Comments (0)
Write comment
CityView Magazine
Tuesday
January 6th
Home 
Reader Services Archive
Reader Services Archive
Farragut Cannery
Conservationism or “Going Green” is not a new concept. In fact, it was the standard and not the exception for centuries. It wasn’t until after the industrial age brought with it the concept of “work smarter, not harder” that the earth’s natural resources began its terminal suffering due to man’s unrelenting progress. With the high volume traffic buzzing along Kingston Pike, overflowing upscale subdivisions and bustling shopping centers, it may be hard to imagine that the area now known as the Town of Farragut was once rolling fields of open farmland. Not too many years ago, people in the area used to grow and preserve their own food instead of popping over to the Fresh Market or Earth Fare for some organic produce. At that time, there was no Town of Farragut, only a school bearing the great Admiral’s name. Most people considered the area as an extension of Concord - which contained the vital post office and train depot – and, like most rural areas, activity often centered around the school. In 1938, Vocational Agricultural and Home Economics teachers at Farragut High School put into motion a plan to open a community cannery. Three years later, educators visited similar facilities in Georgia; by October, the Farragut Community Cannery was born. It was the first of its kind in the state of Tennessee. As with most endeavors of this size, a committee was formed to oversee the project. Members included Bennet Brown, Fred McFee, Gladys Norton, Mrs. R.N. Bacon, and Frank Russell. Vocational Agriculture teachers were appointed as ex-officio members of the committee, which then became known as the Farragut Community Cannery Association. The adult class sponsored the project by raising money to construct a 24-by-68-foot brick building and outfit it with the necessary equipment. Students, community members and teachers provided the labor necessary to construct the facility. According to a pamphlet furnished by the committee, “health food” is apparently not a new concept either. The lofty goal of the cannery was to “encourage production of a greater variety of food to supply a better-balanced diet essential to a better health at a lower cost.” Canning in the low-slung brick building was hot work. Women and men sweltered over pots of boiling water in the heat of an East Tennessee summer, but folks were proud of their efforts and thankful for future winter rewards. The cannery was much more than a place to can vegetables, fruit and meat; it became a place for area residents to come together and socialize. The participants often shared nature’s harvest and helped watch one another’s children as each took their turn at the water baths and pressure cookers. Following the Great Depression and with the United States on the threshold of World War II, Americans were encouraged to plant Victory Gardens to conserve both energy and resources that would soon be stretched to the breaking point. The cannery put the residents of West Knox County ahead of the game. Since victory ultimately depended on outlasting the enemy, the U.S. government undertook unprecedented steps on the home front to boost morale, increase food and industrial production, and allocate resources efficiently. Government-directed advertising campaigns urged Americans to grow their own food, ration necessities, and recycle resources in an attempt to continue supplying the armed forces in the field and the work force at home. The Farragut School cannery fit in well with the conservationist attitude of the time. During that Second World War, the needs of the soldier came before the needs of the consumer on the home front. To prevent shortages of consumer goods, rationing of products such as sugar, coffee, gas, shoes, meat, fish, flour, and canned goods were put into effect. Children had to go without such things as toys and sweets because of the rationing. “Use it up. Wear it out. Make do, or do without.” That was the motto of World War II. Over the years, cans became more expensive, but the little cannery continued to play host to community residents for many years. Retired Farragut Folklife Museum director, Doris Woods Owens, remembers canning soup mixture and peaches to take with her to Birmingham after she was married in 1949. “It sure was nice to be able to take those cans with us to our new home,” she said. As can prices continued to rise and frozen food lockers became popular, canneries began to lose their appeal. With the changing economy, the Farragut cannery building became less useful. The building was demolished in 1958, and the old school has long since been replaced. The memory of the cannery’s brief history is lost to all but the oldest members of the community, but the lesson of making the most of our resources is one that shouldn’t be forgotten.
