Tapioca pudding is a treat for many and has been a dessert staple for years. In Orange, though, this favorite dessert was more than a sweet treat — it also fueled the local economy for many years. The Minute Tapioca Co. was one of several industries which once called the town home.
Tapioca first came to Orange in 1894 when John Whitman of Whitman Grocery Co., set up his business in the old J. B. Reynolds Shoe Co. building, where he started creating his tasty dessert.
In 1904, Whitman even began producing a cookbook with recipes using the pudding his company produced. By 1918 the name of the company itself had been changed to Minute Tapioca and the company had expanded into the old Grout automobile factory.
“They were the leading maker of Minute Tapioca in the whole country,” according to Linda Temple, head of acquisitions and tour guide as well as Board of Directors member for the Orange Historical Society
By World War II, continued Temple, “with the men off to war, the factory was mainly run by women and it was producing not only its famous Minute Tapioca but also packaging war rations such as instant potatoes.”
Among the women who worked during that time, Temple said, were her Aunt Violet Chamberlin and Aunt Arlene Rivers, who was her mother. “One worked days and the other worked nights. The factory was all run by women working two shifts during the war. We lived on Prospect Street, which overlooked the factory.”
By this time, Temple continued, the New Home Sewing Machine Company was no longer in business, so Minute Tapioca along with Rodney Hunt were the big businesses. “The Minute Tapioca factory closed in the 1960s when I was in high school. I remember classmates moving to Dover, Del., with their families when the factory was sold to General Foods. ”
There are still reminders of Minute Tapioca Company’s time in Orange today. The original Minute Tapioca Co. building on West Main Street still exists and now houses the Orange Innovation Center. Pete’s Tire Barn is now located at the site of the old Grout Factory.
Also still in existence is the Grand Drape at the Town Hall Stage. This drape with a picture of the Minute Man Statue was created by the Twin City Scenic Co. in Minneapolis, and funded by the Minute Tapioca Co., then donated to the town.
The curtain received a complete restoration in 2019. The Orange Historical Society also has a display of industries which once existed in Orange. There are classic postcards of the Minute Tapioca Company in its heyday as well.
The Historical Society is closed for the season but will open again in June and is open by appointment. More information on the Orange Historical Society can be found at www.orangehistoricalsocietyma.org/
Carla Charter is a local historian and author. She has written several books funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, on Abolition in the North Central area of Massachusetts.