The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-07-17

This country around Keuka lake."
said Capt. Smith Fairchild, who COM
mands the spruce little steamer Urbana
between this place and and Penn Yam.
sis now one of the greatest grape
growing regions in the world. The
vineyards cover thousands and thou
sands of acres. clear from the edge of
the lake up to the summit of the hills
on every side of it. We ship thousands
OF tons of all kinds of grapes to the
New York market every season, to say
nothing of the tons and tons and tons
that we mash up into the best wine on
the American continent. But | can
remember the first grapes that went
from here to New York, and, although
there wasn't more than three hundred
pounds of 'em, they glutted the mar
ket. That's a fact.
STANLEY Fairchild. my father was a
cabinet maker, and Uncle Billy Hast
ings lived upon the hill yonder, where
the beer garden is. Nobody had ever
thought of raising grapes as a bust
ness; but Uncle Billy had some OF the
finest grape arbors that ever tempted
a youngster into 'em on dark nights.
One fall his vines were so overloaded
with grapes that he didn't know what
to do with 'em. An idea struck him
THAT il would be a good thing to ship
a lot of 'em to New York. This was
in 1847. There was no way to ship
'em except by lake and canal, and
Uncle Billy thought the best way to
do it was to pack the grapes in a bar
rel with cedar shavlngs. He brought a
big cedar block to my fathers shop,
and told him to have it converted into
shaving. l was a chuck Of a boy
then, and father set me to work
with a plane to demolish that block.
That put me down on the grape bust
ness at once, and | made a solemn
wish that the steamboat or the canal
boat would sink hat carried Uncle
Biliy's grapes, so. that the business
would end right there. l saw nothing
bright in q future that had nothing in
store for Inc but the making of cedar
shavings. Well, l knocked that block
into curly bits in the course of a day
or so. and Uncle Billy packed them in
with a barrel of the incest grapes that
ever made an obedient boys mouth
water. And, as | remember having
remarked at the time, the worst of il
was that they got to New York all
right and made a good sale. Uncle
Billy was delighted, and, like all spec
ulators, wasn't satisfied. Nothing
would do but he must send off another
barrel, and he rolled another cedar
block to my fathers shop and L was
set to work to knock the spots out Of
it.
".If this industry keeps growing
said to myself, this part of the country
don't hold me.
81 peeled the second block down tc
nothing, though, and Uncle Billy ship
ped his second barrel of grapes to New
York. Time went along, and one day
Uncle Billy got a letter from the party
he had sent the grapes to. My father
asked him how the business looked.
"'Well, said he, Il made ID shillings
clear on my first barrel, butmy second
one busted the market. 1t won't do
to put too many grapes in the New
York market at once
II went out behind the shop and
howled for joy over the failure of the
grape-growing industry. But that
pioneer shipment of Uncle Billy's set
people to thinking, and now the New
York market can't get enough OF
Hammondsport grapes Hammonds-
MORT m " cor. NeU York Sun,