The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-06-29
NEW SYSTEM
TAKES HOLD
COMMUNITY PACK ADVANTAGEOUS
Pioneer Packing Co., First Central Insti.
ton, is Successful and Adds
New Members

Judging from the present trend TO-
ward the new system, the day lis not
far distant when all orchardists in the
Hood River valley owning tracts of 10
acres or less will harvest their apple
crops through community packing
houses. Three years ago the commun.
ity system was first proposed by grow
ers of the Oak Grove district. Five
growers, Geo. C. Gladen, H. M. Fran
els. Paul R. Hughes land D. L. Pier
son, formed cooperative organization
called the Pioneer Packing Co. At the
time it was not convenient for the
orchardists to secure funds for the con-
struction of new plant. Space, how
ever, was secured Ia a centrally located
blacksmith shop. and the new enter
prise has been successful.
Last season the Pioneer Packing Co.
handled $500 boxes of fruit for its
affiliated members. During the past
week it has added three new members,
0. 7. Wedemeyer. W. F. Andrews and
I. J. Annala.
The success of central packing has
stimulated growers of other parts of
the valley to initiate plans for such Or
ganizations. Meetings were recently
held in the Pine Grove district, and al
ready members of the Apple Growers
Association located in that section Of
the apple district have offered to furn-
ish 5000 boxes of apples to a new
plant that will be erected at some CEN
trail point there before the harvesting
season Of the coming autumn. A
meeting was held a! the Thomas Flag
Ter home in the Barrett district the
past week, when Barrett growers
started campaign for central pack
ing plant.
Without regard to the appealing
saving in cost of handling the fruit,
community packing houses are justified
because of the advantages accruing
from uniform pack. c. ". Hooker
and William Dickerson, representatives
of the Association the past season re.
spectively in Los Angeles and San
Francisco, declare that the community
packing house is one of the best assist
ants the salesman has. Wilmer Sieg
is heart exponent of the system, and
the sales organization is fostering the
plans of growers of different districts
in their efforts to finance central pack
ing concerns.
Where an individual grower has q
small crew of men at work engaged in
the harvest and packing of his crop,
the apples oftentimes are allowed to
remain several days in orchard boxes
before they are ready for delivery to
association warehouses and placed In
cold storage. This delay, 1t is said, in
many instances results in bad condition
of apples at time of distribution.
The community system appeals alike
to grower and to the harvest laborer.
The orchardist is freed from the bother
of caring for a host of pickers and
packers. Sleeping and mess accommo-
dations are provided for at the central
packing house. The harvester is as
sured of steady work over a longer
period. Better help is thus obtained
and held.
The community system also makes
its appeal to larger growers, because
of the resulting smaller cost of hand
ling the fruit. The first example Of
the community system on large scale
is found in the huge packing plant Of
the Hood River Apple & Storage Co.
which is not only equipped with ma
chimes for grading the fruit. but has
its own refrigerating plant, where the
crops of its members may be held In
storage throughout the season.
A second Oak Grove community pack
ing house will be erected this summer
on the Sutthoff place. 1t will be
equipped with new grading machine
and the crops of a number of surround
ing orchards will be handled.
Under the community system the ap-
Piles, if the individual does not happen
to have teaming facilities, are taken
from the trees and delivered, properly
graded and packed, at the Association
warehouses.
The committee in charge Of the Pine
Grove community arrangements is COM
posed of DR.. Stanton Allen and Clar-
ence E. Coffin.
The Pioneer Packing Co. recently
purchased one of the large size Cutler
grading machines. This purchase will
enable the company to care for all the
fruit in the Oak Grove neighborhood.