Middletown transcript., 1915-06-12
OLDEN DAYS OF THE PEACH

ANCW YIN, WAY 20
Today R. E. Cochran celebrates his
sixty-seventh birthday, having been
born on May %, 1S48, on farm near
Middletown, Del, If there is younger
man within close hailing distance of the
seventies in this or in other lines of
business, in this or any other city, we
have yet to meet him. No man can
put in better or more arduous day
work and be fresber or finer at the end
of it than Mr.. Cochran. He is an ex-
ample to the nth degrees of the healthy
mind and the healthy body. One could
not run up against huskier specimen
of two-fsted business man, alert al
ways, both physically and mentally.
Mr.. Cochran came to New York in
July of 1870 to enter into the fruit and
produce business. His folks were big
growers of peaches down in Delaware,
and shipped so many to New York that
they figured no one firm could take care
of them properly. So after a family
consultation young Cochran was sent
uphere to help handle the Cochran clan
peaches. For the first year he worked
with John Nix & Co., taking peaches
out of the cars and generally supervis-
ing their unloading etc.
In 1871 after his first years appren-
ticeship with them, John Nix & Co.
took an interest in new branch house
under the first name of Cochran, Nix &
Co. This branch house was located on
the pier at ISL West street. 1t came
up to Park Place in 1872. Cochran,
Nix & 20. dissolved in 1873, and r. E..
Cochran continued business alone for
one year and then took in his brother
in-law, f. M. Hanson. Later came T.
L. Turney, who has been member of
the firm for fifteen or eighteen years.
Mr.. Hanson continued with the firm
until about five years ago when he re-
tired to take up the insurance business.
incidentally, the firm has been under
the same roof at SO Park Place now
under the new numbering 1872 Park
Place-for the past forty-two years.
Mr.. Cochran's personal history is
closely intertwined with the produce
trade history of New York for the past
half century. At ,e time that he first
went into business no tomatoes were
raised for shipment, and Mr.. Cochran
says that in his early days ne does not
remember that tomatoes were ever
eaten raw. The cantaloupe industry in
those early days was thing to come.
Mr. Cochran had been in business for
many years before a cantaloupe was
ever shipped out of or into the state.
But peaches We're different PROPOSE
tion. In the '70s, all New York's sup.
ply of peaches came from Maryland,
Delaware and Jersey. The Georgia,
the Missouri, the Arkansas, the Texas
and the Western peach were oil then in
the lap of the future. Mr.. Cochran
who is perfect compendium of peace
information some surprising in.
formation about those early days of the
know that in the early '70s, as high as
200 cars day were taken care of with
out undue fuss on the New York mar
ket, and on such days as these peaches
would sell as high as 81 a basket Mr.
Cochran has clear recollections of one
day when 300 cars came in and peaches
sold as high at midday as they did al
midnight. There were half dozen big
receivers in the market then who
thought nothing of handling from 10 t.
20 cars day apiece.
In those days what helped out so won
derfully was the fact that Boston
Providence. Springfield. Worcester anC
the eastern markets generally did no
get peach direct, but bought all thei
supplies from New York. The peache.
We're sold out of the cars over in Jerse]
City and loading and shipping was dont
up to four O'Clock in the afternoon. Ii
fact, in the case of Albany and Troy
which were heavy buyers from New
York shipping would be done as late a
six O'Clock.
In those days, Mr.. Cochran says, tn
Maryland and Delaware peach wer
wonderful keepers. They could be pu
to tests which now would. very literally
make them shrink away ill they di
not look at all like peaches. Part of tn
State of Delaware shipped in five
eights bushel basket, and part in regu
lar peach crate. The basket peache
were dumped into crates and barrel
and reshipped. Old timers will remem
ber these peach barrels, painted blue
green, red and pink, containing fiv
Delaware baskets and with a partitio
in the centre. They will remember
too, as Mr. Cochran recalls, how tn
peaches were dumped out of the basket
into the barrels, and arriving at thei
destination, even with the imperfec
transportation and lack of refrigeratio
in those days in perfect condition. hha
peach nowadays could stand up unde
such trial, and who would ever drear
of dumping baskets and crates int
barrels and shipping peaches by tn
barrel? 1t is doubtful if there are man
of this genertion of peach men VIII
ever heard or shipping peaches by th
barrel.
In those early days of the peach il
I.,.G..v, 4Lo aaoso,, e4,xtoJ about A,,o,,,e