The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-07-25
3food5 5Rpsr Glacier
a seen Nv 4 Newcomer.
. FRIDAY, JULY 25, 1902.

to the Cepterburg Ohio Gazette, writ
ten by Charles Davidson, father of H.
F. Davidson Of the Davidson Fruit Co:
Hood River, Oregon, July /, 1902
Editor Gazette, Centerburg, Ohio: My
last communicable from here was soon
after my arrival. Then / had only
seen the perpetually snow covered
mountains and the beautiful and
worldwide famous Oregon red apples
and Yellow Newtown pippins. Since
then | have seen the winter, spring
and this far into the SUMMER.
The fall was delightful, without a
killing frost until very late in Novem-
her, and with the exception of three or
four days there was no zero weather.
the temperature was as mild as the
winters in northeast Georgia, where !
spent four years. The exceptions are,
that here there are more rainy days
during winter than in Georgia, but
people here pay very little attention to
rain, and do not take cold from getting
wet like they do in Ohio and the East.
Another feature Of this climate Is that
there are no storms, tornados, cyclones
or cutting cold winds in winter. No
March winds that get under our jackets
and make our teeth chatter. The
wind seldom blows harder than a
gentle breeze and always so soft and
bainly excepting the east wind which is
usually followed by snow. There is
more snow here than in Georgia.
Usually from one to three weeks snow.
Never any billiards.. The wind seldom
blows any while it is showing, which
generally comes straight down and in
great big fakes as large as peach or APP
pie blossoms. During last winter |
saw snow piled one foot high or more
on top of fence posts, and three inches
high on the top Of fence boards and
clotheslines. During the snowy season
there was only three mornings that
the thermometer registered zero, or a
few degrees below freezing The
ground never freezes deep enough here
to freeze the potatoes that are not dug
The mild winters are enough to repay
almost anybody for making a change
from the East and northwest to this
part fthe commonwealth. Personal
ly am delighted with the climate, es-
peeially the summer up TO this time.
Am sleeping each night under nearly
rs many blankets and quilts as did
during the winter, with only two days
that the thermometer registered eighty
degrees in the shade. Besides, you do
not get hot or exhausted in the sun
shine, because there is always brac-
ing, fresh, cool breeze coming up the
river, with exception of an occasional
east wind that is little dry and dusty,
but does not last very long. ] will be
frank with Eastern people and say this
is not good corn country, for two
reasons. One is that corn Is too slow.
Don't make money fast and easy
enough. Another is that we do not
have much use for it, only to make
mush and batter cakes. The main rea-
son Is that this is horticultural coun-
try. Ten or fifteen acres cultivated in
Strawberries and fruit here will give
betterretufns and larger wages to labor
than one hundred or one hundred
and sixty acres cultivated in the ordi-
nary wayand rotation OF cropsin Knox
and adjoining counties. Strawberries
and apples-aFe the staple products of
this valley, with rsspberries, blackber-
ries, pears aud prunes as side lines,
which In the aggregate amount toa
large amount and each year increasing.
There are two companies here that
do an extensive business shipping her-
ries and fruit. The Hood River Fruit
Growers Union, which does a coopera-
tive business, was organized in 1893 by
Mr. II. +. Davidson and Others, OF
which he was elected business manager
for three or four years, which develop
ed the fact that there was roon aud y
demand for another shipper. He le-
signed his place and organized the pre-
sent Davidson Fruit Company, which
buys berries and fruits outright on the
spot, or ships on consignment and stores
apples, and deals in fertilizers, agrieul-
turaf implements, wagons, buggies, and
manufactures berry crates and fruit
b0xesin which they worked up over
one million feet of lumber last year
and will nearly double that amount
this year, Last year they did busi-
ness of between two and three hundred
thousand dollars, and will increase
that this year as there will be a full ap.
pie crop. ID
From the time winter breaks,
through the spring time, We hear little
but strawberry, talk. The dogs bark
strawberries, the roosters crow strawber.
ries, the children, even the very little
ones, cry for Strawberries and are not
quieted until they get red ripe straw.
berries, and are not then quieted until
they get Hood River Strawberries. One
of my personal weaknesses is to be ere.
duious, but took that strawberry talk
with q reasonable degree of allowance
aud waited until the season would
come; and now am like old Mrs. She
ba said about Mr.. Solomon, "The hall
had not been told.n
The Davidson Fruit Company start.
ed out early to make 60, 900 strawberry
crates and halloeks or boxes to I'LL them.
but the season was not one-third gone
until they discovered that they would
be compelled to make another ten thou
sand 10 supply the demand for the
this year, including cherries and other
berries. A hallock or box holds one
pound, and a crate holds "a halloeks,
so you may figure out how many hal.
locks and how much handling it takes
to get of crate berries ready to shin.
The first half crate, or ~ pounds of
berries, where sold In this market on
May Is, for which the Davidson
Fruit Company paid fifty cents per
pound or six dollars for the half crate.
The next sale was made by the ID. +.
Co, on May 81, of five and one-half
crates for So per crate, or $3S for
the lot, TO the steward of President Har-
rlman and party's train that passed
through here on u tour of Inspection
ever the Southern Pacific railway svs.
tenn, of which the railroad here Is a
part. From that until June s the
growers got 81 per crate for their
berries. On June the first ear load
lots were shipped. One carload bv
each company, which increased every
diy until they shipped seven carloads
III one night. The last carload shin
ment was sixty-six, and In addition To
that there was shipped by common
every day express and by boat what
would have loaded twenty-five more
cln. They put 620 or $50 crates into a
ear, according to size of the ear. They
are all put into cold storage or refrig-