From the October 7, 1938 edition of The Salem Times-Register
When Sir Thomas Lipton died at his home in Osidge, London, on October 2, 1931, newspapers throughout the world carried the famous picture of Sir Thomas in his yachting cap and gave their readers the story of his life.
But these articles, in the main, stressed the story of his pater years: Sir Thomas as great philanthropist, Sir Thomas as ambassador of good will, Sir Thomas as celebrated yachtsman; and forgot to emphasize the title of which he was proudest. This title was Thomas Lipton, Tea Planter, Ceylon.
For tea was the consuming interest of Thomas Lipton’s life, from the day in 1889 when his first purchase of twenty thousand chests of tea arrived in Glasgow and the loads were drawn through the streets of that great Scottish city accompanied by brass bands and bagpipes, until the day 42 years later when the beloved old man passed away.
Up to the time of Lipton’s entry into the tea business, most of the tea in the world came from China. The island of Ceylon was known as a great coffee-growing country. There was not a tea plant on the island, but in 1870, Ceylon was visited by a blight that snuffed out the life of every single coffee plant, and promised to spell economic disaster for Ceylon.
In the gloomy days that followed, young Thomas Lipton and some other adventurous souls thought: “Why not try to grow tea in this rich Ceylon soil and exceptionally gentle climate?” Tea plants were imported and cultivated with scientific care.
Never was experiment more successful. Ceylon proved to be one of the great tea-growing spots in the world. Here sprang from Mother Earth tea unsurpassed for delightful flavor. And, oddly enough, the finest of all the tea gardens in Ceylon were Thomas Lipton’s.
With his own superb tea as a basis, Thomas Lipton mixed a blend so fine that it has carried off top honors in five world’s fairs. And, at the Great Tea Exposition of Ceylon and India, Lipton’s own tea was awarded the Gold Medal.
Lipton’s tea came to the attention of royalty, and he became “Tea Merchant by Appointment” to three different royal families. A day arrived when knighthood was bestowed upon him and he became Sir Thomas Lipton.
Today, T.O.M. Sopwith, Esq. instead of Sir Thomas, comes to America to try to win back the “America’s Cup”, symbol of yachting supremacy, but the memory of Sir Thomas is dear and his picture still familiar to Americans and other people of the world. This picture, appropriately enough, is seen most often accompanied by the thing he would like to be remembered for. It is printed on the familiar yellow-labeled packages of his own tea. The signature below the picture reads, quite simply, “Thomas J. Lipton, Tea Planter, Ceylon.”
-Prepared by Shelly Koon
