Dayton Egg Circle

Dayton Egg Circle. . In 1915, Dayton farmers' wives were having difficulty marketing left-over eggs after meeting their own needs. Especially in summer, the prices were too low and the quality less than desirable. Believing this to be an important problem, the county agent encouraged a group of them to form an association called the Dayton Egg Circle. They elected a secretary-treasurer who was also the business manager., The Egg Circle adopted a standard trade-mark. Each egg was graded, sorted, and stamped with the number of the member as well as the trade-mark and arrangements were provided on each farm for producing infertile eggs. Each member agreed to gather their eggs twice daily and follow instructions regarding the care and marketing of them before they were shipped by rail to Houston., In the beginning, the association had 12 members and they scarcely had two cases of eggs a week. From July 15, 1915, to the same date in 1916, the total shipments were 9,870 dozen, bringing in $2,185, which was distributed among the members. From June 1917 to June 1918, the 28 members shipped 13,830 dozen. From June 1918 to June 1919, they shipped 29,377 dozen, bringing in $8,975.91. It is not known when the Egg Circle business dissolved and there is no evidence of any but the one group even though they were called No. 1., Egg Circle No. 1 was located adjacent to the railroad tracks at the southwest corner of Winfree and Clayton Streets. Among the members were Mrs. Tekla "Tillie" Stoesser, Mrs. Genevieve Brown, Mr. Turner, Mr. G.H. Bailey (later to be Mayor of Dayton), Mrs. Susan Hemnoff, Mrs. Emma Harris, Mrs. Daisy Flowers, Mrs. Grace Hopkins, Mrs. Nora Kilgore, Mrs. Allene Jamison, Mrs. Dora Bozeman, and Mrs. Belle Barton.