8 • SEPTEMBER 2013
HISTORY
The Current
Valley’s early economy bloomed from the apple tree By Bill Zimmer
SPOKANE VALLEY HERITAGE MUSEUM
In the late 1800s, serious attempts were made to grow apples in the gravel of the Spokane Valley. Between 1900 and 1910, the first commercial orchard was planted near the Idaho border by the Otis Orchards Cooperative Association. In 1908, the Valley hosted its first National Apple Show. Within a few years, the Valley ranked ahead of all fruit-growing districts in Washington with over 1 million apple trees planted on 24,453 acres. In support of the orchardists and farmers, who made up most of the Valley population, the townships of Greenacres, Otis Orchards, Opportunity, Vera, East Spokane, Mica and Chester were all developed as irrigation districts. Many people with no experience as orchardists were attracted to the Valley through an onslaught of advertising promoted by realtors. Some in this group were successful, while others lost all of their investment. Initially, growers were led to believe that local markets could use all of the fruit and vegetables that Valley orchards and farms could produce. However, as more and more acres of apples came on the market, more outlets were needed. The Spokane Fruit Growers Association and the Spokane Valley Fruit Growers Association were organized to find and develop markets in the East and Midwest. The increasing production of apples necessitated packing and storage facilities. Land was procured through long-term leases with the Northern Pacific Railroad. Four large buildings were built next to the railroad main line. The Northern Pacific then built spur lines to serve other warehouses. Companies which controlled the warehouses included the Spokane Valley Fruit Growers Association, Earl Fruit Company, Associated Fruit Company, White Brothers and Crum, H.J. Shinn Company and Kroll Company. The Spokane Fruit Growers Association contracted with the Northern Pacific for shipping the first carload of apples to Rockford, Ill. The Spokane International Railroad serviced the warehouses of the East Farms and Otis Orchards area, which included Frank Shinn, the Otis Orchards Cooperative Association and the H.N. Segerstrom Fruit Company, which used the “Redskin Brand Northwest Apples” label. In 1930, John Gillespie, one of the largest fruit growers in the Valley, built a packing house in Veradale, which he operated with his son, Paul. The packing house burned
in 1945 for a loss of $100,000, including 20,000 boxes of apples. Edward Pierce, an attorney and also a Valley orchardist, served as president of the Spokane Valley Growers Union for a time. In 1932, he was elected to the State Senate, and in 1935 served as President Pro Tem of the Senate. The Otis Orchards Cooperative Association not only planted the areas first commercial orchard but, in 1932, provided the first export fruit which was shipped to Bremen, Germany, via the Panama Canal. Valley apples were shipped throughout the United States as well as to markets in Great Britain, Australia and Holland. The success of the apple industry had a major impact on the economy of the area since it meant employment for thinners, pickers, sorters, packers and box makers. At harvest time, schools generally released students for about three weeks to help with the picking. Transient workers were also hired. Homemakers provided meals for harvest workers. Larger companies provided a boarding house with bed and board. Indians who were employed brought their tepees to live in. Efforts to develop additional markets for Valley apples were ongoing into the 1920s as apple production continued to exceed demand. During one three-year period, the harvest in Washington state was triple what it had been the previous year. As apple trees lined Sprague Avenue, it was renamed “The Appleway.” In as much as northwest railroads were making an estimated $18 million annually from the orchard industry, they were quick to respond when growers demanded more exact shipping schedules and the use of refrigerated cars. The harvesting of apples was always under a timeline in order to avoid freezing weather. Different varieties of apples ripened at different times. First to ripen were the Winter Bananas, followed by Jonathans, Rome Beauties, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Wagners, Baldwins and Winesaps. There were several other varieties that were consumed locally and were not sent to packing plants. The apple industry in the Valley peaked within about 25 years. Increasing costs of production, severe frosts, disease, cost of meeting government regulations and competition from Wenatchee and Yakima all contributed to the decline of the industry. In 1926, about 200,000 trees were pulled
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SPOKANE VALLEY HERITAGE MUSEUM GILLESPIE COLLECTION
The Gillespie Apple Pickers collect the annual harvest on land that included the present-day site of Progress Elementary School.
A VALLEY OF OPPORTUNITY A monthly series on the heritage of the greater Spokane Valley
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SPOKANE VALLEY HERITAGE MUSEUM
Orchardists in the Opportunity district of Spokane Valley sort through their crop in this 1908 photo. out, and by 1945, only about 50,000 trees remained. Many orchardists turned to truck farming, growing strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, watermelons, asparagus, squash, cucumbers and thousands of acres of Hearts of Gold cantaloupes. Those who managed to stay in the orchard business were hit again by severe frosts in the early 1950s. By 1969, Otis Orchards, the final Spokane Valley fruit-packing operation, had closed. Following World War II, a population boom replaced most of the remaining orchards with tracts for housing. Population increases continued with an influx of retirees, primarily due to inexpensive living. The last large-scale irrigation for orchards ended in the late 1950s. According to George Pierce, a longtime Valley resident, a 10-year apple warehouse superintendent and owner of the Valley Growers Supply Co., “The soil of the Valley was not deep
Jan. Missionaries and Indians Feb. Bridge Builders and Ferrymen March The Lake Men April The Real Estate Developers, Land and Power May Immigrants claim their Valley June Irrigation July Depots and Platforms Aug. Purveyors of Leisure Sept. Commerce Oct. Ladies of the Valley Nov. Veterans of the Valley Dec. Old Timers’ stories enough or rich enough to support a grown bearing apple tree. As trees grew larger, the apples grew smaller.” Bill Zimmer is a retired educator and longtime West Valley School District board member. He is a volunteer at the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum. Sources for this article included “Otis Orchards: the First Fifty Years,” by Bergland; “Spokane Valley: History of the Early Years” by Boutwell; “History of the City of Spokane and Spokane County” by Durham; “Apple Era” by the Spokesman-Review’s Valley Voice; “Apples” by Griffith and Blair; “Valley of the Sun” from the Spokane Chronicle; and Google. For more about his article or other aspects of the history of the Spokane Valley region, visit the museum at 12114 E. Sprague Ave. or call 922-4570.