64th Annual Ripon Almond Blossom Festival
San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club marks 100th anniversary
The San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club is serving as the grand marshal for the 64th annual Ripon Almond Blossom Festival on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. in downtown Ripon.
The Ripon social organization is being recognized for their 100th anniversary.
The club is leading the parade that features the theme “Red, White, and Edelweiss
The first Swiss club in San Joaquin Valley was formed in Stanislaus County in 1920 at Yori’s Grove, Modesto. It was a social gathering of the Swiss Italians and the Swiss Germans.
The spirit of the fellowship as expressed in the Swiss motto, “One For All And All For One”, has been passed down from one generation to the next.
The Swiss German people were more active in sporting events such as “schwinging” (Swiss wrestling) and the tugof-war contests. Tug-of-war contests were made up of two teams; the Swiss Germans on one side and the Swiss Italians on the other.
The contests were taken very seriously and it was reported that this competition contributed to the division of the two groups into the present separate clubs.
The Swiss German people formed the San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club in 1926. There were 16 original charter members: Arnold Bucher and Joe Bucher of Ripon; Joe Bucher of Lathrop; John Bucher, Henry Engler, Arnold Kaiser. Werner Kaiser, Wendel Kiser Sr., Gus Kreuzer, Oscar Kuenzler, Adolph “Bill” Scheuber, Konrad Reichenbach, Bill Muller, Carl Ott Sr., and Joe Ott Sr., of Modesto; and Nick Frunz of Patterson California. Halls were rented from various other organizations in the vicinity for the dances, schwingfests, schutzenfests, card parties, theater plays, and concerts by outside special Swiss entertainers. The Constitution and Bylaws are dated June 19, 1927.
In 1938, property was purchased in Ripon from three Swiss, namely Louie Blattler, Alfred Filliger, and Albert Wagner. The membership had grown and Ripon was the center point of the community.
In 1939, lumber was available from the site of the World’s Fair at Treasure Island in San Francisco. Most of the lumber, trusses, doors, hardwood flooring, etc., were bought at a minimum price and hauled to Ripon by the Joe Petrig hay trucks in Tracy.
The building committee consisted of Louie Blattler, Arnold Kaiser, Clements Ott Sr., Arnold Rothlin Sr., Joe Petrig, and the master carpenter, Louie Burch of Modesto. Construction of the dance hall and bar areas were put up by all volunteer work of the membership. The hall was officially opened with a dedication ceremony in 1941.
Carl Ott Sr., was the successful bidder for the key to open the doors to their new Swiss hall.
To help finance the project a ticket selling campaign was held. Three young ladies sold tickets. Ida Petrig-Williams, Germain Widmer-Imhof, and Nita Kaiser-Wagner. The one selling the most tickets was to be Queen of the Swiss Hall. Nita Kaiser-Wagner was crowned at the Grand Opening Ceremony.
In 1945, the wrestling arena was enlarged, moving from the east side of the hall to the south side. Again, a contest was held and tickets were sold by Agnes Inderbitzin-Fleutsch, EdaMae Kaiser-Betschart, Elsie Ott-Holdener, Erna Rothlin-Trinkler, and Aileen Beeler-Kaiser to fund the grandstands project. Aileen Beeler-Kaiser was crowned for selling the most tickets.
In 1947, the San Joaquin Valley Swiss Echoes was first organized under the direction of John Meyer. There were 28 Charter Members. The group became members of the United Swiss Singing Societies of the Pacific Coast in 1948 and participated in the Los Angeles Sängerfest.
The highlights of the Swiss Echoes were in hosting the first California Swiss Singing & Jodeling Festival in 1956, being hosts for the 10th Pacific Coast Swiss Singing and Jodeling Festival in 1960, the 16th Pacific Coast Swiss Singing and Jodeling Festival in 1978, and the 24th Pacific Coast Swiss Singing and Jodeling Festival in 2002.
In 1953, a dinner room was added to the dance hall. In 1956, an adjoining 1.1 acres of land was purchased and in 1957 the caretaker’s house and garage was built.
In 1959, the Ripon Schwinger Club was formed and affiliated with the SJVSC. Two big events of the year are the Spring and Fall Schwingfests (Swiss style wrestling). There have been many schwingers from Switzerland that have competed
in Ripon, as well as some of our schwingers going to Switzerland to compete at their schwingfests, bringing home beautiful prizes of Swiss bells, plaques, wood carving, etc. The boys wrestle in age groups of 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, juniors 15-17, and seniors 18 and up. Many sawdust rings at individual homes were put in for the young and older boys to practice under the direction of some capable and faithful coaches.
In 1973, the outdoor stage was constructed to accommodate entertainers during the Schwingfests and Song & Jodelfests. In 1975, 3.91 acres were purchased to ensure more parking space around the club hall.
In 1985, the dining room was remodeled to add a new commercial kitchen funded by the Küche Kästli Köchbuch committee. A schwinger shed was erected for the boys to use for practice. A wall along the west side of the property with tree planting and landscaping plus a new memorial entrance was completed. The tree planting was funded by individual donations in memory of the members’ loved ones.
In 2001, the Swiss Club decided to sell the northern section of bare land that lines Stouffer Street for residential lots to a developer. Due to citizens’ concerns to develop the entrance to the park, the City of Ripon stepped in and purchased the property. Funds from the sale were used to remodel/update the hall facilities.
2 hours a week = a lifetime
The San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club Hall in Ripon.
Trio helps almond growers pollinate trees
By DENNIS WYATT The Bulletin
It
They
As
The contracted workers were literally as busy as bees.
The three Manteca residents are bee brokers.
Their office is adorned with millions of white and pink blossoms.
And, if all goes according to plan, the almonds the bees are helping along by year’s end will have made their way to tables from Manteca to New Delhi.
Working with almond growers to get to that point hasn’t been easy this year.
In excess of 50 percent of the hives that come from as far away as Florida to make their way to California in what is arguably one of the largest — if not the largest — movement of hives for pollination on earth — have died off.
Given the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization indicates 75 percent of the world’s crops rely on at least some pollination, a reduction in the numbers of any pollinating insects is serious business.
However, with almonds having an extremely heavy reliance on pollination, it created an even more pressing than the usual sense of urgency as the calendar neared February for the trio to secure sufficient hives for their clients.
Carroll — called the “queen bee” by her partners in Pollination Contractors Inc. due to her 48 years in the bee brokering business — has been through such low ebbs before.
Even without massive bee die outs, bringing together beekeepers with almond growers is fraught with challenges.
Those run the gamut from losses during transportation to Mother Nature showing a cold shoulder and offering up a bit too much rain and wind.
Last year, the temperatures as well as the timing and intensity of rain was good. This year has been a lot more dicey.
And thanks to decades of contracts, working the phone all hours of the day and night, the trio has been able to scramble to meet growers’ needs.
“We’re like personal shoppers for growers,” noted Juarez, who is Carroll’s daughter.
In a typical year, the three partners match up 40 to 50 beekeepers across the nation with 200 to 300 growers between Fresno in the south and Woodland in the north to Oakdale in the east and Tracy in the west.
Agriculture experts indicate that roughly 90 percent of the nation’s commercial bee hives make their way to California between early February and mid-March.
It is in California — almost exclusively in the Great Central Valley — where 80 percent of the world’s almond crop and 100 percent of the commercial crop in the United States is grown.
California’s 1.52 million acres of almonds produced 2.6 billion pounds of almonds in 2023.
That represents $5.7 billion of California’s $61 billion in annual overall ag production. California is by far the nation’s most productive state for farming.
The 180 million almond trees in California do more for the
air than just make it sweet smelling this time of year.
They are credited with storing 300 million metric tons of carbon. That’s the equivalent of the carbon emissions in a year of 24.5 million gas powered vehicles.
Making quality checks
Juarez and Catalano make spot checks of roughly 15 percent of the hives in all the orchards they contract to have them placed.
That requires them to don the prerequisite beekeeper suit and hat that work to keep the bees out while allowing the sweet smell of the blossoms in.
The color white is used for beekeeping suits for a reason. Darker color, especially black, agitates the bees. White tends to be a more soothing color.
Typically, they carry a bee smoker.
Puffs of smoke are used to calm the bees down. It rolls across the frames already partially covered with honey combs, countless bees.
They use a pry tool to get off the lid. You can try all you want to remove the lid by hand but the bees have secured it with beeswax to protect the hive.
Once the lid is off, you can see why they want to calm the
bees down. There are some 80,000 bees per hive.
Puffs of smoke are used to calm the bees down. It rolls across the frames already partially covered with honey combs, countless bees and eggs.
They will pull one of the eight frames for inspection. The honey combs are far from being ready to harvest the honey that beekeepers sell wholesale. Almond pollination is feeding time for the bees as it gets them back into the swing of things.
They will gently turn the frame over to check for the queen.
While the worker bees that nature has selected to serve as foragers are busy buzzing around orchards gathering nectar, other bees are doing specific tasks in the hive such as caring for the brood.
The queen produces well over 2,000 eggs a day to make sure there is adequate bees to get the job done.
Healthy and active hives translate into the more the bees cross pollinate the white and pink blooms. That means better the odds are for bigger yields.
The goal is to place two hives per acre for the best pollination.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin. com
DENNIS WYATT/The Bulletin
TOP PHOTO: A bee pollinates an almond blossom. BOTTOM PHOTO: Lisa Catalano, left, secures Paula Juarez’ bee veil and helmet before checking on the quality of a hive in an almond orchard north of Manteca during late February 2025.
California almonds all in a nutshell . . .
More than 100 varieties, India is that top importer
By DENNIS WYATT The Bulletin
Almond — is it pronounced
“ahl-mond” with a soft “A” and soft “L” or is it “aahmen” with a hard “A” and neatly silent “H”?
In many parts of Northern California, they will tell you it’s the latter. Their rationale: You have to knock the “L” out of trees to shake loose the nuts.
And they aren’t kidding about knocking the hell out of almond trees. Before mechanical shakers hit the market some 50 to 60 years ago, it was usual for many teen boys and young men looking for some extra cash to spend the late summer swinging heavy mallets to repeatedly shake almonds out of trees.
Almonds are the No. 2 agricultural crop in California at $5.7 billion out of the state’s record high $61 billion overall agricultural production in 2024.
Dairy products such as milk are No. 1 overall in California at $8.6 billion, grapes are third at $5.64 billion, cattle and calves fourth at $4.9.97 billion, and lettuce fourth at $3.67 billion.
California is by far the nation’s largest farm start surpassing the production of Iowa in the No. 2 spot by $14.4 billion.
Almonds are just one of more than 400 commodities produced in the Golden State.
Speaking of milk, it is a four-letter word as far as many in the dairy industry are concerned when it appears after the word “almond”.
There is serious squabble going on regarding what’s in a name given almond milk and other “milk” made from products such as soybeans are nipping at the heels of milk sales. The dairy folks say milk comes from animals.
That said almond milk is not a Johnny Come Lately creation although it certainly did not beat cow’s milk to man’s table. Muslims are credited with “inventing” almond milk in the 13th century.
Almonds are not native to California. But you couldn’t tell that in terms of the almonds grown on 1.5 million acres in the Great Central Valley that account for roughly 80 percent of the world’s almond production and all commercial almond production in the United States.
No other country comes close. Australia is next with 360,328 tons but it pales on comparison with the 1.85 billion plus tons California produces.
If San Joaquin County was its own country, it would have been the sixth largest nation in terms of almond production in 2024 with 111,900 tons. San Joaquin County would have been sandwiched between Morrocco with 175,763 tons and China with 104,000 tons.
But compares to other counties in California, San Joaquin County doesn’t make the top five.
It would be No. 6 on the list behind Kern County, Fresno County, Stanislaus County, Merced County and Madera County. To put San Joaquin County’s production in perspective at $492.3 million was just over a third the $1.46 billion that Fresno County grew in 2024. That’s the equivalent of roughly 31 percent of the entire $3.22 billion overall agricultural production for San Joaquin County. Fresno County, by the way, is still the largest agricultural producing county in the United States. With $9.03 billion in crop output in 2024, it would rank 23rd highest as a state. Little wonder they feel comfortable calling their
DENNIS WYATT/The Bulletin
An almond orchard in bloom along Industrial Park Drive in Manteca.
He’s eating almost a tree’s worth of almonds a year . . .
Most people look at a flowering almond tree this time of year and see a masterpiece of nature.
I see a year’s supply of almonds.
My almond consumption habits have slowed down a bit in recent years.
There was a time that I’d buy almonds by the 25-pound box to the tune of three boxes a year.
And I ate almost all myself, save for perhaps two small Ziplock baggies I gave away.
Now, due mostly to the pain of breaking down boxes of almonds and repackaging them skewing my usual way of purchasing almonds in bulk, I buy most of my almonds at Costco.
They come in three pound bags. I consume 15 bags a year or 45 pounds simply by eating them one at a time.
Almond growers can expect a typical tree to yield between 50 and 85 pounds of nuts a year.
That means somewhere out there in the Great Central Valley — the earth’s most productive almond growing region — bees are now busy pollinating a tree to produce nuts that I could end up almost eating all by myself.
I actually eat more than 45 pounds a year.
From time to time, I will hit area of produce stands and grab a small bag.
The reason is simple.
There are 30 different varieties of almonds grown in California.
And we’re not talking honey roasted, smoked, spicy dill pickle and such.
Those are creations of Blue Diamond et al to hawk more almonds.
I’m talking raw almonds.
You can definitely tell the difference in taste between the various varieties just like ambrosia apples taste different than gala apples.
Granted, if you don’t eat a lot of processed food your taste buds tend to pick up more subtle differences.
Do not misunderstand.
I’ve got nothing against flavored almonds, although I’d argue blueberry may be getting a tad carried away, along with chili-n-lime.
Flavored almonds are what got me hooked on almonds.
As a kid, my mom would buy the can of Planters mixed nuts.
I would, if allowed to, clean out all the cashews and then peanuts. If I was “desperate” I might pick at the walnuts. But the almonds and Brazilian nuts were definitely a no go.
The secret to Planters’ success was heavy use of salt.
By the time I was in my 20s, I admit Blue Diamond reeled me in with smokehouse and honey roasted almonds, with the latter being my favorite.
It was not until I significantly altered my eating and exercise habits — the two go hand in hand — when I was 30 that I started consuming vegetables, fruits, and nuts as much as possible sans flavoring whether it was from salt, seasonings, or butter.
If you are honest with yourself, it’s the taste of the “seasoning” you’ve conditioned yourself to like and not the natural flavors.
The point was driven home one of the two years I worked as part of a Manteca Rotary shift preparing deep fried asparagus at the Stockton Asparagus Festival. We were instructed to take a perfectly good and fresh asparagus stalk, dip it in thick batter, and then plunge it into sizzling oil that I assure you wasn’t heart healthy in a deep fryer.
Everyone who picked up a plate wanted it piping hot.
The second year when I got a chance to work the counter, I asked people what they liked the most about the deep fried asparagus.
They overwhelmingly zeroed in on the deep fried batter that was more than a little salty.
The taste of the asparagus, even altered by cooking, was not the main event. It was the batter.
To each their own, but
from where my taste buds are at, natural almonds are at least 10 times more tasteful than any flavored version Blue Diamond’s marketing department can dream up.
There are people out there who work diligently to diss almonds.
The reason? It takes — surprise, surprise, surprise — water to grow them.
Advocates that want more water to go to fish than farms for decades have painted a zero on the backs of almond growers to try manipulate public opinion.
All farming requires water.
And there are plenty of studies out there that indicate in terms of food value, protein and such compared across the spectrum of what we eat from meat to veg-
gies and fruit, the amount of water to grow an almond is not excessive.
Their goal is to convince Californians that farming is, for all practical purposes, a waste of water because it takes the largest cut of water.
There’s only one problem with that.
People need to eat food to survive.
And the food California farmers grow is being eaten.
So why make almonds — of which 90 percent are grown on family farms — the big, bad wolf in the ongoing water wars?
The reason is simple.
They are a big target.
A big, big, big target.
There are more than 1.5 million acres of almonds in California.
Given you can plant between 120 to 160 trees per acre, that is a minimum of 180 million almond trees.
But guess what?
Farmers in California have, for the most part, been reducing the amount of water they need while at the same time increasing yields.
And if you think your water bill is high, water costs for growers are in the stratosphere in comparison whether they buy surface water or are at the mercy of PG&E to power water well pumps.
Farmers follow the science and financial constraints.
Too much water isn’t necessarily good for trees and it’s costly. Too little water and you run the risk of not adequately
draining naturally occurring salt that can render soil sterile and unable to grow food.
The reduction of almond water use has been borderline epic.
The amount needed dropped 33 percent from the 1990s to 2010s thanks to technology and changing farming practices.
Since 2018, usage has fallen another 15 percent with the goal to reach a 20 percent reduction by the end of this year.
But wise use of water may not be the real “green” story involving almonds.
Those 180 million trees store 30 million metric tons of carbon a year in the Golden State that some would prefer be known as the Green State.
That is the equivalent to the annual emissions of 24.5 million gas powered vehicles.
Given almond orchards have 25-year lifespans, the environmental impact on dust concerns and such is low.
And if you’re prone to squawk about the rising price of protein via eggs these days, may I offer some food for thought?
Based on Costco pricing, a three-pound bag of almonds has dropped from almost $16 or just under $13 in recent years.
This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@ mantecabulletin.com
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county fair that typically draws 600,000 a year the Big Fresno Fair.
California produced 13.7 percent of the nation’s $515 billion in agricultural crops last year with most that in the 450 mile long and the 40 to 60 mile wide Great Central Valley. And yes, we do indeed have a lot of fruits and nuts in this state. In fact, two thirds of all fruits and nuts grown in this country are from California.
California exports almonds to 90 countries. The top importer is India. The $330 million they bought in 2023 constituted the largest commodify this country exported to India. Almost 70 percent of all exported almonds are shelled.
They are the fifth biggest California export after, in descending order, computer and electronic manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, and chemical manufacturing.
Overall the direct economic benefit to the state is pegged at $9.2 billion and directly/ indirectly provides 110,000 jobs.
This might surprise you but there are more than 100 varieties of almonds grown in California. The nonpareil is the leading variety followed by Monterey, Butte, Carmel, and Padre. Almonds are not grown commercially anywhere else in the country.
That’s because nowhere else in the nation is there a state can replicate California’s hot dry Mediterranean climate with a well-developed water infrastructure system.
Here are a few more tidbits about California almonds:
More than 90 percent of all almond farms are family farms.
Many farms are second and third generation.
Farmers have reduced the amount of water needed for grow a pound of almonds over the last 20 years by 33 percent.
Growers are working on reducing that by another 20 percent by 2025 using microirrigation techniques.
Dormant almond orchards are being explored as a viable way to disperse excess storm water in wet years to replenish underground aquifers. Initial analysis shows 675,000 acres of almonds have soil conducive for that purpose.
No part of the almond goes to waste. The shells are used for livestock bedding and as dairy feed. They also can be used to generate electricity as can the trees at the end of their lives.
Although the California Almond Board won’t shout about it due to the environmental lobby, but as a hard wood almond logs are considered more effective for those that still have wood burning fireplaces.
There are 7,600 almond farms in California.
Research shows California almonds have
a lower-carbon footprint than a number of otherness nutrient-dense foods.
The pollination of almond orchards is the biggest of its kind drawing honey bee hives from across the nation in what is also the first crop pollination of the year.
Blue Diamond indicates, depending upon the variety and conditions, it can take an almond tree five to 12 years to start producing almonds.
Most almond trees produce almonds for 25 years.
The nuts, depending upon the variety, can take 180 to 240 days to mature.
An average commercial almond tree yields between 50 and 65 pounds. To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@ mantecabulletin.com
DENNIS WYATT Editor
