How a 71-Year-Old Egg Baron Lied His Way Into a Union Scandal

How a 71-Year-Old Egg Baron Lied His Way Into a Union Scandal Ambition and secrecy collided in a federal courtroom when 71-year-old Morris Ovson admitted he had lied to a grand jury about a taxicab union - a scandal that sprang from the unlikely center of the egg industry. How did an immigrant candling expert whose patent changed frozen yolks end up facing federal charges connected to a cab union? In this episode, we tell the life arc of Morris Ovson from immigrant laborer to industrial inventor and company founder, outline the growth of Ovson Egg into one of the nation's largest processed-egg firms, and pose the question of what remained of his empire when legal trouble forced him into the courtroom. Person: Morris Ovson Date: June 14, 1955 Patent: Mocoyolk, Patent Number 1,429,559 (September 1922) Company: Ovson Egg (renamed from Bowman-Priebe-Ovson by 1929) Scale: Seven plants by 1937 - Arrived in the United States in 1904 and became a U.S. citizen in 1909. - Co-founded Bowman-Priebe-Ovson by 1919 and later renamed the firm Ovson Egg by 1929. - Granted Patent Number 1,429,559 for Mocoyolk in September 1922 (95% yolk, 5% glycerine). - National Dairy Products took a non-controlling majority stake in Ovson Egg in 1929. - By 1937 Ovson Egg operated seven plants and was one of the two largest processed egg companies in the United States. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].