Rolling into the Lowell Thomas Meeting Room at Garst Museum is the iconic Buchy meat wagon built by the Lohmann Brothers (yes, the telescope guys) around 1900. From 4:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Charles G. Buchy, the second generation to operate the company, drove the wagon to the surrounding communities of Gettysburg, Bradford, Webster, Versailles, Beamsville, and Pikeville selling his meats. This wagon was retired in the mid-1930’s.
Today, it displays artifacts of the Chas. G. Buchy Packing Company and the Buchy family. Charles G. Buchy’s embroidered plant smock, a photograph of the Buchy brothers (Edmund, George, and Gerhardt) and brother-in-law Ben Brinkman, and an aerial photograph of the expansive plant are among the items assembled in the wagon along with campaign materials from Jim Buchy’s (fourth-generation owner) successful 24-year career in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Illuminating the exhibit is a beautifully restored neon sign featuring “Buchy’s Prize Brand Meats.” Prize Brand was added to the logo signifying winning meats when George and Charles entered sausage and smoked meats in competition at the Darke County Fair in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s and won in several categories every year. These vintage signs were given to select grocers carrying the Buchy products in the days of small local stores.
Alongside the wagon are a bread box and a sausage cutter. Interestingly, the bread box was owned John Armbruster, Mrs. Amba (George) Buchy’s father. This bread box from the Armbruster Bakery was used to transport bread from Greenville to the victims of the 1913 Dayton flood. The sausage “rocker” was purchased by George Buchy around 1875 from the manufacturer John Wagner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This sausage cutter was lifted onto a table and see-sawed back and forth to knead the meats into the emulsion for stuffing.
After 134 years, the Buchy family and meat packing business left an enduring legacy to the people of Darke County. Take a short walk from Garst Museum across Wilson Avenue to the former site of the business and reflect on the bygone days as you share the bench with a bronze statue of Jim Buchy.
Click here for more information about the Chas. G. Buchy Packing Company.