Cannery Pumpkins
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Cannery Pumpkins
- From: H* E* P*
- Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 20:45:30 -0700
In the old days, there may have been canneries in most farming areas. I
knew of 3 three when I was a kid. I became part owner of one
automatically upon graduation from Purdue.
That cannery was set up by Purdue Ag Alumni to collect high quality
tomato seeds for Indiana tomato growers. Indiana was the the leading
producer of tomatoes. At this cannery, the waste product was the tomato
pulp and juice which was sold to groceries. I have visited "our
cannery". Local housewives worked there a few weeks every summer. The
canned tomatoes went into boxes and into storage. When "we" got an
order, the boxes were retrieved using the number stamped on the can lids
and run thru a labelling machine and the buyer's label was applied to
the cans. That is what in meant by "Packed for ----" or "distributed by
---". The cans went back into the boxes and the top flaps were sealed
this time. The case would be stamped or the buyer's label would be
affixed.
Purdue University tomato breeders produced the seed which were used to
plant the fields which grew Purdue Ag Alumni tomato seed. Ag Alumni
Seeds, Romney, Indiana is a much bigger organization today. In the old
days the profits from the operation were used to pay the costs of
running the Ag Alumni Association so that membership has always been
free for Purdue Ag Alums.
Some of the pumpkins we grew on our farm in the 1940's went to Morgan
Packing Company in Austin-Scottsburg, Indiana. American Beauty was one
of their private labels. This is such a huge operation, that American
Can has a factory nearby to prouce the tin cans. They still can pumpkin
and many other crops.
We grew the pumpkins for livestock feed, but the company truck driver
might see the pumpkins in our yard and offer us a price for the canning
grade pumpkins. Using a pitchfork, he would toss the good looking
pumpkins into the stake-bed truck.
--
Harold Eddleman Ph.D. Microbiologist. i*@disknet.com
Location: Palmyra IN USA; 36 kilometers west of Louisville, Kentucky
http://www.disknet.com/indiana_biolab/pk.htm
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