CELERY FARMS

Since 1992

Lenawee County’s Premiere Real Estate Company

Sand Lake Stunner

Enjoy water and nature in the heart of the Irish Hills. Stacked stone fireplace, windows facing the lake with a large gourmet kitchen and breakfast bar that extends to the composite deck. A side entrance leads to the mudroom connecting a family/game room completing a flexible traffic pattern throughout the main level. Porcelain tile, wood floors, granite countertops, wood cabinets throughout. 3-4 bedroom, two bath, two story, two car garage.

$699,000 #50041989 Kris Isom 517-403-7097

TOM DARLING Broker/Owner 517-403-2679 LORI MORGAN Associate Broker 517-403-9013 MARY CLYMER Associate Broker 517-403-1136

Locate your business in Tecumseh

12,300 Sq. Ft. commercial building. Hardwood floors with cherry accents. Located in a high-traffic area along a main road in Tecumseh. New electrical within last 8 years, 3 newer HVAC units consisting of a 10 ton unit, a 6 ton unit, and a 5 ton unit, many newer windows. 1/3 of rubber roof redone in the last 5 years. Frontage on two roads. Seller says bring all offers!

$275,000! #50033790 Diana Faust 517-270-3646

RICHARD KING Associate Broker 517-403-4799

LINDA RUDD Associate Broker 517-403-6837

SUMMER SEXTON 517-416-5737

CHUCK CHRISTENSEN 517-215-4714 TYLER MORGAN 517-215-2807 JONI PARKER 517-270-2426

Celery

By Michael Hrivnak - Tecumseh Area Historical Society

ecumseh has been known for many different businesses and industries over the course of its history. Early entrepreneurs found the marsh grasses and natural resources in the area sufficient to manufacture cane rush chairs in large quantities according to a visitor to Tecumseh in the 1830’s, English author Harriet Martineau, who thought the town was full of chair factories. Carriage manufacturing was a dominant industry in the years after the Civil War. Tecumseh was once considered the “Refrigeration Capital of the World” when Tecumseh Products became a major business and employer for many decades. But it was celery farming that dominated the landscape south of town for a period of almost four decades during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, making Tecumseh renowned for the fragrant vegetable.

Today, a stroll through the produce section of a grocery store finds celery in abundance; it has become a staple in diets and an imperative for many Thanksgiving dinners. But that was not always the case. Celery was native to the Mediterranean region and it wasn’t until the 1800’s that the first varieties made their way to North America, and then only in heirloom gardens. Because early cultivars were difficult to grow commercially, the produce was very expensive and considered a delicacy, affordable only by the wealthy, a seasonal crop, celery was harvested in midsummer and again in October, just in time for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Celery’s popularity in New York City restaurants soared, making it costlier than caviar at one time. Diners at fine restaurants were treated to long stalks of celery served in upright vases filled with chilled water, which were then salted and consumed raw. Crystal celery vases from the era are highly prized by antique hunters; an 1830 piece recently sold for over $40,000 at auction. Capitalizing on this profitable demand, celery farming in Michigan began around Kalamazoo in the 1850’s when Dutch families brought the first seeds from Europe and began planting in the rich, mucky soil nearby Celery farming generally resulted in no resentment from the other local farmers because it was grown in otherwise untillable and undesirable marshlands. The first commercial celery farms around Tecumseh were started around the same time during the early 1880’s by several local residents: Dr. Homer Stewart, a local dentist and entrepreneur the Wilson Brothers, and John Russell. When the marsh near Tecumseh was drained by the digging of Cook’s Ditch, the area was transformed from swampy wetlands into a black, mucky expanse that stretched past present day Ives Road. While wholly undesirable for most agriculture endeavors, the conditions were perfect for cultivation of celery and a few farms began at first on a small scale.

Like his neighbors, Dr. Stewart’s Prairie Celery Company fortunes and operations grew rapidly in the early years. At first, demand for high-quality celery out-paced supply and the farmers used their improving profits to expand acreage and operations.

Celery Tecumseh farms

Barns, greenhouses, and packing houses were built to accommodate the growth, eventually including small tenant-housing for farm workers. The Detroit Toledo and Ironton Railroad built a spur near Ives Road to place special refrigerated railcars for loading via express trains to destinations like St. Louis and New York City, at its peak, over 100 carloads of celery were shipped during one season. Another track was laid near Russell Road to accommodate Mr. Russell’s large farm. A map of Tecumseh in 1898 shows at least eight celery farms south of town, and perhaps other smaller operations.

Many of the teenagers from Tecumseh got their first summer jobs working on the celery farms until other laborers were brought in to meet the growing demand. Before large-scale commercial farming operations dominated the market, celery growing required special care and handling to produce the best quality, highest priced celery.

The tiny seeds needed to be germinated in greenhouses before the seedlings were transferred into the ground. Long wooden planks were laid on end in rows; the plants surrounded with the dark earth to protect the precious stalks. The “blanching” process (or mounding the dirt around the plants) ensured the stalks would retain the desired color and crispness. Weeding, thinning, and watering were only some of the backbreaking tasks involved. Labor was made even more difficult by trudging through the mucky, black soil; Dutch celery farmers in Kalamazoo wore their traditional wooden shoes to maneuver around. Wells were first powered by hand and later horse power to pump water for the thirsty plants. Only the sharpest knives and most delicate hands prepared the stalks at harvest time; rusting was a common blemish on an otherwise perfect celery stalk.

After harvesting, the stalks were washed, carefully wrapped, and laid in wooden shipping boxes. If their efforts were successful, the crop would bring the highest price at market and the profits would make their way back to Tecumseh.

Visitors to Tecumseh in the late 1800’s recalled enjoying a carriage ride along Ives Road through the celery farms on a warm Summer evening, the smell of the ripening crop, and the stark vision of the bright green celery plants set against the backdrop of the deep black soil. This seasonal ritual was enjoyed by generations of residents and out of town visitors alike, making Tecumseh renowned for this unique experience.

In the early 1900’s, competition from major celery farming operations in warmer climates such as California and Florida began to

Celery Farms continued...

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dominate the market, which was flooded with increasing supplies of cheaper produce. Once a seasonal crop, celery became readily available any time of year. The shrinking fortunes of celery farmers in Tecumseh resulted in scaled back operations, then mainly concentrating on local markets to avoid high shipping costs. But a shortage of labor and increasing operating costs further shackled their futures and by the 1920’s almost all commercial operations were shuttered. Abandoned barns and greenhouses soon began to deteriorate into blight and the once verdant fields were reclaimed by nature. The rail spurs were soon taken out of service and became overgrown with weeds.

A drive across Ives Road today reveals very little of its once prosperous past. The ground still has a dark hue which first lured early celery farmers. Some of the area still maintains a marshy appearance, reminiscent of the vast swamp that once covered a large portion of the region across Northern Ohio and Southern Michigan. Not one of the abandoned buildings survive today, but the railroad spur has been repurposed into a trail for recreation. But for one brief period in its history, Tecumseh rode the rising tide of celery’s popularity and fortunes. n

Look for vintage celery vases at your favorite antique shop! They are tall, straight sides to hold celery upright.

The Muck

grew up near the West Michigan muck. These were farms where generations before, Dutch immigrants had used the knowledge from their homeland and transformed the wet and mucky land that no one else wanted into usable, rich soil. The muck, as we called it, was ideal for crops like celery and onions.

During the summer of my twelfth year, I worked on a muck farm as a celery trimmer. My job was to stand in a line with the other trimmers as wagons of celery were brought into the large barn. The wagons were tilted towards us so that the celery would gently tumble to the edge. Bunch by bunch we grabbed celery from the wagon, trimmed back the extra foliage, and then placed the celery on a conveyor belt where it was whisked away to be washed and packaged.

Celery was a dirty business. As we trimmed, the black muck splattered and smeared over our faces and clothes. The greasy soil found its way everywhere, into our noses and ears and eyes. I would come home so filthy that my mom made me wash off with the hose and leave my muck clothes in a pile in the garage before I was allowed inside to shower.

During that summer I prayed for monsoon-like weather, so that the tractors couldn’t get into the fields to pick, yet it rarely rained hard enough to get a day off. On most rainy days the tractors kept going, bringing us loads of drenched celery so that when the wagons tilted toward us, rivers of greasy mud washed and splashed our stomachs and ran down our legs. The first mud bath of the morning was the worst; after that, I just accepted it.

The endless supply of celery could feel mean if I let it, like a purgatory of neverending dirt and mud and vegetables tumbling toward me. As soon as we finished one wagon, another rolled in. I was 12, so I tried to complain, but the older trimmers wouldn’t have it. They knew that complaining only made it miserable. The older trimmers worked hard, but they had a way of making the work feel like it was just this incidental thing we did while we hung out. We laughed a lot. We talked a lot. We’d have competitions to see who was the fastest trimmer. Sometimes someone would start a song, and we’d all join in. We’d cheer together at the lunch whistle and sit on our coolers and eat together until the whistle blew again and we’d sad-shuffle back to the line and then talk and laugh and sing.

The older trimmers understood something that at the age of 12, I had yet to learn. They knew that the work, the muck, and the rivers of mud would always keep coming. That’s just the deal. No one’s life is ever free of that. Yet they showed us young ones how to shift our gazes so all that dirt mattered less. In many ways, the older trimmers were much like the Dutch farmers who first settled the land. Each day as we laughed and talked and sang in the muck we were transforming our trimming line, we were taking a small place that nobody really wanted and turning it into

rich and usable soil. n

By Sara Hilton