Henry Forschmiedt was born on December 25, 1908 and attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn before coming to Cornell in 1926. He graduated with a B.S. in Agriculture in 1931. While at Cornell, he participated in Track, Cross Country, Soccer, and Crew. He was also involved in the Kermis Dramatic Club, the Eastman Stage and the Vegetable Growers Stage contest (debate), and the Vegetable Gardening Club. He also served as an assistant in Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for two years and in Dairy Marketing as a senior. After graduating he worked for the Atlantic Commission Co. and for the American National Cooperative Exchange in New York. In 1939, he began working for Safeway as a produce buyer, first in California and then in Washington, D.C. He served in the Infantry during World War II, and, in 1949, became the owner of the Forschmider [sic] Celery Co. in Dallas, Texas. He died on March 25, 1995.