The Kalamazoo Rendering Works was a very interesting place to work. The daily lives of people who worked at the Kalamazoo Rendering Works were very different from our lives today.

The Kalamazoo Rendered Works took dead animals and made them into useful things. They used an assortment of animals. Some of the animals were cow, pig, horse, deer, and possum. They also worked with slaughterhouses. A slaughterhouse is a place where animals are killed for food. The Kalamazoo Rendering Works made a number of objects. They made dog food, snakeskin boots, and glue.

The Kalamazoo Rendering Works was located at 4244 East Main, where Merry Brook Plate is now located. The business was started by four Dutchmen whose names remain unknown. Later it was bought by Mr. W. Lawrence, who expanded it into processing chemicals for the paper industry, but they still rendered down animals. Just before World War II four men from Hercules Power Co. took over the company.

The Kalamazoo Rendering Works closed for two reasons. First, the farm industry in the Comstock area went way down. The pay wasn't enough to feed the farmers' families. The second reason was there was a fire at the Rendering Works. The fire was caused by teenagers stealing gasoline. One lit a lighter and the place went up in flames. Nobody was hurt. The owners decided that it wasn't worth rebuilding.

When you go down East Main can you imagine what it would be like without Merry Brook Plate? Just a long road with a building that rendered down animals.