The Highlands Fruit Heist
A Kennewick orchardist loses his entire crop to nighttime thieves, while a neighbor's attempt to stand guard ends in a bizarre vanishing act.
There are more ways than one of disposing of a fruit crop. A. H. Lehnard, of the Highlands, has disposed of his pear crop with no misunderstandings as to price nor any quarrel with commission men. And yet he is not satisfied with the returns. Somebody stole the crop. Last Thursday night unbidden callers entered Mr. Lehnard's orchard and harvested the pear crop. Some of the fruit was carried away but two sacks were left in a fence corner. Thinking that the thieves would probably return for the rest of their plunder, A. St. Laurent, a neighbor, stood guard over the sacks until after twelve o’clock Friday night. Nobody showed up, but the next morning the sacks were gone. The same night a 50-pound bundle of fruit paper was taken from the packing shed of R. E. Roberts. The supposition is that Lehnard’s pears are to be wrapped in Roberts’ paper and marketed. Other residents of the same neighborhood report various losses from their chicken houses. The farmers have their suspicions as to the identity of the guilty persons but as yet no arrests have been made.
“There are more ways than one of disposing of a fruit crop. Somebody stole the crop.”
Orchard theft remains a persistent struggle for Tri-Cities agricultural producers, where high-value crops like cherries and pears are still targets for opportunistic thieves. This century-old account highlights the vulnerability of the Highlands area, where farmers today still rely on neighborhood vigilance to protect their livelihood.
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