ElizabethWhiteandtheBlueberryBusiness
TargetAge:MiddleSchool
TimePeriod:20thCenturyFeaturedCounty:BurlingtonNJ350thTheme:Innovation
Common CoreState StandardsforEnglish LanguageArts:W.CCR.2-Writeinformative/explanatorytextsto examineandconvey complexideasandinformationclearly andaccuratelythrough theeffectiveselection,organization,andanalysisofcontent.
Courtesyof New JerseyState Archives; Departmentof State
SL.CCR.1-Preparefor and participateeffectively ina range ofconversationsand collaborationswithdiversepartners,building on others'ideasandexpressing theirownclearlyand persuasively.
SL.CCR.4-Presentinformation,findings, andsupporting evidencesuchthat listeners can followthe lineof reasoning and the organization,development, andstyleareappropriatetotask,purpose, andaudience.
NJ Common CoreStandards:
Social Studies:6.1.12.B.8.a, 6.1.12.C.8.b,6.1.12.C.12.d
FOCUS QUESTION: Howmuch canoneperson’sinnovationreshape aregion? Howimportantiscollaborationin bringing such innovationsto fruition?
BACKGROUND:
Hammontonmaybethe“blueberrycapital”ofNewJersey,butthebirthplaceofthecultivatedblueberry isWhitesbog.Today,blueberries areconsidered a super-food, richinvitamins andanti-oxidants,andgrownaround theworld; NorthCarolina,Michigan,Georgia,andNewJersey arethetop
U.S.producers. Americansconsume,on average,fivecups of blueberries peryear,and in 2011,NewJersey had a bannercropof 62million pounds of blueberries,valuedat$94.7million. Butuntiltheearlytwentieth century,mostfarmersthought thatwild blueberriescould notbecultivatedsuccessfully.Elizabeth Coleman Whitechanged allofthat.
Whitecamefroma familyof successful farmerswhowereexperts inthe cultivation ofcranberries.Herfatherwrotethedefinitivereportonthe crop,“CranberryCulture” in1870, and inventedseveralinnovativepiecesof machinerytoaidharvesting.In 1893,whenLizziewas22,shehadherfirst realjob
on thefarm,actingasa“bushelman.” Fromthere,herinfluenceonthefamilyplantation“White’sBog”grew. Afterreading “Experimentsin BlueberryCulture”bybotanistDr. FrederickCoville,Whitereachedout tohim,notonlyseekingadvicebutalsoa workingpartnership.In exchangeforhis expertise,sheprovidedthelabor andland, andin 1916 theyproducedthefirstcultivatedblueberrycrop.
White’sinnovationsdidnotstop there. Sheintroduced theideaof packaging theberries incellophaneand travelledtoEurope inordertoprocurethecellophanematerials.Shehelped organizetheNewJerseyBlueberryCooperativeAssociation,wasthefirstfemalememberof theAmericanCranberryAssociation,andthe firstwoman toreceivetheNewJerseyDepartmentof Agriculturecitation.Heragricultureand horticultureworkwent farbeyondthecranberry andblueberry,as hergardenscelebrated theindigenousplantsofthePineBarrens,and she is creditedwith helpingtosavethe hollybush.Despitesuch successesand innovation,White’sfather choosenotappointher as presidentof hiscompany in hiswillwhenhepassedaway.Heinsteadnamedthehusband ofhisyoungestdaughtertothat position,a reminderthatWhitelivedduring a timewhenwomenrarelyran a business.
Notwithstanding thispersonalchoice,theregion ofWhitesbog andthe blueberryindustry owe a debtofgratitudetothisfemalepioneer,whosebotanicalexperimentshelp reshapeoneofthemostimportantagricultural industriesin southern New Jersey.
ACTIVITY:
NJ 350celebratesthequalities of innovation,diversity,and liberty in thestateofNewJersey.Thestoryof ElizabethWhiteand herworkisoneof bothinnovation anddiversity.
CourtesyofWhitesbogPreservationTrust
Elizabeth Coleman White wasa“farmer,naturalist,entrepreneur,writer andspeaker.” She graduatedfromtheFriendsCentralSchool inPhiladelphia andtookextensioncoursesatDrexelUniversity,studied
nursing,oftencared forinjured workers inher father’sbusiness,was an advocateforchild laborconditions, and “wasa recognizedauthority onnativeplants,writing articlesforthelocaland nationalpress and appearingon radiobroadcasts.”1Whitethrived in theall-maleNewJerseycranberryandblueberrybusinesses. Shedefendedcranberryfarmersagainstcharges ofchild laborabuseandwasthefirsttoseekout waystodomesticate theplantthrough herpartnershipwith FrederickCoville.
Thecollaboration betweenWhiteand Covilleraisesseveral questionsabouttheroleofmenandwomenin theearlytwentieth century,particularly in theworkplace.
1.Ask studentsif theirfathers andmothersworkoutside the home—and spenda fewminutescompiling theanswersontheboard.
2.Nowaskstudentsto considerhowtheirparentsworkinside the home.
3.RemindthemthatWhiteand Covillelivedover100years ago,whenfewerwomencould enterprofessions.Givethisscenario,askstudentstoconsiderhowWhite’sandCoville’spartnershipis an innovationin itself.Dr. Covillewas aneducatedspecialist in botany andagriculture; MissWhitelearnedfromherfatherand fromherexperience onthe farm.Askyourstudentshownaturalpassioncan influenceinnovation. Can studentsthinkof activitiesinwhich theyparticipatethat areinspired bynaturalpassion?
Divideintosmall groups.Each group willbrainstorm and discuss eitherhowWhite is anexampleofinnovationor diversity-orboth. Aftercompleting the worksheet,studentswill reporttheir ideas,usingas muchspecificdetailaspossibleto supporttheirargument.
FOLLOW-UP:
Elizabeth White’sinnovationextendedbeyond cultivation;shealsobecameachild advocate, respondingtoboth thecharges oftheNationalChild LaborCommittee(NCLC)and theneeds ofchildren.And justlikeherbotanicalcollaborationwithDr. Coville,Whiteturnedto otherexpertsinthisinitiativeaswell,including theCouncil ofWomen forHomeMissions.
TheNCLCworriedaboutthe childrenofseasonalworkerswhocamefromSouthPhiladelphiatopickcranberriesand blueberries on southJersey farms.White’sinnovation and collaboration ensuredsafetyforthechildrenworking inthe blueberryregion.Withthehelpofthe CouncilofWomenforHomeMissions,Whiteestablished a daycareand nursing facility atWhitesbogwhichoffered education,care,and recreation. Shedescribed theseprogramsas“thegermfromwhich sucheducation asI visualizewould havetogrow.” Theprogramwasinitiallydesigned to serveagesten andyounger,butultimatelyexpandedtohelpolderchildren as well.From1929to 1940,thecentercontinued togrow,expandingfromtheoriginalCasaHall,themaingathering building at Whitebog,to theformerbarrelfactoryusedforrecreationalactivities such as moviesand shuffleboard games.
In thisactivity,studentsrecreatetheWhitesbog nursery. Belowis anexcerptfromAlbertineSenske’sarticle“A TimetoTeachanda Timeto Learn,” which appeared in theWhitesbogPreservation TrustNewsletterin 2013, andwhich was basedon documentsand diariesfromtheWomen’sCouncilforHomeMissions.Providestudents with paper,rulers,and utensilssuch ascolored pencils, crayons, andmarkers.Askstudentstodesign and illustrateElizabeth White’sattempttocreate a centerthatwould
1 See:
put “theeducationof thesechildrenona permanentlyhigh plane.”Depending on time,you canencourage studentsto make avarietyofvisualproducts(two orthreedimensional).You canelevateyour activity if you haveaccessto computerprogramssuch as CAD.
EXCERPT:Therewerethreerooms,a nursery, a kitchen and a largerecreation room,which suitedtheirneeds to accommodatethreegroupingsofchildren:infants,pre-schooland kindergarten.Withthehelpof a fewoldergirls,they got the nursery in shape.Tables,chairs,shelvesand cabinetswerewipeddown.Men putupwindowscreening.Youngstersmilled aboutwatching everystepoftheprocedure.Somewould come tothecenterwhileotherswould becared forbytheirownfamilies.
Monday,September 9,1929.Theadventurebegan,asdidmanyaccompanying challenges. Thirty-sixchildrenarrived.Therewere seveninfants–buttherewereonly fourbasketsthatcould beusedascribs.Therewereten morelittleones whowereunderthreeyears ofageand wouldrequireasmuch careasthe infants.Theremainderranged in agefromthreetonine.Following theNCLCinvestigation,farmrulesprohibitedchildrenunderten frombeing in the bogs.One of thefirstthingsthe“nurses”didwas toordertwelvequartsofmilk.
In the earlydaysofNCLCscrutiny allegationsweremadethat thechildrenweremalnourishedwhen theyreturnedfromthebogs.Thatcould never havebeensaid ofthechildrenunderthecareoftheHomeMissionladies.Theycooked as well astaughtand served nutritiousmealsofvegetablesoup,beansoup,spaghetti,milkand alwayslotsand lots ofbreadand butter.
When themissionwomenfirstdroveintothevillage,thechildrenhad said thenurseshad arrived.Trueenough;foraswellasbeing teachersand cooksfiveanda halfdays a week,thewomen had anadditionalcalling - nurseon demand.Minor,and sometimesnot sominorailments,werepresentedforcare.Theytreatedcuts,burns,infectedwoundsand poisonivy. Sometimes moreseriousconditionslikeimpetigoand head licehadto bedealtwith.When a caseprovedbeyond theirexpertise,thewomensawto it thatthepersongotthepropermedicalcare.Becausethey livedamong theworkers,nursing hourswent beyond eightto five.
WANTTOLEARNMORE?
PlacesYouCanVisit
LocalFarms:ThewebsitePineypower.com offerslinkstofarms in Atlantic,Burlington andOceanCountieswhereyou canpickyourown blueberries.
HistoricWhitesbogVillage:On boththe Nationaland StateRegistersof HistoricSites,Whitesbogoffersliving historytours,a quarterlylectureseries,seasonalprograms, andfestivals.
More ClassroomActivities
“BlueberriesforSal”: Thissitehaslessonplansformath forPre-Kthrough 2, forusewith theCaldecottHonor book,BlueberriesforSalbyRobertMcCloskey.TheseactivitiesaretakenfromTeaching Early
MathSkillswith FavoritePictureBooksavailablefrom ScholasticProfessionalBooks.
TheNewJersey Digital Highway: A websitewith information anddocumentsabouttheproblem ofchildlabor in NewJerseyforthefirstpartofthe twentiethcentury.
USDANationalAgricultureStatistics Service: Asite wherestudents canbreakthecrop intospecificcategories,and thentrace the statisticsoverdifferenttimeintervals.
For MoreInformation
Linktothereport “2011BlueberryStatistics- NationalAgricultural StatisticsService:
PaulaNewcomer,TheBlueberryGirl:TheStoryofElizabeth ColemanWhite:onlinebookand discussionguidegeared towardselementaryand middleschoollearners,availableonlineat,
LetitiaRoaNixon,BlueberryLady: TheStoryofElizabethColemanWhite, 1871-1954 (Bloomington:AuthorhousePublishers,2009).
Elizabeth Ginsberg,“TheBlueberryQueen:Howa NewJerseyTownCelebratesitsPioneer,”NationalTrustforHistoricPreservation Magazine(onlineonly,March2011):
Albertine Senske,“A TimetoTeach andaTimeto Learn,”WhitesbogPreservationTrustNewsletter(3rdQuarter,2013),p.1 (availableonlineat: quarter-13-newsletter-internet.pdf).
Whitesbog Preservation Trust,biographyofElizabethWhite:
CREDITINFORMATION:
Pg.1:ElizabethWhiteinspectingberriesonasortingmachine,CourtesyofNewJerseyStateArchives;DepartmentofState.
Pg.2:ElizabethWhiteandFrederickCoville,Whitesbog, CourtesyofWhitesbogPreservationTrust
It Happened Here:NewJersey is a programof theNewJersey Historical Commission made possible by a grant fromtheNewJersey Council for theHumanities,astate partner oftheNational Endowmentfor theHumanities. Anyviews,findings,conclusions, or recommendations expressed inthe programdo not necessarilyrepresentthoseof the National Endowmentfor theHumanities ortheNew Jersey CouncilfortheHumanities.To access more teachingresources created forthisprogramvisit