John H. Dulany & Son
John H. Dulany & Son was extensively engaged in the growing and canning of food products in Fruitland from its founding in 1899 through the 1970’s. Mr. Dulany’s father, I. H. A. Dulany, brought his family up from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and had the most prosperous store in Fruitland.
He started the canning factory along with a man named Johnson, and they had a canning operation in Fruitland. Shortly after that, Mr. Johnson resigned and it became just the I. H. A. Dulany & Sons. It remained this way until 1919, when his son, Ralph O. Dulany, joined him. The Dulanys attempted to do some canning in Salisbury with a Mr. Hastings. The records show them as canners in Salisbury in 1919 and again in 1924. The elder Mr. Dulany died in 1925, and his son ran the company for many years.
Also in 1920, the Dulanys started up a shirt making operation, which they ran until 1926. The shirt making operation was supposed to supplement the income of the workers after the canning season was over. Low wages due to piece work always kept them looking for both good foremen and mechanics. They found out that it was a lot easier to get into the shirt making business that out of it. A business in Salisbury bought them out in 1926 and they never got into the business again.
Ranking as one of the larger business units of the Shore, its development was not characterized by any phenomenal growth, but it steadily forged ahead through the years in enlarged facilities, modern improvements, and additional lines.
Originally, its efforts were confined entirely to canning tomatoes, other items being added from time to time to meet an increased demand. The newer items were berries, peaches, sweet potatoes, lima beans, string beans, peas and asparagus. In 1935, they began canning white, or Irish, potatoes. They already packed sweet potatoes in syrup, using a method that was owned and controlled by the Dulany Company.
They contracted with local farmers to buy their harvests. This amounted to over 600 acres. The personal control that the Dulany Company had over the growers insured them the quality that earned them the reputation in the industry as a high quality producer. At the time, they had over 300 employees packing their brand in the peak season, which was from May to November.
They were also pioneers in the process of preserving fresh fruit and vegetables by freezing. This process was inaugurated by the company in 1912. Starting with strawberries, it was extended to lima beans, corn and stringless beans. The frozen process was done at Norfolk, Va., where the company kept two large plants operating with more than 900 workers. The parent company and general offices were still located in Fruitland.
The distribution of Dulany products covered a wide area. Locally, it included the nearby large cities, and large shipments were made to the Middle West and extreme West Coast. Shipments for the West Coast, designated as water transportation, were made by steamship from Baltimore and went through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. From Los Angeles, some of the products were loaded on ships for ports in the South Sea Islands. These Islands, Mr. Dulany said, offered the best market for canned Irish potatoes. The Eastern Shore products supplied the world.
How many of us remember the daily notices that came over the radio in the 1950’s and 1960’s for different shifts for different vegetables to report for work?
The Dulany Company was sold in 1967 to the Green Giant Company. It has since closed down in Fruitland and there is no more Dulany Company.
I have many fond memories of Dulany Foods and their Director of Purchasing, Charlie MacCormack, who lived several doors down from George Chevallier's parents. I sold them packaging and would entertain some of the managers at Bill's Seafood Inn run by Bill Ahtes. Dulany Foods also had plants in Exmore, VA. and Bridgeville, DE. After Green Giant they were eventually purchased by Unitid Foods with Corporate offices in Bells, TN. Oh' the fond memories.
ReplyDeletegeorge, thanks again for taking us down "memory lane" and giving a look at our history to the youngers and the transplanters.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember my dad listening to the radio for his shift & when to report to work. That would have been in the mid-70's when it was Green Giant.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Dulany Company well. I never met Mr. Dulany but I knew his son, Dave, very well. He and I were on the same softball team in the old City Industrial League that played at Harmon Field which is now the location of the Wicomico County Health Department. He was a real gentleman, a very kind and friendly person.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I never worked for Dulany Company, I was invited to become a member of their bowling team in the early 60's. I met some very nice people.
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This also lead to Mr. Moore bring crown cork and seal to the area. A company that made cans.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the '60s Dulany Foods was processing tunas. I remember seeing them brought in on trucks and hung on large hooks just outside the processing plant. You could smell them before you saw them!
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