|
|
LAKE COUNTY PEAR HISTORY
|
LAKE COUNTY PEAR HISTORY
Thomas Porteus is credited for planting the first commercial orchard in Lake County, four acres in Big Valley. Followed by L.P. Clendenin in Scotts Valley, J.B. Laughlin and George Akers both of Kelseyville and J.W. Annette of Finley. The plantings began in the late 1800's and by 1919, according to the agricultural commissioner's records; there were 700 acres of pears in the county. Those acres have grown and diminished over the years, with a high of 8000 acres to a low of 2000.
In the late 1800's and early 1900's Lake County consisted of many small land owners who grew mostly grain crops. When they saw how much more dollars per acre the few pear growers were making more and more of them began to plant their own orchards. According to agricultural records most of the plantings took place between 1910 and 1920.
Until the mid 1920's the pear crop was dried here in Lake Count and then hauled out to packing sheds outside of the county. But in the early 1920's the California Packing Company was established and operated the largest dry yard in the world in Kelseyville. The Adobe Creek Packing Company now stands at that location.
The pears were brought from the orchards in boxes loaded on horse drawn wagons. The pears were placed in large bins at the dry yards, and covered with straw and allowed to ripen. Women would cut and core the ripe pears and lay them on large wooden trays. The trays were stacked up to 18 high and covered with a large metal hood, which was placed on the top by four men. A pot of burning sulfur was placed under the hood and the pears were left to sulfur for two or three days. After the sulfuring process was complete the pears were laid in the sun for a couple of days and then the trays were stacked again with space for air circulation and left for three to four weeks. At the end of that time they were ready for shipment to the packaging plants. Harvest would last about three months in the days of the dry fruit market. People worked from August to November picking and processing the fruit.
According the "Legends and Stories of Lake County" Bartlett pears have been raised in Lake County commercially since 1885. That was the year of the New Orleans World Fair when some Lake County pears and apples were exhibited and aroused much praise. Some other varieties had been produced but the Bartlett stood out. The dried pears became known as "slabs of gold" and were highly praised as the finest in the world.
In the early 1900's most of the dried pears went to the European market. Records show that growers made $86.80 per ton in 1919 and produced 800 tons of pears. For a while after World War 1 the European market was good because the people needed all the food the United States could ship. However, this market collapsed in 1922 when the European countries were caught in a depression and as a result they declared dried pears a semi-luxury and banned the importation of pears.
After the European market collapsed the growers had to develop alternative markets for their pears. Over night everyone's barn became a packing shed and the growers began packing pears for the fresh market and sending them to the canneries. The independent packing houses didn't last long and by 1935 the large co-op packing plants, had replaced them.
By the last 1920's the market had picked up and the pear industry was booming. Records show that the total value of the pear crop topped $1 million for the first time in 1927. Three years later the market began to slide, and by 1932 the price per ton was a mere $14.70 and the total value of the crop had dropped to $59,241.
Statistics show that many growers tore out their orchards during the depression years when the price for pears was very low. In 1932 a high point had been reached with 6500 acres of pears planted but by 1940 around half of the orchards were taken out leaving only 3700 acres.
It wasn't until 1957 that the pear acreage began to increase again. From that year forward it grew steadily. Although it took until 1970 for the pear acreage to pass the previous high of 6500 acres. By 1976 the level of pear acres in Lake County had reached 7824.
But as history repeats itself the pear acreage in Lake County is on the decrease again. With farmers unable to make a profit and the increase of imported fruit the industry is in a decline. Lake County has lost fifty percent of its pear acreage in the last 10 years. There are only three packing facilities left when there were eight just a few years ago. But the industry will survive and maybe in time come back to the height of its glory days.
|
|
ADOBE CREEK PACKING CO, INC.
4825 Loasa Drive
P.O. Box 335
Kelseyville, CA 95451
Phone: (707)-279-4204
Fax: (707)-279-0366
Email: shirleyacp@sbcglobal.net
|
|
 |
 |
