CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Retha Odom has managed the Bradley County cannery for 17 years, and although it still thrills her to see new people canning every day, she knows someone else will have to step in eventually.
“Every day I learn something new, and it’s exciting,” said the 79-year-old, who grew up canning. “The finished product gives me a high that there’s not a drug that can do for me.”
To introduce people to the technique, the cannery is hosting orientations this month and next. Lisa Newman and her mother, Sally Newman, will teach the sessions along with cannery staff and volunteers at the cannery behind the recycling center on Peerless Road.
“We just want people who are new to the cannery to feel comfortable because it’s a little intimidating when you walk in and everybody is busy doing something,” Lisa Newman said.
Both she and her mother are Tennessee Master Gardener interns.