he just got his 45-year award.”

Another, with 44 years, has not missed a day of work.

“Some folks have gotten jobs, and that provides a sense of comfort,” said Handeland.

The human resources department, she said, “is busy these days. Some of the employees have important questions, and some just want to chitchat. You can see that they’re preparing for this transition. We’ve been scheduling computer classes for people who never touched a computer, and every day we’re handing out snacks, treats, every day, just to keep the momentum alive.”

Richardson remembers when he would walk past the potato-chip cooker, and how he’d nibble the occasional sample. Thereafter, store-bought never tasted quite so good.

Last Wednesday morning – early, at 5:45 – Stump began coordinating the Rapid Response team as it visited Nalley Valley.

“A lot of people do not have an understanding of what it takes to conduct an effective job search,” he said earlier in the week.

“I try not to overwhelm them with information. There are a lot of services – unemployment insurance, job-search assistance, then retraining resources. There’s pots of money available for retraining, federal programs and state grants. We have the Department of Labor, and public colleges, and opportunity grants.”

At Nalley’s, he said, he found that “a good number of them are getting closer to retirement. I think that’s going to be a blessing.”

Still, he recalls one worker, years ago, who was 72.

“If a person has a desire and a need to move on and retrain, we have resources that can help them,” he said. “My sense is that these people are hard workers. If you develop a good work ethic, that work ethic will go over to their job search.”

“I’m optimistic about the people. They can reach their goals,” he said. “I tell people it’s a long and winding road, but we can get you there, we can help you.”

CHIP DIP AND EMPATHY

Last Tuesday, the company hosted a barbecue for employees

“We gave out T-shirts, caps. We really had our big celebration,” said Handeland.

Out came Nalley’s 1923 Dodge delivery van.

“People had their picture taken,” said Handeland.

It’s bittersweet.

“Some people were already planning on retiring, and they’re anxious to get on with their retirement,” said Richardson. “Some are wondering what their next step is, and what benefits they have. There’s mixed emotions.”

“Nalley’s has taken care of a lot of families and put a lot of meals on the tables,” said Crittendon.

“You can’t talk to anybody who didn’t have a friend or relative who worked here,” said Richardson.

“Nalley’s sponsored bowling teams, baseball, basketball. It was really a community company,” said Crittendon.

The company is working with the city and others to market the 22-acre facility to a new owner.

The name “Nalley Valley” is not likely to change.

“People in the community know that we are losing our jobs. People come up to me and they have empathy and concern,” said Handeland. “We’re seeing a lot of care come back from the community as people go into the unemployment rank and file. It’s nice to have that. When people hear I work for Nalley’s, they say, ‘I’m so sorry, Are you OK? Is there anything I can do to help?’ Then they’ll talk about somebody they knew who worked at Nalley, or, ‘I like the tartar sauce.’ It’s happened everywhere. It’s amazing.”

“I’ve heard the same thing,” said Crittendon.

She has also heard: “ ‘How am I going to get my chili?’ The consumers are concerned about the product.”

The chili, stews, chowders, dressing, corned beef hash.

The clam dip and the tartar sauce.

The neighborhood smell of pickles brewing.

Said Crittendon, “Nalley’s is always going to be alive here.”

C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535

c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com