Milford chronicle., 1953-07-10
Pioneer Canning By
Farmers Son Opened
Markets For Sussex
Crops
(continued from rIrst pagel

The young man saw an Oppor-
tunity to develop a new market for
his fathers crOps-one more stable
than the fresh market, since can
ned foods could be stored during
periods when foods are plentiful
and used during Off-season months
when harvests are light.
Walter Cuykendall, taking a les
son from the Kent County firm, set
up operations in a building at II
S. w. Front Street in Milford-site
of the present Draper Foods, Inc,
food processing plant. He made the
metal containers on the second
floor of the building during the
winter months and used the ground
floor to can fruits and vegetables
when they were in harvest. 1t
wasn't long before scores of farm
ers-in addition to his father
were bringing their peach crops
to the new cannery, and the opera
ton was enlarged so that tomatoes
and small fruits could be prOcessed
w. E. Lank, Milford's oldest ma
tive, clearly recalls the days when
Sussex County fruit was put up in
cans by Cuykendall. Other small
canneries had been started in the
county earlier but details 6f these
operations have been lost or for
gotten.
The idea of canning peaches
quickly spread to other parts of
Sussex. In the western part of the
county, Henry P. Cannon entered
the food processing business in
Bridgeville because he, too, was
disturbed to see large parts of the
cOunty's peach crop go to waste
for lack of markets.
Using a small shed in which to
start operations, Cannon went in
business in 1881, hiring men to
make the cans and, during the
harvest season, additional people
to fill the cans and seal them.
The outlook for the business
was so doubtful and so MANY
were the headaches that a business
associate who joined Cannon in
organizing the cannery dropped
out before the company was a
year old.
But the partner did not have
CannOn's optimism and fortitude.
The business, now operated under
the name of II. p. Cannon and Son.
Inc, with Henry P. Cannon. IL
the founders grandson, as presi-
dent, is a monument to the first
CannOn's foresight.
1t wasn't long after Cannon
started operations that state Off
Gals recognized the Importance OF
canning to the DEVELOPMENT OF
Sussex County. In 1884, the State
Board of immigration, which had
hand in charting the progress o1
Delaware, pointed out: "NOw, with
the Introduction of railroad facili.
ties and the wonderful skill
attained in preserving almost ali
kinds of food for the human race
the owner of lands in southern
Delaware finds before him a golden
opportunity"
Professor H. Clay Reed of the
University Of Delaware's history
department has found in his re.
search that the growing of fruit
and vegetable crops had developef
into an important source of in.
come by 1900. Farmers, at the turr
OF the century, were harvestinG
2S,987 acres of vegetables and 10.
5S9 acres of fruit throughout tn,
state.
Sussex County growers received
$2,430,000 last year from canner,
and other food professors fol
vegetables alone, according to thc
Department Of Agriculture. Thi,
income came from such crops a,
lima beans, snap beans, tomatoes
peas, and sweet corn. OF tbes,
lima beans made up the larges
crop, bringing farmers S1,4O8. .OOC
and making Southern DeIawar,
the lima bean capital of tn,
world"
Crops such as these made IN /
100000 cases Of canned foods las
year, according to L. M. Goodwin
representative of American Car
Company, which supplies million,
of cans to Delaware canneries.
Mr.. Goodwin paid tribute I,
such early Gamers as Cuykendal
and Cannon who, he said. pavee
the way for a $7,OOO,OOO industr,
IN Sussex County, EMPLOYING aI
Leverage Of 200 people providing al
annual county payroll totaling al
estimated $1,500,0 900.
"Workmen in early Sussex Conn
ty canneries," he said, could turr
out only a few scores cans a dan
because Of the crude eouipment
that was available. Canning too
was a slow operation because eacl
can had to be filled by hanC