In November 1959, the cranberry industry was dealt a devastating blow when Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Arthur Flemming announced there had been seizures of cranberries grown in the Pacific Northwest because they contained trace amounts of pesticides. He went further, recommending that Americans not purchase any cranberries unless they could determine where they had been grown.

New Jersey and other cranberry growing states launched a campaign to convince Americans of two things: They were not…