The Dallas Journal, Volume 50, 2004 Page: 63
165 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Porter William "Pete" Gifford, Sr.
One very large construction job Gifford-Hill
did was the Cotton Belt Line (Saint Louis
Southwestern Railroad) between Mt. Pleasant and
Corsicana. This job, probably the biggest he had
done since the breakup of List and Gifford, came
along at just the right time-1928-and lasted
until 1932.
The contract was signed in 1928, and Dad
took it to the bank and borrowed the money to
buy new shovels, dump cars, spreaders,
locomotives, camp cars, and other equipment to
do the job. This new equipment enabled him to
run Gifford-Hill through the Depression until the
World War II business expansion started in 1940.
In 1929 Gifford-Hill formed one of the first
health maintenance organizations-the Gifford-
Hill Hospital Association. The association made a
contract with a general practitioner in each
community in which Gifford-Hill worked. The
doctor would get a monthly payment for which he
would take care of the ordinary medical needs of
the employees. When they needed specialists, the
company doctor would send them to the specialist
who was paid for by the hospital association. This
arrangement lasted until 1963, when the company
established a personnel department.
In about 1930 Dad got the contract to build
the Dallas Compress and Warehouse building on
South Lamar. The building was to store big
compactors that compressed cotton bales into
smaller units, which were easier to handle.
This building later became the Sears Roebuck
warehouse and was later doubled in size. This
was a big job that probably resulted in Dad's
getting into the ready-mix concrete business.
In 1930 he bought a half interest in the Dallas
Concrete Company. The other half was owned by
Southwest Construction Materials Company.
About the same time, he financed Walter
Porter and Ray Foley, forming the Gifford-Hill
Pipe Company in Grand Prairie. Gifford-Hill &
Co. owned exactly 50 percent of the pipe
company stock, and Porter, Foley, and their
associates owned the other 50 percent. After
World War II, this company expanded into
pressure pipe (Gifford-Hill American) and
irrigation (Gifford-Hill Western and Gifford-Hill
Panhandle).When Gifford-Hill rebuilt the Turkey Creek
Gravel Plant south of Alexandria, Louisiana, it
found that the Rock Island Railroad would not
switch empty cars to the gravel pit, eight miles
from the mainline. So the company formed its
own railroad to solve a transportation problem
and, at the same time, make some extra income.
The Evangeline Railroad was born.
Dad talked the Rock Island into dividing
revenue from all the freight that was shipped
from Turkey Creek so that the company railroad
received a portion of the freight charge that the
customer paid on receiving his gravel.
The Evangeline Railroad was not very long,
but it was just as wide as any other railroad and
remained in business until Gifford-Hill went
public in 1968.
One of Dad's most interesting but
unprofitable construction jobs was the Bonne
Carre Spillway in Louisiana near Simmesport.
This was about 1932 or 1933. The spillway was
to partly divert the Mississippi River at flood
stage to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The diverted water would flow into the
Atchafalaya River and through unpopulated
swampy land to the Gulf of Mexico about 90
miles west of New Orleans.
The big drawback to this job was the unstable
soil in the area. When they dumped the dirt to
build a fill, the new dirt would sink into the
unstable soil. Then the soil would rise up several
hundred feet away where it was not needed at all.
Gifford-Hill was being paid for the volume of dirt
that filled in the low places, not for the amount
they excavated and moved. Because the fill dirt
wouldn't sit still, the company had a bad loss.
They received no pay for all this dirt that was
wasted coming up where it was not wanted.
Another bad financial period in Gifford-Hill's
history was about 1933 when the State of
Louisiana went broke. It did not generate enough
tax income to offset its committed expenses, and
the state declared bankruptcy.
Gifford-Hill & Co. had several highway
construction jobs under way in Louisiana as well
as the sand and gravel contracts for the jobs.
Because the state could not pay in cash, it paid in
State of Louisiana Warrants-promises to pay in
the future.The DllasJoural 204 6
The Dallas Journal 2004
63
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Dallas Genealogical Society. The Dallas Journal, Volume 50, 2004, periodical, June 2004; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth186863/m1/65/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.