The Cherry Diplomacy of Kennewick
Local councilman J. W. Behrman proves that a box of fresh Bing cherries is a more effective booster for the region than any promotional pamphlet.
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.
“I remember that before I came west, from time to time I received highly colored and artistically printed literature telling of the wonders of the Northwest,” said Councilman J. W. Behrman. “I confess that the literature did arouse my interest but it didn’t have the pull to break me loose from my old surroundings. I know that had I received a box of Kennewick’s big Bing cherries, I would have been out here long before I was. I want to tell you our fruit is our one advertisement. We can send booklets until our tongues are sore from licking stamps, but one box of finely flavored fruit will do more good than a whole bushel of highly colored books. This year I tried the experiment of sending fruit instead of books.” Behrman shared a letter from a jeweler in Independence, Kansas, who wrote: “We received a box of cherries by express from you and we were surprised and delighted. Mrs. Johnson says that she never received a present in her life that pleased her better. We have eaten cherries off the trees in Oregon but we never saw nor tasted better ones than these you sent.”
“We can send booklets until our tongues are sore from licking stamps, but one box of finely flavored fruit will do more good than a whole bushel of highly colored books.”
This 1914 story highlights the early days of agricultural marketing that built Kennewick's reputation. Today, that legacy continues as the Tri-Cities area maintains its position as a powerhouse for regional produce, balancing economic boosterism with the realities of water and land management.
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