1900’s
1908
Inventor William Urschel (1880 – 1948) files for his first patent regarding the Gooseberry Snipper, and continues to improve the design.
1910
William Urschel establishes the Urschel Gooseberry Snipper Factory in a small shop next to the family’s kitchen in Valparaiso, Indiana. He and his wife, Ruth (1883 – 1975), had only one light bulb which they passed back and forth between the kitchen and shop as needed. Ruth was instrumental in the success of the company. Together, they would peddle gallon tins of gooseberries door to door with a horse drawn cart. She also ran the machinery in the shop and handled the book keeping.
William realized there was a strong market for his invention in Michigan and began selling machinery to canners. Gooseberry stems and blossom ends had been removed manually up to this time. One Gooseberry Snipper could do the work of 100 workers.
The Little Gem
Several versions of the Gooseberry Snipper were produced including the Little Gem which concealed all working parts to protect the patented design.
Over 80 patents were awarded to William. Many were related to food processing, while others pertained to mechanical movement and construction.