The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1913-05-22
PROGRESS NOTED
IN UPPER VALLEY
MANY NEW HOMES RECENTLY BUILT
Orchard Tracts Planted in Scenic District
Diversified Farming Appeals to
Progressive Growers.

or have so many new homes been con-
structed in the past year than in that
portion of the Upper Valley Just south
Of Parkdale. An unbroken stretch of
more than a thousand acres of young
trees greets the travellers eye as he
passes along the highway leading south
from Parkdale to the Almira orchard,
the property of A. Millard and J. F.
Thompson. Here Mr.. Thompson has
his home at the south side of ll6
acre orchard the trees of which are
three years old. This is one of the
largest single tracts in the Hood River
valley.
Six years ago on tract of 100 acres
where now rise seven handsome homes
| Of newcomers, but one small house in
small clearing was to be seen. Those
who now own portions of the l60 acres
and whose young apple trees are thriv-
| ing in the loose, fertile soil of the dis
trict, are: Charles Stenhauser, j. S.
Peironnet, Henry w. Steinhauser, Nj.
.. Boe. Duval and Wertgen, Hugh
Dixon, William II. Tobey, G. /. Moody
and Miss Bailey. The style of the
architecture of the new homes and
their proximity to each other might
lead one to believe that he was in a
neat, new suburban addition to city,
| and all of the homes are equipped with
modern conveniences. In this particular
section of the UpperValley, as in other
districts there, the majority of the new
residents are from eastern cities and
have come west in quest of homes in
the quiet of the country, where the
simple life may be lived in a region
replete with the magnificent touches of
natural scenery.
Eight years ago, the greater portion
of the Upper Valley was still virgin
forest. 1t is true that some of the
Oldest of the homesteaded places are in
the lower part of that community and
in the Mount Hood community, but
commercial orchards had not been at.
tempted by the pioneers. who eked out
an existence from their small clearings
and who spent the summer months in
eastern Oregon. where they took part
in the harvest of the large grain dis
tricts, bringing home their wages with
which to supply their larders and to
purchase the necessities of life that
could not besgrown on their places.
Mr.. Thompson, of the Almira orch
ard, is one Of the older of the CONNER.
ciaI orchard planters in the district.
He has farmed in many parts of the
country, Ohio. Indian Territory, Okla.
homa and Colorado. "But have founC
! no place that ! like better than th
Upper Valley, he says. Mr.. Thomp
son and his family left Indian Terri
tory because of the climate. He wal
stricken with malaria and fever ant
came to the west seeking health. Foi
a number of years he and his family
resided in Colorado and other sections
Of the Rocky mountain country. Eight
years ago they left southern Oregon
where they had come in their journey
toward the coast, and began tour Of
the central Oregon country down tC
The Dalles and thence down the Colum.
bia to Portland. After looking over
parts of the Willamette valley, they
decided to return to the Hood River
valley, and their present location in the
! Upper Valley was selected as a home
Their entire tour was made by wagor
and team. To see the large orchard OF
MiIlard and Thompson, where the lat.
ter has his home, one may we'll form
the opinion that his journeys over the
Beaver state, seeking a region of plen-
ty and beauty, were not in vain. His
home. as are those of his neighbors, is
in wonderland, bordered on the east
and west by the high ridges of the Gas.
cades that meet at the base of Mount
Hood, the ever changing white peak oil
which looms to the south of them. FaI
away across the Coubmia the high,
hoary head of Mount Adams shimmers
in the sunlight of clear days and frowns
beneath the gray reflections of cloudeC
| skies. 1t is region that attracts the
chance visitor and weaves a spell around
the hearts of those who linger for 8
while. The witch Mountain" is al
enchantress, and those who have lived
and toiled and smiled and wept in the
REGION of her feet, feel the call of hei
ever changing face, when they are long
absent from her environs. The only
moments when Upper Valley residents
ever allow themselves to become beset
by "grouch" are those during which
the white peak of the mountain retires
behind heavy cloud veil.
While the acreage of bearing orchard
in the Upper Valley is still small, the
producing trees have proven that the
fruit that is grown there is of the
most excellent keeping quality. In
deed, there are those, one of the ex-
ponents of which is Charles Stein
hauser, who claim that the day will
come when Upper Valley Spitzenburgs
and Newtowns will be labelled by a
special brand because of their keeping
qualities. Ortleys, too, do exceedingly
well in the Upper Valley. MIR. Thomp-
son has number of boxes in his cellar
that have the beautiful golden glow,
peculiar to the excellent fruit, and the
apples remain firm until the summer
months.
The Gravenstein, one of the well
known fall varieties in lower attitudes,
becomes in reality winter apple in
the Upper Valley. At the Uptegrove,
Cornell & Mason ranch, we're a number
of these trees bear prolifcslly every
year, the apples are kept into the late
spring, retaining all of their frmness,
juice and richness Of flavor.
The Upper Valley district is also
known for the excellence of its straw
berries, the cool nights giving them q
firmness that enables the shippers to
send them in prime condition to foreign
markets. Housewives always like to
get fruit from this section for preserv-
ing, for they declare that the berries,
because of their frmness, retain their
shape nd do not cook up into a general
mass.
While not so many new homes have
been built, large acreage of land has
been cleared north of Parkdale. Near
the station of Bonebobro on the line OF
the Mount Hood Railroad Co., the
Boneboro Orchard Co.. which owns q
large tract Of deep redshot soil there,
has cleared several hundred acres OF
its holdings which have been planted
to commercial varieties. The BoneborC
Company has this year planted large