I’m going to recycle some recent Facebook entries of mine to kick off this blog. It’s the eco-friendly thing to do!
If anyone wants to know what the weirdest, most pungent smell in the world is, my vote goes for a menhaden fish-processing plant, more commonly called a “pogie plant.” This one was on Highway 87 between Port Arthur and Sabine Pass, Texas, and owned by a friend of my dad’s, John Quinn.
My dad was fascinated by menhaden fish; he’d spot huge schools of them in the Gulf of Mexico from his plane, radio the fishing boats as to the location, and they’d pay him a percentage of the catch’s proceeds. That was called “fish spotting” and some pilots made a lot of money doing that!
A Texas marine biologist’s report from 1960 that I found on the web claimed that this plant, and one other in Texas, processed 60 MILLION pounds of menhaden in 1959. Holy mackerel, that’s a lot of fish!!!
The lettering on the front of the building cracks me up!
Photo from 1958 (I think!).
Here’s another photo of this plant. Aren’t the old vehicles fun to see? My dad’s car is the 1952 DeSoto Custom Club coupé which looks black in this photo, but was actually a very dark green. He loved that car and so did I. I’m guessing that bright-red object is either a gas pump or– and this is entirely possible– Dr Who is visiting Sabine Pass, Texas, for some reason.
Jim's World and Welcome To It 
May 07, 2016 @ 17:48:06
There is a good aerial picture of the plant here. That site needs some info to indentify it.
http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth79049/m1/1/?q=menhaden
Jan 17, 2018 @ 18:09:58
My daddy WAS ThE coOk
Jan 17, 2018 @ 23:02:05
Linda and Willie, if your dad was the cook in the late 1950s/early-to-mid 1960s, my dad probably knew your dad! Thanks for your comments!!!
May 07, 2016 @ 19:15:13
Fascinating! Thanks, George!!!
Jan 17, 2018 @ 16:57:08
My father worked at the fish plant and some of my brother, my father was the cook out there his name was Frank Reed
May 01, 2018 @ 20:02:16
I would like to know does anyone remember anything about another “pogie plant” in the area, owned by the Smith Family. They owned a fleet of “pogie boats” back in the 60’s, pogie fishing out of Texas. One of the boats was called the Sabine Pass. As a young man in high school I worked on one these “pogie boats” out of Moss Point, Mississippi. I have been trying to find out information from the Orange County Historical Society. The Quinn and Smith family operated “pogie plants” all along the Gulf Coast. Back in the 50’s and early 60’s Quinn had a “pogie plant in Gautier Mississippi.
May 01, 2018 @ 21:37:24
Hey, Norman. Thanks for your comment. I seem to remember hearing of the Smith Family, though I don’t believe my dad ever flew for them. I do recall another family in that business. I believe it was two brothers named Walker. They had a plant in Pascagoula, Mississippi, near the Puss ‘n’ Boots cat-food factory on the river there. And, we lived in a very cool house in Sabine Pass on the Sabine River in Texas one summer. Loved it!
May 01, 2018 @ 22:18:56
There is a comprehensive book on menhaden fishing, The Men All Singing by John Frye. Covers the Smith operations pretty well. Search on Bookfinder.com.
May 01, 2018 @ 22:59:48
That might be a book I contributed a photo to. Thanks, George!
Apr 14, 2019 @ 08:27:39
The other pogie plant in the Sabine Pass Texas area could be the Pogie Plant owned by the Smith Family. I worked on these boats in the summer after school was out. One of the pogie boats in the fleet was called the Sabine Pass.
Apr 14, 2019 @ 11:37:15
Hi, Norman–
Depending on the year, my dad might have spotted fish for your boat from his plane!
Best regards–
–Jim
Apr 22, 2019 @ 17:12:59
Hello. I am very curious about the history of the pogy plant in Fernandina. Was the pogy plant ever used in any battles? When did the pogy plant stop being used for pogy oil? How long was the plant abandoned? Is the pogy plant haunted? I would appreciate and information. Thankyou
Apr 22, 2019 @ 17:25:34
Hi, Allyson– I’m from Fernandina, but have no knowledge about the pogie plant there. Good luck in your search for info!
Apr 23, 2019 @ 13:05:45
“The Men All Singing” is the source for history on the menhaden industry. It is online at the link below and can be searched for Fernandina (21 hits).
Click to access Title.pdf