Would You Like to Tour Carling Brewery?

Over the years, Natick has been home to a number of different businesses which have brought new opportunities and people into our community. While some would remain here for decades and become a major part of our town's history like Grandmother's Mincemeat or the Pfeiffer Shoe Factory, some businesses would only stay briefly even if they left behind impressive footprints.

Carling Brewery Beer Cans

One such business was the Carling Brewery. This Canadian Beer company, originally founded in 1818, gradually expanded its market throughout Canada and into the United Kingdom where it found significant success. Following the repeal of Prohibition in the 1930s the Carling company looked to expand its market into the United States as well with their first American brewery opening in Cleveland in 1934. Their Red Cap Ale and Black Label brands were moderately popular and were produced in the States. In 1954  the company  was looking to expand their brewing operations into New England. Twenty-one different communities around the Boston area were surveyed before Carling eventually settled on expanding their operations here in Natick. Construction on a plant soon began and they opened their new brewery, the biggest in the state at the time, in 1956.

Promotional brochure for Carling

The Carling Brewery was greeted enthusiastically by the town when it opened. The new industry meant the creation of as many as two hundred and fifty new jobs for  the people of Natick. The brewery was located very near Lake Cochituate on Route 9. To further integrate themselves into the Natick community the Carling company offered free tours of the brewery during the summer months. Unfortunately, you can no longer take tours of the brewery.  The Carling Company closed the plant in 1975, only nineteen years after opening. The building left behind was so large that it was initially difficult to find a new tenant for the site. It has now been used by several different occupants and remodeled over the years, though it is still one of the most distinctive buildings here with its mid-century modern design and prominent location.

There is, however, still a way to tour the Carling Bewery in Natick! Thanks to a promotional video put out in 1956 that was uploaded to YouTube its still possible to get to see the inner workings of one of Natick's biggest former employers. The video is embedded below and provides a very interesting look at the process of making and bottling beer that took place in Natick not too long ago. The Carling Company still manufactures beer in the United States with plants in both Ohio and North Carolina. 

For anyone interested in learning more about some local craft beers, I would encourage you to attend an upcoming event sponsored by our neighbor the Bacon Free Library. On February 11th at 7pm there will be a talk on the history of brewing as well as a tasting for visitors over 21. 

Grandmother's Mincemeat and More

Natick has been the home to a number of businesses over its history. From our early days manufacturing leather shoes to the now growing commercial center, around the Natick Mall, this community has always had an eclectic and strong commercial history. One former Natick business institution was Grandmother’s Mincemeat. This particular brand of mincemeat began being commercially produced here in Natick in 1899. The company would continue operating for over a hundred years, until it was sold in December of 2003. The company’s founder Harrison L. Whipple had been manufacturing mincemeat using his grandmother’s recipe for several years before 1899, when he began to produce it commercially.  In 1899 he formally started the Whipple Company to produce and distribute their already popular product. Due to the recipe’s origin Whipple, marketed his products using actual images of his grandmother, Mrs. Sophia Tuttle, and branded the products as Grandmothers’ Mincemeat in her honor.

 Lewis E. Whipple, Harrison’s son, took over business in 1908 and began expanding their range of products to include other kinds of pie filling as well as preservatives, jams, syrups and more, all under the “Grandmother’s” brand.  Other recipes for different flavors of mincemeat were introduced to keep up with changing demands but the original recipe from Sophia Tuttle remained in use throughout the company’s existence. Grandmother’s products grew in popularity through the 1900s and even absorbed several other local food companies. The Whipple Company purchased A.A. Knights in 1960 and the producers of Bostonia Brand Soda Fountains in 1962. Throughout the company’s existence their central production factory was located here in Natick though it moved several times within the community as the company expanded. Their last location on North Main Street, where they moved in 1947, proved to be their longest lasting location.

Over the company’s long history, the Whipple Company and Grandmother’s Mincemeat found a number of different ways to promote their expanding market of products. Below are a series of promotional materials from our archives that Grandmother’s put out over its long history.

This image is a promotional illustration that was part of a Christmas themed Grandmother’s Mincemeat advertisement. Mincemeat pies are a popular holiday treat and many of the company’s ad campaigns focused on holiday themes. 

This trade card is another Grandmother’s Mincemeat advertisement, this time in the form of a promotional song. The singer’s pilgrim hats are another attempt by the Whipple Company to connect their product to the holidays, when mincemeat would likely be most popular. 

This longer print advertisement for Grandmother’s mincemeat references the classic song “Over the River and Through the Wood.” Grandmother’s branding focused on promoting their product as being connected to the holidays and especially connected to family; which considering the company’s origin was appropriate. 

Unlike the previous advertisements this one could be run at any time of the year. The rectangular  white and black flap was intended to be folded back so that a jar of mincemeat could be placed in the opening allowing the ad to stand up straight as a promotional  piece in a store window. 

Grandmother’s didn’t just make mincemeat. As the Whipple Company expanded, the Grandmother’s brand did too. This advertisement for a variety of fruit based pie fillings shows how the company expanded its reach beyond standard mincemeat. Different fruit flavors like lemon and raspberry could be sold year round and had less of a seasonal association the way mincemeat did.

By expanding into other products beyond mincemeat the Whipple Company also expanded their branding, though they continued to use themes related to Natick. These Strawberry preserves also made by the Whipple Company but were part of their Walnut Hill Brand of jams and preserves, named for Walnut Hill in Natick. Though this is not technically Grandmother’s brand, the image of Grandmother Tuttle is still present on the label. 

The Natick Historical Society is lucky to have an extensive collection of items and archival materials related to this important part of the commercial history of Natick. Our archives relating to the history of the Grandmother’s Mincemeat Company were recently reorganized by an archival intern here at the historical society. Many of these objects are on display in our permanent collection detailing Natick’s commercial history.