Canajoharie Once Smelled Like Juicy Fruit Gum

If you have never visited the small village of Canajoharie, New York, you've no doubt driven by it on the New York State Thruway.   It sits along the Mohawk River about 40 miles east of Utica.

One of the visible landmarks is the huge factory building that was owned by Beech-Nut foods.  The company made baby food, those famous lifesavers candies, and Beech-Nut gum.

If you were to drive through the downtown business district with your windows down, or walk to one of the shops or restaurants, you would certainly smell the aroma of fresh juicy fruit gum.  Seven days a week, 24-hours a day, the village smelled like the chewing gum.  It was much the way Hershey, PA. smells like chocolate.

The plant closed many years ago, and the two-thousand jobs went away with it.  Canajoharie no longer has that huge Beech-Nut sign telling us we were about half-way between Utica and Albany.  Also gone is that distinct scent flowing through the streets.