Will had a thriving egg-packing business in Milton WI. During that time, fresh eggs were not readily available during the harsh Midwestern winters. ‘Ferris bought eggs from the farmers when eggs were plentiful and cheap, pickled them in brine to be marketed in the fall and winter, when supply and demand conditions were reversed.' The egg business was to be expanded by a branch in the Peoria IL area by his brother-in-law Charles M. Gates. Enroute to select a site, Gates met up with Mr. Matt Corcoran and Gates had the brainstorm for the beginnings of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company (CPMC). On January 12, 1883, an Illinois charter was granted to Charles M. Gates, William L. Ferris, Hiram J. Ferris, and Edward Kimball for the Creamer Package Company and that place of business was White Rock IL. Will is credited with naming the company. The object was ‘The manufacturer and sale of butter tubs, cheese boxes, and cooperage.' One of the original founders of the CPMC, he was Secretary and Superintendent of the Rock Falls IL plant by 1884. The company sold wholesale supplies to creameries and stores, things like testing equipment and dairy cooperage supplies. Will later headed up the Portland IN branch, 1891 until he retired early in 1910. Butter tubs were manufactured for several years even after his early death in 1910 (Cerebral Hemorrhage). Some of his sons worked at that plant part time as well. The business remained in the hands of various family members until after WWII. The plant still exists today (2004) in Portland on the corner of Ash Street and the railroad. It is now an O Cedar broom manufacturing plant. William seemed to have caught the bug of the early automobile. He had a personal connection with Elwood Haynes of the Haynes Automobile fame in Portland and Kokomo IN. Photos exist that show him in a 1904 Haynes car and he was driving James Whitcomb Riley, the Indiana poet. There is another photo that shows him in front of his Arch Street home with a 1907 Haynes touring car. He would remove the windshields from the cars – ‘because, I don't want to pay all that money and not feel the wind!'
Will had a thriving egg-packing business in Milton WI. During that time, fresh eggs were not readily available during the harsh Midwestern winters. ‘Ferris bought eggs from the farmers when eggs were plentiful and cheap, pickled them in brine to be marketed in the fall and winter, when supply and demand conditions were reversed.' The egg business was to be expanded by a branch in the Peoria IL area by his brother-in-law Charles M. Gates. Enroute to select a site, Gates met up with Mr. Matt Corcoran and Gates had the brainstorm for the beginnings of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company (CPMC). On January 12, 1883, an Illinois charter was granted to Charles M. Gates, William L. Ferris, Hiram J. Ferris, and Edward Kimball for the Creamer Package Company and that place of business was White Rock IL. Will is credited with naming the company. The object was ‘The manufacturer and sale of butter tubs, cheese boxes, and cooperage.' One of the original founders of the CPMC, he was Secretary and Superintendent of the Rock Falls IL plant by 1884. The company sold wholesale supplies to creameries and stores, things like testing equipment and dairy cooperage supplies. Will later headed up the Portland IN branch, 1891 until he retired early in 1910. Butter tubs were manufactured for several years even after his early death in 1910 (Cerebral Hemorrhage). Some of his sons worked at that plant part time as well. The business remained in the hands of various family members until after WWII. The plant still exists today (2004) in Portland on the corner of Ash Street and the railroad. It is now an O Cedar broom manufacturing plant. William seemed to have caught the bug of the early automobile. He had a personal connection with Elwood Haynes of the Haynes Automobile fame in Portland and Kokomo IN. Photos exist that show him in a 1904 Haynes car and he was driving James Whitcomb Riley, the Indiana poet. There is another photo that shows him in front of his Arch Street home with a 1907 Haynes touring car. He would remove the windshields from the cars – ‘because, I don't want to pay all that money and not feel the wind!'
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