Deacon John J. Greenough (1840-1934) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, grew tobacco from 1862 to 1868, when he decided that “the weed” served no good purpose, was a “waste of soul and human energy” which in the end “all went up in smoke.” He invented two types of insulated 10-gallon containers that allowed him to send cream to Boston by train, where it was purchased by makers of ice cream. In the 1860s, he helped introduce strawberries to Deerfield farmers and he was the first person in Franklin County to grow asparagus as a field crop. In 1870, he started his pickle, vinegar and horseradish company. It grew to a point where he contracted for hundreds of acres of cucumbers every year. His horseradish was free from preservatives and became a specialty. In 1924, at the age of 84, Deacon Greenough decided to expand his business and mailed circulars to thousands of women all over the country, asking them to buy horseradish from him by mail. He also sold it wholesale to grocers.
Greenough, John J. To Nationalize the GREEN O HORSE RADISH. ca. 1925. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l04-016/. Accessed on December 22, 2024.
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