With a long weekend ahead, many across the region will be getting some work done in the garden, whether it’s planting annuals, perennials or vegetables. That pack of seeds you may be using may very well have been packaged in Greene, by the Page Seed Co.

Gardening can be a hobby for some. For Erford and Cornelia Page, getting a well-known seed company under way was just such a hobby back in 1896. The two had a store on Genesee Street and began selling seeds by mail order. The first varieties were sweet pea and nasturtium seeds.

The hobby became so lucrative that they launched the Page Seed Co. in 1901 and moved to a new building the next year, appropriately on Green Street.

William Page followed his father in the business, which had grown with several salespeople who traveled about the region, putting seeds in local stores and then collecting the unsold ones at the end of a growing season. Page insisted on high quality and didn’t want a store to sell any old seeds.

What started with two varieties of seeds eventually grew to about 200 varieties of vegetables and flowers. Upward of 40 million packages of seeds are packaged per year in Greene and sent around the world. Page consistently is in the top five seed sellers in the world.

World Wars I and II were boom times for Page, as the growing of "victory gardens" was so popular. The U.S. government asked Americans to "volunteer and grow vegetables for victory."

Many gardeners are familiar with the package names of Page Premium, Page’s Liberty Garden and Valley Greene varieties of seeds. However, Page also packages seeds under contract for numerous other label names, and can print them at the company accordingly. No seeds are grown and harvested in Greene, only sent here for packaging. Seeds are brought in from around the world, and are put in a trial garden on the company’s grounds.

In August, just as home gardeners are sitting down to enjoy the benefits of their summer labor, Page Seed begins packaging seeds that will provide the next year’s bounty. The busiest time of year for workers is from December to April. By June and July the packaging comes to an end.

The business had always been in the Page family, but that era came to an end in February 2006. Lynda Granger made history as the first woman and non-family member as president at Page. Granger has been with the company 33 years and began as a receptionist, serving in many other capacities since.

Her predecessor, William Page Jr., had said back in 1989 that it "may not be possible" that his sons would continue running the business. Page Seed had been selling some stock to non-family members for some time, as a way of warding off takeovers and to ensure that the company would continue.

Page’s marketing strategies have changed over the years, and have become global in nature. France, Ukraine, Canada, many South American countries and beyond have harvested produce grown from Page’s seeds. Page has also been a sponsor in providing seeds to impoverished countries through the Visions Beyond Borders organization and Operation Free Seed of the America the Beautiful Fund, to not only help feed the hungry but also to beautify roadways, parks and neighborhoods in 20,000 communities in all 50 states.

At peak times each year, Page Seed employs 40, and 23 at the slower times.

Upon my visit to Page, Granger and I exchanged business cards. I’ve received some interesting cards in my time, but Granger’s, while a normal-sized card, doubled as a packet of seeds.

The contents, black eyed susans, are growing in my backyard this season.

Next weekend: We’ll visit the old Meridale Farms.

City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression.

If you have feedback or ideas about the column,

write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at

simmark@stny.rr.com.

His website is

www.oneontahistorian.com.