Freda Ehmann (1839-1932) was a farmer who has been credited with launching California's

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

industry by perfecting a process to

preserve The word preserve may refer to: Common uses * Fruit preserves, a type of sweet spread or condiment * Nature reserve, an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or other special interest, usually protected Arts, entertainment, and media ...

the fruit for shipment. Krissman, Carol. ''Encyclopedia of Women in Business''. Greenwood Publishing, 2005, pp. 171-172.

Early life

Freda Ehmann was born in Germany.

Career

She owned a small olive grove outside Oroville in the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

, 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 The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

food scientist, she experimented with a number of

pickling Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called a ...

methods before hitting on a formula that resulted in a marketable product. She founded the Ripe Olive Industry of California. Today, Ehmann's home is the headquarters of the Butte County Historical Society, and tours are offered regularly. Home of the California Ripe Olive to host Olive Festival on Saturday
Kavenaugh, Laurie. ''

Chico Enterprise-Record The ''Chico Enterprise-Record'' is the daily newspaper of Chico, California. Also known as the E-R, the newspaper was first published in Bidwell Bar, California as the Butte Record in 1853 and is now part of the MediaNews Group corporation, who ...

'', 20 June 2012 She was active in Women's Clubs affairs and was Chairman of the Financial Committee of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Building Fund. She was a member of the Oroville Monday Club.

Personal life

She lived in Illinois and moved to California in 1892. She had two children: Emma Bolles and Edwin W. Ehmann. She lived at 402 Lincoln Street,

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 200 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehmann, Freda Farmers from California People from Oroville, California 1839 births 1932 deaths American women farmers