Max Troyer lifts the top of a large bin and the sweet aroma of oranges and sugar mixed with vinegar wafts through the air. Peeking inside, I see cucumbers bobbing along the surface of a brine that is dotted with slivers of orange strips and pickling spices.
Troyer is taking me through a tour of his company, Sechler’s Fine Pickles, located in the micro sized town of St. Joe, Indiana tucked close to the Ohio border. The pickles he is showing me, Candied Sweet Orange Strip, are one of their best sellers.
To me it sounds like one of those new trendy food items.
It wasn’t the first time I was wrong.
“We’re using recipes that are 60 years old or more,” says Troyer, who worked at the company for over a decade before buying it from the Sechler family last year.
Indeed, the recipe for Candied Sweet Orange Strip pickles was added to the company’s list of pickle varieties back in 1940 and it’s still one of their most popular types today.
1914 was the start of the pickle business for Ralph Sechler who delivered what was called brine stock, freshly picked cucumbers in salt brine, by horse drawn wagon to the station in St. Joe. It was a time when most of the small farming communities around here were connected by railroads and the train would transport the pickles to Sears, a pickle company in Fort Wayne, some 20 miles away.
“At the time, almost every little railroad station around here had pickle stations,” says Troyer.
After serving in World War I and getting a college education, Sechler returned to work for Sears and two years later leased two of their pickle stations. He also shipped brine stock to such companies as Heinz. Flash forward to the early 1930s, when Sechler was selling both pickles and relish in wooden kegs and barrels to hotels and restaurants and his wife, Anne, was hand packing pickles for consumers in the couple’s kitchen. 
The business was so successful that the family cow was moved out of the barn and Anne and other farmers’ wives started packing their pickles there. When the barn burned in 1937, another building was erected and, still standing, serves as part of the present facility which now is over 60,000 square feet.
Now a niche pickle producer, the Sechler brand offers 39 items but their original Genuine Dill, whose recipe hasn’t changed since 1920, is still a best seller.
Visitors can sample pickles from a bin in the gift shop, browse through the numerous types of items made at the plant including Candied Raisin Crispy, Hungarian Pepper Relish, Candied Gherkin, Candied Sweet Lemon Chunk and Garlic Genuine Dill and buy a variety of Amish foods (there’s a large Amish community just south of St. Joe).
“We also make pickles for other labels,” says Troyer noting that their pickles are sold under the Tony Packo brand.
Troyer also offers tours of the pickle factory where visitors can watch the process of cucumbers and other vegetables such as peppers, being turned into pickled products. The tour, which takes about 20 to 25 minutes, is free.
On the day I’m there, Troyer leads me out into the large back area where cypress vats are filled with brine and pickles (some of the pickles are aged this way). Conveyor belts, loaded with brightly colored red, orange and yellow peppers are being unloaded from trucks and wind their way into the factory.
We follow them into a room filled with the smell of hot peppers and watch as they are chopped and made ready to be put into jars. In another room, the colorful peppers are packed into jars which are then filled with brines. The jars move along another conveyer belt where lids and labels are slapped on and then are put into boxes.
Troyer, who is a hands-on owner, picks up random jars to make sure the labels are on correctly and there’s no leakage. Along the way, he explains the different ways that pickles are made and stops to open bins so I can appreciate the aroma of his freshly made pickles.
And of course, we munch on some pickles in the tasting area of the gift shop. Each is crisp with intense flavors.
“We added hot recently,” says Troyer noting how he keeps up with food tastes. “But besides that, little has changed here.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tours are between 9 and 11 am and 12:30 pm to 2 pm on weekdays from April 1st to October 31. Groups of six or more should call ahead. 5686 SR 1, St. Joe, Indiana. 800-332-5461 or www.sechlerspickles.com
