Stockton, California's "Tomato Queen" Tillie Lewis: A Trip Through Time

Myrtle Ehrlich—later known as Tillie Ehrlich-Weisberg Lewis—was born to Austrian Jewish immigrants on July 13, 1901. Raised in Brooklyn, NY, she began working in the garment district at age 14. In 1916, she married Louis Weisberg, a partner in a grocery business importing pomodoro tomatoes from Italy. When her marriage to Louis failed, Tillie ended up moving to Naples, Italy to work in a tomato cannery.

(Images provided by the Haggin Museum.)

In Italy, the federal government had raised the tariff on imported tomato prodcuts by as mush as 50%. Florindo del Gaizo, the part owner and operator of the cannery Tillie worked in, was worried he would lose American customers over the tariff. Seeing her as a potential solution to the issuer, del Gaizo became her primary investor. When she returned to the US—along with seeds, canning equipment, & money provided by del Gaizo—Tillie settled in Stockton, California to grow tomatoes. After persuading farmers in the area to experiment raising the tomatoes, she convinced Pacific Can Company to build a plant in Stockton with an option for her to buy it.

Tillie and del Gaizo formed the Flotill Foods Corporation. After his death in ’37, Tillie became the sole owner of Flotilla Foods. Over the next decade, she began canning spinach & asparagus, and built many more canning plants. Flotill would go on to also produce canned fruits, baby food, and juices—and by 1940, San Joaquin County would become the top tomato-producing county in the United States. As the onslaught of World War II raged through Europe, Flotill was the largest supplier of Army C-Rations in the nation.

In consideration of their experience as a World War II producer, Flotill was selected again during the Korean War and became one of the largest ration assemblers for the military.

Tillie would eventually meet Meyer Lewis, an American Federation of Labor organizer, in 1940 when he helped her negotiate a contract with her employees. In 1941, Tillie signed what she referred to as "the first full union contract in the history of agricultural labor in the United States." At a time when many companies were facing labor struggle, Tillie was able to keep her company strike-free with this contract. Seven years later, Tillie and Lewis would be married.

In 1951, Tillie received the honor of the title "businesswoman of the year," bestowed upon her by the Associated Press. She would go on to change the name of her company to Tillie Lewis Foods and in 1961 began selling shares on the American Stock Exchange. Tillie Lewis Foods eventually merged with Ogden Foods of New York City (now part of Pet, Inc.) in 1966. It was then that Tillie was elected the first woman director of Ogden Foods. By 1971, Tillie Lewis Foods had reached sales of over $90 million per year.

In 1977, Tillie Lewis died after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 75.

Today, a theater at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton is named in her honor—The Tillie Lewis Theatre—as is Tillie Lewis Drive. In 2020, Tillie Lewis was one of eight historically significant women featured in "The Only One in the Room" display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Tillie Lewis will be forever remembered as a significant force behind the agriculture industry in San Joaquin County as well as one of the most influential business women in the history of the United States.

To learn more about Tillie Lewis' legacy and agriculture in Stockton, visit the San Joaquin County Historical Society, and check-out our segment on her legacy at the end of the podcast below!