The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1919-10-23
Union TAKES i
OPTION ON
DAVIS PLANT
uonnewick's Pioneer Cash Fruit
Buyer Agrees to Sell to the e.
Growers Organization
GIVES POSSESSION JANUARY l
If Purchase is Completed Marketing
Union Intends to Install
Refrigeration

The Kennewick- -Richland Marketing
Union today closed an option for the
purchase of the plant of the Davis
Fruit company. A substantial pay
ment was made on the option and the
Union has until January 1 to complete
the deal. "@,-.' .'.-s
The purchase of the Davis plant was
authorized at a meeting of the board
of directors Saturday and is the out
growth of the Unions campaign to
enlarge it's marketing scope and to.
erect a preceding and cold storage
plant. --1 ~ &.
The Davis warehouse, the main por-
ton of which was built this year, is
one of the largest and best equipped
fruit handling plants in the city. In
addition to the present buildings the
Davis holdings include lease on fifty
feet of N. P. ground just east of the
warehouse which can be used for adj
ditional buildings.
GWe have every reason to believe
that the Marketing Unions enlarge
ment plans are going to succeed" said
Manager F. H. Krug today. "Since
the close of the strawberry market
ing season we have been importuned
by growers to branch out and to mar
ket other fruits on the same plan we
have handled the berries. Every year
the growers are becoming more fully.
convinced that they must sooner or
later have cold storage for their fruit,
specially the soft fruits and senti-
ment is growing for 9 plant owned
and operated by the growers. 1t was
in answer to this growing sentiment
that our growers voted several weeks
ago to put on building campaign
and sent committee to study meth
eds employed by other successful CO.
operative plants in the Northwest.
More and more the growers are
coming to realize that the Kennewick-
Richland district has come into its
own. The fruit tonnage has grown
until the time has come when it should
60 to market distinctly as a Kenne-
wick-Richland product, marketed by
growers organisation that is locally
managed and controlled.
"The decision to purchase the Davis
plant came after we had investigated
construction costs. The buildings as
they stand will lend themselves nicely
to our use and we can install refrig-
eration in units with enlargements
from year to year to meet the de-
mands of increased tonnage.
"We do not hope to bring major
ity of the tree fruit crop into our or
ganization as we have done with the
strawberries, but we shall have suf-
ficient tree tonnage to enable us to
operate to advantage from the begin
ming to the end of the shipping season
and to give those of the growers who
wish it an exclusively home-managed
organization"
H. H. Davis, manager of the Davis
Fruit company, says he has no inten-
ton of leaving Kennewick. Aside
from his fruit business he has both
city and farm property. II expect to
have all of my stock out of the ware
house by the middle of December and
will be ready to turn the plant over
to the Union the first of the year, then
! intend to take a little vacation, but
! am not going to leave Kennewick,"
said Mr.. Davis. "I will probably con-
tlnue in the fruit buYing business"