The glass canning jar first came into use in 1809 when a Frenchman,  Nicolas Appert, developed a method of preserving food at the behest of the French Government for use during the Napoleonic Wars. This method has been through many stages of refinement but it still remains one of the mainstays of preserving food and one of the very few that can be safely used by people at home. Even after 200 years it would be hard to have anything better suited for the job that the “canning jar”.

On to the ever present “tin” or metal can that is ever present in our lives today in some form or other. It was first used in 1810 by an Englishman,Peter Durand. Robert Ayars established the first American canning factory in New York City in 1812. The metal can has went through many, many changes over the  years that have improved it to what we have today. When it is combined with other methods such as freeze-drying or de-hydrating it is a integral part of any long term food storage program for any preparedness minded person.

I hope this has given you a bit of insight in to the history of two things we use everyday. As always, have a great day, Gary 

If we think about the many peoples that came before us in history we will quickly realize that only in rare cases are we first at anything.  In the articles that follow we hope to bring to the forefront of people’s thinking some of this prepper history. Most would likely concentrate in the US, but as with most things it will not be that easy. Parts of this history will by necessity connect us to other parts of the world. We hope to bring the history of some of the people and techniques to the attention of everyone in the preparedness community in order to help people better understand more about what we do today and how it came to be.

We believe that in far to many instances today people get to wrapped-up in “holding on to their little piece of turf” that we forget that all we are really doing is continuing a process that has been in place for hundreds of years. That process is the passing on of knowledge to others in order that it not be forever lost. We sincerely hope these history lessons will help people understand that it is not to terribly important to call yourself “the first”, “the best” or “the largest”. The important thing is the knowledge and skills and passing them on so they are never lost. They are after all priceless and should not be allowed to fade away in to oblivion never to be used again. As always, have a great day, Gary.

We would like to welcome everyone to the new, and hopefully improving, United States Prepper Networks. This is a change from the old “American Prepper Network” and the old format. It is our hope that by having everything here in one place we will be better able to do the work of helping our fellow preppers whether they be old hands or just starting out. As always we believe that anyone now prepping has knowledge to share and those of us who have knowledge could and should be trying to teach and help the other members of our prepper community. This is just a minor change for us and we are still here to try to help the preparedness community in any way we can. If you have a question or a topic you would like to see covered, please contact us and we will do our best.

I would like to take this opportunity to do a couple of things. First I would like to personally thank all of our loyal authors and readers because without you we wouldn’t be here. I know the growing pains of the last six months have been hard at times and even difficult at others, but we have persevered and are now taking a small step forward. I ask each and everyone to look forward with us to better times ahead while not forgetting the lessons of the past.

Secondly I would like to introduce the new management team for the United States Prepper Networks. First a lady, whom I’m proud to call fried, that most of you will recognize, Herbal Pagan. HP will be in charge of recruiting new writers and also the task  she is well suited for, encouraging mom. Second is, WestTx753 who is our technical director and will try to keep this train on the right track. Third is WVSanta who takes care of the radio page and works with developing new ideas and generally anything else that needs done to keep things running smoothly. And lastly myself, who according to others should stick to writing and helping people with the knowledge I have, such as it is. And I’m okay with that as I enjoy nothing more.

Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kelee and her Preparing For The Future Forum Board. She and the other great members there have allowed us to call Preparing For The Future home from the beginning of these networks for which we offer grateful thanks.

In closing I would like to say it has been my privilege to be associated with this great group of people that make-up the United States Prepper Networks. Also, you can reach any member of our management team by using their screen name @ unitedstatespreppernetworks.com. Thanks and have a great day, Gary.