Finding aid for the Ray's Sausage Company Photographs

History of Ray's Sausage Company

Ray's Sausage Company, an African American-led Cleveland based family business, was started by Raymond Cash, Sr in 1952. Raymond Cash Sr. was born in Bradley, Georgia, in 1919 and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, with his family as an infant. Cash began to learn about the meat industry at the age of 13 with Bill Leeb, who taught him how to make German sausage in his shop on Cedar Street in Cleveland. After graduating high school, he served as a cook in the United States military in World War II. When Cash returned to Cleveland, he became a butcher at Savmore Market on Quincy Avenue. He worked there until his wife, Thelma Cash, convinced him to realize his dream of opening up his own sausage company. On October 13, 1952, Raymond Cash Sr. opened Ray's Sausage Company, including a meat processing plant, on the corner of Imperial Avenue and East 123rd Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ray's Sausage Company motto was, "Pride of the Century" and the factory manufactured and sold pure pork, beef sausage, pork and beef links, head cheese, and meat souse. In 1964, the company announced its partnerships with Luke Easter, James Flagg, and James Wilson. Soon the company, by selling products to supermarkets such as Heinens and Pick-N-Pay, was able expand its products throughout most of northeast Ohio. Earl Peoples, the Supervisor of Employer Relations for the Cleveland Vocational Educational Project, helped Ray's facilitate the relationships with the larger clients.

After Cash's death in 1977, his son Raymond Cash Jr, took over the family business. In 2014, Renee Cash and Raymond Cash, along with the third generation, Leslie and Lisa Cash Lester owned and operated the company. They expanded the company's market to reach many large grocery dealers in northeast Ohio, including Acme, Giant Eagle, and Heinen's, selling products under the motto, "Shop where it pays, Bring home the Ray's."

Scope and Content

The Ray's Sausage Company Photographs, 1969 and undated, consist of 20 photographs, of which 8 are in color and 12 are in black and white.

This collection is of value to researchers interested in Ray's Sausage Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and the sausage making process. The views of workers within the factory show many aspects of the process, including the machinery and the product. The views of the product also may be of interest to the researcher, as they show it in its complete state. The photographs in this collection depict the sausage making process, Raymond Cash and his family, the sausage in its packaging, and the administrative actions of the company.

This collection is useful to researchers interested in the Raymond Cash Sr. family. Within this collection are many portraits of the family members, both individually and in groups. These photographs depict Cash Sr. with different members of the community on Cleveland's east side.

This collection may also be instructive for anyone researching the growth of small businesses and the history of entrepreneurship, especially within the African American community of Cleveland. Of interest would be the photographs taken within the factory, those taken of the administrative actions and those taken of the delivery process. These photographs display the dynamic relationships that occur within the business setting.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 5238 Ray's Sausage Company Records

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 601 Ray's Sausage Company Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

These photographs were removed from MS 5238 Ray's Sausage Company Records. Gift of Ray's Sausage Company in 1996.

Processing Information

Processed by Molly Clark in 2014.

Detailed Description of The Collection