Freda Ehmann
Freda Ehmann (1839 – 1932) was a farmer who has been credited with launching California's olive industry by perfecting a process to preserve the fruit for shipment. [1]
Early life
[edit]Freda Loeber was born in Niederuff, Hesse, Germany. She moved to Kassel and immigrated to America with her mother at a young age. In 1856 she married Ernst Cornelius Ehmann, a fellow German immigrant, in St. Louis. The couple moved to Quincy, Illinois. [2]
Career
[edit]She owned a small olive grove outside Oroville in the Sacramento Valley, and sought ways to increase her market beyond olive oil. At the time, olives could not be successfully preserved for long-term storage or shipment. Working with a University of California food scientist, she experimented with a number of pickling methods before hitting on a formula that resulted in a marketable product.
She founded the Ripe Olive Industry of California. [2]
Today, Ehmann's home is the headquarters of the Butte County Historical Society, and tours are offered regularly. [3]
She was active in Women's Clubs affairs and was Chairman of the Financial Committee of the YMCA Building Fund. [2]
She was a member of the Oroville Monday Club. [2]
Personal life
[edit]She lived in Illinois and moved to California in 1892, following the death of her husband. She had two children: Emma Bolles and Edwin W. Ehmann. She lived at 402 Lincoln Street, Oroville, California. [2]
References
[edit]- ↑ Krissman, Carol. Encyclopedia of Women in Business. Greenwood Publishing, 2005, pp. 171-172.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. p. 40. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ↑ Home of the California Ripe Olive to host Olive Festival on Saturday. Kavenaugh, Laurie. Chico Enterprise-Record, 20 June 2012