The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-05-09
A LITTLE JOURNEY TO THE
HOME OF SPlTZ AND NEWT.


A pamphlet containing the following
little story of the valley, written by
James E. Montgomery, was presented
/ TO each of the Portland Press club ex-
eursion Sunday:
! Foreword-In writing this we make
no apologies to Ebert. He was here
/ fourteen months ago and promised
to write US up, but we have been
forced to do ii ourselves. You will
pardon US if this is on better paper and
executed with less OF the art OF the
18th century print shop. We Will
probably have to give this away. while
Ebert has never given away anything.
He hasn't even given himself away.
Spitz and Newt apples were given
longer names at the christening, that
is, Esopus Spitzenburg and Yellow
Newtown Pippin. When Eve was
kicked out of the garden she only had
time to grab change of fig leaves and
her two precious favorites, Spitz and
Newt. These two boys never amounted
to much until they settled in Hood
River valley about 20 years ago.
Somebody says they will amount to a
million boxes in Hood River this fall,
and on the strength of that an automO-
bile company has already put out a
model with the hood shaped like an ap-
pie and a new hotel is being built in
| Honolulu.
A lot of folks 20 through Hood River
and are disappointed because they
don't see anything of Spitz and Newt
from the train. The same folks have
often gone by the White House and
peeked between the palings expecting
to see the President playing croquet.
These apple boys never come down
around the railroad yards until late in
the fall and when they get to the
warehouse they find invitations await
| ing them to visit the homes of most of
our best people in the United States
and Europe. Spitz and Newt are al
ways invited at good fat I. o. b. Hood
River prices and they are never made
to suffer the embarrassment of going
down to the orphanage on the Erie
dock in New York, where many of their
brothers become badly spoiled children
before they are auctioned into home.
The best little behavors in the apple
family are Spitz and Newt of Hood
River. They won't get spot on their
red and yellow skins from one year to
the next, if they are entertained in a
| temperature not far above 81 degrees.
Nearly every day some fellow drops
off the train at Hood River and climbs
up out of the Columbia river gorge to
see the home of Spitz and Newt. This
fellow gets a look at two or three
snow capped mountains, which have
real good influence in keeping the
Hood River apple family from getting
spoiled, hears what delightful and
healthful climate is in the habit of
spending its winters and summers
and springs and autumns here and then
he says, Gee, I'd like to live right
here in this orchard valley"
Before this fellow gets that thought
out of his system a red-headed chap
who may not even take time to say
that he is Ray Scott, secretary of the
Commercial club, will happen along
and say, why man, we want you to
live here. This home of Spitz and
Newt is about 40, 600 acres big and they
are only living in little over quar-
ter of it. You can get one of these
acres for little over 500 and for
about that much more you can move
off the fir and oak trees and move Spitz
and Newt on. You are not through
yet. Fact is, you can't spend many
daylight summer hours playing the
pianola. You'll have to keep the ground
stirred up. prune the trees, douse them
with spray and give them drink from
the irrigation ditch occasionally. In a
few years you will have to pull off the
little green Spitz and Nevis when they
get about stomach ache size and are
crowding one another. Then in the
fall some of those invitations which
Uncle Sam embosses on gold will come
cut your way and Spitz and Newt will
ride out in their chilly Pullmans to
visit their friends all over the world. 3"
Lots OF days the red-headed chap
don't get to say that much before the
fellow who dropped off the train climbs
into an automobile with real estate
man and starts out to find those acres.
The fellow will find it possible to get
an acre which Spitz and Newt have
just occupied for $400 or so, and, if he
wants one where the apple boys have
made their debut and are receiving in
vitatiOns in the same proportion in
which they are showered on the debu-
tante daughter of millionaire. he can
get it for 81 900 to $1,000. Generally
Spitz and Newt net their guardian $500
to $500 an acre every fall.
Every spring about 100 cars of extra
fine Strawberries leave the home OF
Spitz and Newt to melt in mouths as
far away as Winnipeg. These will
bring back from $l00 to $500 per acre
for the space between the young trees,
depending a great deal on the diligence
of the man with the hoe. Down in
Portland the women will ask for aspar.
agus and celery and potatoes from
? Hood River, as we'll as cherries anC
peaches and pears. John Koberg, who
trims both his beard and his conversa.
tion German style, loads over ton oi
grass" on the boat for Portland about
every morning. Another German made
$500 a year from an acre of celery
and Swedes, Irishmen and Harvard
alumni are raising "spuds, which will
be sent in carloads even east of the
Rocky mountains. Most every pillow i.
followed by a man and flock of hens
If the man happens to step on one Of
the worms they are after, several hen:
will snatch a piece of it and like as noI
they will break the Sabbath just t
average seven eggs week.
So far there are 5000 or 5000 people
living in the home or Spitz and Newt
but DR.. Stork and the lure of a comfy
home in charming environment will
enough work to make the Hammer anC
rongs society bid high for scandal, are
adding to the figures every day. Abou
200 of these folks are eligible to the
University club and the same number
but not necessarily the same folks, are
driving their own motor cars. Ovel
1900 phones from one end of the valley
to the other make It easy to call tn,
phsician mentioned in the last sentenc,
and the man who sells vietrolas say:
the party lines are his only competi
| fore Dailu dalfuarv of mail apd uro