The Hop Fields of the Kent Valley
A report on the hop harvest around Kent and Auburn, highlighting the labor conditions and the influx of pickers.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Hop picking is in progress in the Kent and Auburn area. Growers are exercising the utmost vigilance in seeing that their hops are picked free of leaves and stems, so much so that pickers complain and declare that the most rapid ones cannot pick much over a box in a day. Growers now realize that in the past they have been entirely too lenient regarding this matter for their own financial good. Mr. Patterson is busy harvesting hops with an extra large yield. He has about 40 acres in play. There are three general merchandise stores, a meat market, barber shop, and photograph gallery temporarily located near the hop yard, and from the general appearance of the surroundings one would imagine he was in a booming little town.
“From the general appearance of the surroundings one would imagine he was in a booming little town.”
This piece highlights the historical significance of the Kent and Auburn valleys as the agricultural engine for the region. The description of 'booming' temporary towns centered around harvests captures the rapid growth and industrial-scale agriculture that paved the way for modern suburban development in South King County.
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