The Hungry Season in Richland
As berry pickers flood the valley, residents struggle to balance their charity with the reality of petty theft.
With the influx of transients due to the opening of the berry season, Richland, like all other towns in the valley, has become the victim of a series of small depredations on the part of these wanderers. The principal articles stolen so far have been in the line of eatables, one farmer reporting the loss of a side of bacon and a sack of potatoes. Many of these travelers have absolutely no money and as a result every home in the district has had to feed several of them every week. However, it is a hard matter when living in a land of plenty to turn away a hungry man.
“It is a hard matter when living in a land of plenty to turn away a hungry man.”
This 1915 account highlights the long history of seasonal agricultural labor in the Columbia Basin and the community tensions that arise when transient workforces lack basic resources. It mirrors current regional debates regarding farmworker housing and the persistent struggle to support those who follow the crops.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.