JAMESBURG — When life gives you tomatoes, can them.

   That was the outlook of one Jamesburg man, Harrison Crosby, who helped put the borough on the map in the early 1800s by being the first person to can tomatoes.

   Since then, the tomato has become a badge of honor for residents of the Garden State and some legislators feel the same way. A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Michael Doherty, (R-Warren), would designate the Jersey tomato the official state vegetable.

   Mr. Doherty said he was lobbied by a large group of fourth-graders from a Washington Borough elementary school, when he signed up for the task.

   ”Certainly there’s more pressing issues,” said Mr. Doherty. “But there’s legislation of all types-critical and ceremonial. This falls in between the two.”

   The bill, A353, cites a number of reasons why the tomato, which is botanically a fruit, deserves the honor from the Garden State, including its label as the most favored garden “vegetable” among Americans with the average person eating nearly 80 pounds per year, New Jersey’s role as one of the top 10 tomato-producing states in the nation, the unsurpassed taste of the Rutgers tomato, and finally, Jamesburg’s contribution to a budding industry.

   ”In 1847 Harrison W. Crosby of Jamesburg, New Jersey, was the first person in the nation to can tomatoes commercially, making Jersey tomatoes available across the nation,” the bill states.

   As evidence of the event, borough residents can see a can of tomatoes visually overpowering a row of smokestacks within the municipal seal.

   According to research done by Thomas Bodall, borough councilman and historian, Mr. Crosby is an elusive character in Jamesburg’s history.

   No one really knows why or when Mr. Crosby first stumbled upon Jamesburg, which at the time was technically Monroe, or whether he was born or died somewhere in the borough limits. What is known is that in 1847, at the time of his great discovery, Mr. Crosby was summering in Jamesburg while on leave from his job as chief gardener at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

   While running an experimental, makeshift operation out of the Billy West Tavern, Mr. Crosby finally perfected his craft of canning tomatoes by stewing the produce, placing them in tin pails and soldering the lids on top.

   Mr. Bodall said that once the process was perfected, Mr. Crosby sent his canned tomatoes to Queen Victoria, President James Polk and even The New York Times editor.

   ”When he sent it to all those people the tomatoes tasted as fresh as when he plucked it from the vine,” Mr. Bodall said.

   As a result of canned tomatoes’ wild success, John Dunn Buckelew established a cannery on Lincoln Avenue near Gatzmer Avenue where Mr. Crosby was named supervisor and Crosby’s Celebrated Ketchup was born, Mr. Bodall said.

   Even though the cannery is long gone, not a single Crosby product has ever been uncovered and little is known about the figure who swept through Jamesburg revolutionizing an industry, the borough will always remain a trailblazer in the eyes of the Garden State.

   ”It changed the world in a way,” Mr. Bodall said. “Canning things became a lot more popular after that.”

   The bill’s sponsor agreed.

   ”It was a great advancement and improved the lives of millions of folks,” Mr. Doherty said.

   Although some critics might laugh at the idea of having a fruit as the state vegetable, Mr. Doherty said no one should count the fruit of his labor out just yet.

   ”Most people consider the tomato to be a vegetable,” Mr. Doherty said. “I don’t think it’s a deal-buster at the end of the day.”

   In addition, New Jersey already has a state fruit, the blueberry.

   The bill is currently awaiting action in the Assembly of Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

   Originally introduced in 2005 the bill died and now has been reintroduced in 2008.

   Supporters hope the bill isn’t labeled as a perishable and will finally make it through Assembly and state Senate committees, the full Assembly and Senate and receives final approval from the governor.

   ”New Jersey tomatoes are delicious — the best in the world,” said Mr. Doherty. “We ought to crow about how great our tomatoes are.”

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