6 minute read
Events
The Darlington-White family poses for a photograph taken on Nov. 11, 1919.
Photo Provided
Advertisement
VILLAGE
(Continued from Page 2)
definitively about Whitesbog,” Augustine noted.
In the book, archival images and documents allow the reader to immerse themselves in this location “from the comfort of their living room,” said Augustine.
The book, which was co-written by Kiyomi E. Locker and Dennis McDonald, with a foreword by Ted Gordon, a revered figure in the cranberry and blueberry industry, begins by detailing the family lineage responsible for developing the agricultural industry in Whitesbog, which still continues today, according to Augustine.
The origins of the area can be traced back to the indigenous Lenni Lenape tribe, according to Augustine. She told this newspaper that “cranberries weren’t cultivated until the 1800s, so before then, they grew wild in the area and were a staple for the Native Americans.”
When Fenwick purchased the original 100 acres of land, he began working with Joseph Josiah “J.J.” White, his son-in-law, who eventually took over farming when Fenwick passed away. The White family, and their four daughters were able to substantially cultivate the property, hence the name “Whitesbog.”
Lewis and Emlen Darlington, sons-inlaw of J.J. White, became synonymous with Whitesbog, and controlled operations on the 3,000 acres of woodlands and farmland after his passing in 1924.
She explained that currently, the fifth generation of the Darlington-White family is gearing up for the cranberry harvest in the fall.
“We are able to use some of the original bogs that were hand dug in the 1850s, so they are over 150 years old and still giving us cranberries, which I think is amazing,” Augustine said.
At the farms peak in the 1920s, it was the largest cranberry farm in the U.S., and according to Augustine, since there is not an agricultural environment suited for cranberries outside of the Western Hemisphere, Whitesbog effectively became “the largest cranberry bog in the whole world.”
“The family was most influential,” she explained. “Without them there would be no Whitesbog.”
However, she added that generations of migrant workers, typically of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, who would come for the two-month picking season before returning to Philadelphia, were in part responsible for the success of the farm.
“It’s just amazing because it’s this little area that is so unique,” she said.
The Pine Barrens, Augustine added, is “a very unique setting” responsible for “important pieces of history. There is no other place like the Pine Barrens on the planet.”
“We have that big slice of history – it’s where the blueberry was first cultivated,” she added. “They had tried to cultivate the blueberry before, but it was really unsuccessful, and it just happened to click in New Jersey, and produced this entire industry.”
Elizabeth White, daughter of J.J. White, became a key figure in the history of Whitesbog and is deemed responsible for developments in the blueberry industry.
“She was primarily self-taught in agriculture,” Augustine noted. “She had a passion for plants and wanted to learn more and help any way she could. We call her the blueberry queen.”
The highbush blueberry was first cultivated in 1911 in Whitesbog with Elizabeth White being the co-cultivator of this variety.
“The highbush blueberries are cultivated from the huckleberry that grows wild in the Pine Barrens,” Augustine said. “Each variety has its own unique distinct taste, texture and size. … It’s a very young crop, speaking generally, if you think about apples and oranges, they’ve been around forever, but blueberries are very new.”
“In addition, the Pineys who found the wild huckleberries, had a hand in creating the blueberry because they did a lot of the dirty work. They were the ones finding the bushes, finding the berries, making sure they were preserved and pulling them out of the ground, and then they were able to do the cultivation, so they were the genesis of the blueberry.”
The book also mentions the Suningive House and Garden, a three-story Arts-andCrafts-style house that was custom built in 1923, in Whitesbog, for Elizabeth White. There, she had an award-winning garden as well as a medical dispensary.
McDonald, a trustee for the Whitesbog Preservation Trust who had experience working with Arcadia Publishing twice in the past, said he was familiar with their requirements for this series of publications.
“Whitesbog had some of the best photographers in the world out there during the early 1900s, and during the Depression,” he said.
He explained that many photographers showed up to document child laborers. At the time, he said children were used around the country in many facets of industry as workers, something these photographers sought to bring attention to.
“If you went out there, you’d find old houses, a general store, a water tower, and many buildings that people still live in today, and blueberry farms and cranberry bogs,” he added.
He described present-day Whitesbog as an “early cranberry town.” He added that in a couple months, “all the cranberries will begin to be harvested, and it is one of the few places where you can go and watch this process take place, because it’s being harvested on stateowned land, whereas most other bogs are privately owned.”
Whitesbog holds tours for people to see cranberries being harvested, which McDonald noted is unique as well.
“You cannot go down a path in the pines or to any small village or town in New Jersey without finding great history, and Whitesbog is an example of that,” he explained. “The stories that you can read about and the people that you see in the photographs, it’s just fascinating, and as you drive around the Pines, it’s not hard to imagine those people working in the fields.”
Photo Provided
Elizabeth White, co-cultivator of the highbush blueberry was self-taught in agriculture.
SEPTEMBER
Events and special promotions happening locally this month!
To promote your October event on this page contact Jayne Cabrilla at 609-801-2392 or email jcabrilla@pinebarrenstribune.com
