The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-09-08
THEY ENJOY life
IN CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles, Cal, August 81, 1904
Editor Glacier: In behalf of the Hood
River delegation now in California,
take pleasure in sending you the photo
graph presented herewith. | took it
last Sunday at the residence of W. P.
Watson, at Long Beach. He has beau
tiful home, surrounded with all OF the
tropical flowers and plants known to
Southern California. R. r. Erwin is
quite busy, getting his family, located,
but he says he is getting lazy like all
the rest of the people in this place.
Nj. A. Cook has pretty place near
Mr.. Watson's. He also has variety of
fruit and vegetables on his place.
One thing so noticeable here is the
large number OF tourists. Every day
seems like holiday. l have been on
vacation and spent most of my time
at Long Beach. Every day the esti-
mate of the visitors varied from 1000 to
2500.
We have had 40 days of very warm
weather. All the old timers say it is
the hottest summer since 70. | think
they have so much of this torrid at
mosphere, that the brain becomes fa-
tigued with the heat, which also affects
the memory. They forget the same as
the mossbaCks about the last winter, but
as far as am concerned, | don't like
this country in the summer time. The
winters, what | saw of them, are fine.
Now about fruit and vegetables. Ore
gon can skin this country alive. Their
main apple is the Bellehower, and l
understand the crop is very short this
year. One merchant said the price
would go past 50 per box very soon.
The strawberries are not of good
quality, and full of sand, caused by
flooding them in irrigation. l have
found very few good potatoes ;they seem
to be spongy, also other vegetables such
as carrots, cabbage, horseradish, and
especially the little radishes are stringy
and pithy. But they grow anything
here, and in abundance, that is, if they
have water, and that is somewhat of a
problem as yet.
One man told me he had one acre of
land planted to cucumbers for pickle
purposes. He said that his wife and
two daughters, a son and four hired men
picked pickles day and night for60 days,
and when they got through there was a
carload of cucumbers gone to seed that
they could not handle.
Another man said that James Hill
& Son have paid him $500 here if they
would quit bringing pickles as they
could not handle all of the crop they
had contracted for. But think some
of these farmers will wake up some day
and get a hard fall. Anyway, the only
system is to irrigate and keep at it.
The railroads east OF here have been
demoraized by foods the past 10 days.
Cloudbursts seem to be popular, quite
fashionable in Southeastern California
and Western Arizona, causing great loss
of property and some lives.
| often think of Hood River, and
some sweet day, by and by, you may
see me upon your streets again.
Those in the picture reading from left
to right are (standing): r. r. Erwin,
wife, Mrs. Watson, Mr.. Watson, Mrs.
NJ. A. Cook, Mr.. and Mrs.J. F. DeBord;
(stting), Dell Cook, the three Misses
Watson, Gertrude Snow, Marion Cox.
Mrs. Densmore, the mother of Mrs.
Cook, kindly snapped the camera for
me. Mrs Harvey was up to the city
and was unable to get her picture.
Give all inquiring friends my kindest
regards. JAS, f. DEBORD,
1874, Ohio Street,