For more than four decades the smell of dill from fermenting pickles wafted through the intersection at Highway 410 and Farman Street, kitty-corner from Pete’s Pool, and the log-style Field House in Enumclaw. The source of the smell was Farman Brothers Pickle Company, founded by Fred and Dick Farman. Locals still call Farman Street the Pickle Factory Road.
In this photo Pat Berens, left and Laurie Hobert are taking a break from packing pickles at the Farman brothers’ plant. The photo accompanied a March 29, 1988, Seattle Times article headlined, “Enumclaw Pickle Plant to Close after 44 Years.” The image comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah historian and photo collector who also provided extensive background information about the company.
Born in the Midwest, Fred and Dick Farman moved to Kent during childhood. As youngsters, the boys spent summers making pickles at Libby’s processing plant near their home. Both graduated from Kent High School, where they played football under the legendary Kent coach, Claude French. Dick Farman went to college at Washington State where he was an All-American guard, then drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1939, playing six seasons with the team that won the 1942 NFL championship.
Fred Farman attended the University of Washington for a year before moving to Enumclaw in 1934. There he played tackle for the semipro Enumclaw Silver Barons while working in Seattle’s shipyards before World War II. Decades later Fred was elected Mayor of Enumclaw serving for eight years before his untimely death at age 67 in 1981. His brother Dick outlived him, passing away in 2002 at age 85.
The Farman brothers established their family pickle venture in 1944 in the basement of Fred’s home. They harvested cucumbers from their 10-acre farm, picking the cukes themselves. The duo initially sold pickles cured in 200 wooden barrels filled with brine solution and allowed to ferment. It took several years for the Farmans to develop their “old-fashioned” recipe.
Don Grover, who joined the company in 1948, designed and built a sorting machine that chose just the right-sized cucumbers. With S.B.A loans totaling $50,000 secured in 1956 and 1958, Farman Brothers increased their market reach and the company grew. In 1967, Fred Farman was selected as Washington’s Small Business Administration Man of the Year. Dick Farman handled sales for the company while Fred oversaw production.
In July 1987, Curtis-Burns Foods of Rochester, N.Y., who also owned Nalley’s Fine Food of Tacoma, announced the acquisition of Farman Brothers Pickle Co. for an undisclosed amount. Nine months later in March 1988, the Farman Brothers’ Enumclaw operation was shut down with 44 regular and 200 seasonal workers losing their jobs.
John Vukic, Farman’s production supervisor disclosed the jobs wouldn’t be replaced as the Nalley’s operation in Tacoma had been running at only 50% capacity. After 44 years of production the “King of Pickles” left Enumclaw but memories of the Farman family remained. DeLane Crevis, 47, who worked at Farman Brothers for 14 years summed it best, “The Farmans stood side by side with us, sharing weddings and funerals. They cared, and that’s going to be missed.”
