Despite having many local customers such as Sugars Strawberry Farm in Hartford, Emmerts in Bangor, the Hartford Fruit Exchange and an outlet in Keeler, the box factory stopped operation about 1955 as the demand for wooden crates and boxes was replaced with the newer and more popular paper and plastic products. Bob Delong, Bert's grandson, hired in when he was 14 years old. He thought the factory quit production due to the dwindling number of strawberry farms and rising insurance costs. One of the many tasks that Bob was required to do besides sweep the floor, was to shovel sawdust and chips into the boiler. Paid 25 c per hour, Bob used a potato fork to do this and had to go outside to gather the wooden chips that were thrown there by the planner. He remembers Clark as a good man to work for and who made good money making fruit boxes.
Clark Wallace died in 1996. He and his wife Evelyn had two children, Rheta and Robert. When Clark took over management of the farm factory, they started a crate mill and saw mill as well. Robert and his wife, Clara, moved into the old house on 46th Street upon the death of his grandmother, Edna. They kept the Nagel engine until selling it to the museum. The engine at this point, has a cracked head which apparently happened by high steam pressure. The remaining pieces of equipment were sold to a Riverside box factory which is still in business. The engine is being restored by the volunteers at the museum.
Information for this story about the Nagel engine and the box factory was taken from interviews and the "History of Van Buren County", 1912 & 1982. Plans for the engine after restoration, are to use it in a permanent crate and box-making display for demonstration purposes. The non-profit museum is located at 06285 68th Street, South Haven, Mich; (616) 639-2010; email: michiganflywheelers@yahoo.com.