Los Banos Rotary Club History
New Delta Cotton Gin Is Dedicated

The new Delta Cotton Co. gin, on east Henry Miller Road east of Los Banos, was officially dedicated by the owners and a large crowd of farmers and business friends Tuesday afternoon. The official opening was set for a p.m. and a crowd of over two hundred people, including many ladies, were on hand to see the first bale of cotton come from the gin.

Emory O'Banion, president of the company, greeted the crowd and escorted them on a tour of the complete gin, explaining how the cotton is lifted by vacuum from the cotton trailer into the dryers and battery of five cleaners, eventually through the 5-stand gin, and on the huge hydraulic press where the cotton fibres are compressed into bales.

Each of the other owners, vice president Lawrence Wolfsen, Clyde Houk, Henry Wolfsen and gin manager Howard Lindstrom also spoke briefly concerning the ginning process; and in appreciation to the crowd for the interest they had showed by their attendance at the official opening party.
Lindstrom, who served as cotton specialist for the production Marketing Association, Berkley, for eight years and is now a cotton farmer in Dos Palos "Y" district, also explained at length the testing and grading procedure for cotton, and told of the company's large sales room at the Santa Rita Ginning Co. office where samples and records are kept of every bale ginned.
The New Delta Gin is said to be one of the most modern and complete in the valley, and is especially equipped to handle machine picked cotton. Lindstrom said the only other comparable one that he knows of is one built this year in the Imperial valley. They anticipate a production of between 7,000 and 8,000 bales this year.

Rotary Club is Visitors

The Los Banos Rotary Club members were guests of the gin owners at a pre-dedication showing Tuesday noon, when they too were given a quick once-over of the machinery and procedure, with O'Banion acting as guide and spokesman.

September 12, 1952

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