Description:
In 1943, Grand Trunk chief gardener Olaf Jensen had the idea to convert the railroad's flower beds along the lines and at its shops into "victory gardens" for the war effort. Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks to reduce the pressure on food supply. An Aug. 1, 1943, story in the Enquirer and News reported that "plants grown included 20,000 tomatoes, 7,000 cabbages, 800 peppers, 2,000 Bermuda onion sets and a large number of eggplant."