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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-07-16, Page 63rr , { WAY BACK WM. 4 Pickers on the Durst farm Orchards oncethrived here A cash crop that has almost totally disap- peared from the township is the apple crop. Thisdisappearance is due probably to several causes: pests, fungus, frosts and labor shortage have all contributed as well as the depletion from the soil of the elements necessary. The annual crop brought in considerable revenue, notv:lonly to the farmers but to y manufacturers and laborers. The growing of the small trees was a business in itself and the Stewart Nursery at Benmiller fur- nished trees for many of the later orchards, though the first trees were imported. The manufacture of the barrels was a con- siderable industry in the cutting and join- ting of the staves and heads from stave bolts of the softer elms. Then numerous coopers were employed in the shipping season, as the average day's make ran about fifty. Teamsters were also, employed delivering these barrels to the orchards by team. Pickers were then employed in picking the fruit, these being mostly the farmer's families. Picked fi;uit was sold to buyers at a price ranging from fifty .cents to $1.25 a bar- rel of packed fruit, though later that price was paid for the fruit on°the trees. Packers then in gangs of two to five followed, pack- ing at least ten barrels per person a day, for which they received around twenty cents a barrel. Little attention was paid to the careful handling of the fruit, which con- tributed to the low price received in the British and Western markets. The annual output cannot now be estimated, -but it was considerable in this township. The culls and inferior varieties were dried in kitchens and in evaporating plants, one of which was in Sanford, others in adjoining towns and villages, employing many hands, both men and women. The finished product was mostly shipped to the West and Europe. The peelings found a market in Belgium. Large quantities of culls were made into cider, which was turned into vinegar. Apple butter also was made by all farmers" wives; this has become a lost art but in the early days made a welcome addition to the farmer's menu. The natural black cherry, which was grown in large quantities, 'especially on the Maitland and First Concessions, has totally disappeared. The trees were first brought from around Stratford and Elmira and be- ing seedlings were of no standard variety, some were sweet and small, others sour and of a fair size. The fruit was sold on the trees or in eleven -quart baskets, the average price around seventy-five cents, and was canned for winter use: Paye 39 1-':4: y 150th. COlberne. Tcwr hipi REAL. IESTATE IN 3 North Street, Goderich 524®2667 Les Willems Gordon Hill Bruce Ryan Noma Farrlsfi 524®8451 4823307 5247762 5297152 Murray Rourke 524-2569 COLBORNE TOWNSHIP 1-5-0 Still serving you with that same nostalgic courtesy. -*Happy Birthday Colborne* 59 Hamilton St., Goderich Ph: 524-8307 Thomas Cook TRAVEL What's the one thing nilcr than spending a. - hot and lazy summer afternoon stretched out under a cool shade tree on a rich green, weed free backyard carpet of lush grass. Cool Drink and good book in hand? Enjoying a fun filled 150th Celebration blessed with good friends, good weather, good cheer! 1 and no weeds.