‘The Spinach King’ Author ‘Visits’ Vineland
Zooming from his home in New York City, John Seabrook, the grandson of C.F. Seabrook and author of The Spinach King recently welcomed the Vineland Historical Society’s book club audience. Seabrook began the evening by reading an excerpt from his book about his ancestor Samuel Seabrook. The only evidence he could find of the existence of Samuel Seabrook was in a box of miscellaneous papers at the Vineland Historical Society. This was the ancestor who arrived from England and lived in Vineland for several years. It seemed as if the family’s founding father in America was erased from the family history.
In his slide show presentation, John Seabrook related the family story of C.F. Seabrook and the history of Seabrook Farms, a massive industrial agricultural operation, and the largest supplier of frozen foods in the United States in the 1950s. Known for innovation in farming and freezing, Seabrook Farms became a major, often controversial, employer during WWII in its hiring of more than 2,500 Japanese Americans from incarceration camps, alongside other refugees, POWs, and laborers.
Audience questions followed the presentation. Vineland resident Joelle Baitinger Middelton presented a family photo of a farm truck bearing the name “Seabrook & Baitinger,” hoping to obtain more information about the collaboration. Unfortunately, John Seabrook could not offer any additional information about this family mystery.
The VHAS Book Club meets monthly on the last Wednesday of the month. April’s selection is The Pine Barrens by John McPhee.
For more about the history of Seabrook Farms, visit the Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center Museum, located in the Upper Deerfield Municipal Building.
Also, The Paradox of Seabrook Farms will be shown at the Landis Theater this Sunday (see details below).
Purchase tickets: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/the-paradox-of-seabrook-farms-movie-event or visit www.discovervinelandhistory.org Tickets also available at the door (CASH ONLY)
