Soldier Settlers Join Forces with Valley Pioneers
New arrivals from the Great War and longtime residents unite to turn White Bluffs into a commercial vegetable hub.
The joint meeting of the Community Club and the Land Settlers Association at the high school auditorium Tuesday evening was one of the best attended public meetings held in White Bluffs for some time. J. C. Scott, project manager, explained the purpose of the meeting: the soldier settlers wanted the older settlers to cooperate with them in the production of vegetables on a commercial scale. They argued that current state tract settlers were preparing ground in a systematic way but lacked the sufficient acreage to produce the carlot shipments necessary for profit. Roy C. Robinson, who has experience in commercial vegetable growing, impressed the crowd by arguing that White Bluffs should not only advertise the valley but establish a reputation for producing high-class vegetables earlier than other districts. Several 'old-timers'—including H. F. Thumm, R. W. Judd, W. H. Ferguson, S. V. Fanning, and Edmund Anderson—discussed their past struggles with limited, local-only markets. The soldier settlers' plan to divide variety acreage and ship in carlots resonated with the crowd, and a sufficient number of older settlers signed up to ensure the plan will be tried this year.
“One of the high spots in Mr. Robinson’s talk was the statement that while he was in hearty accord with the efforts being made to advertise the valley to the world, he believed it was just as important to establish a reputation in the marketing centers in the northwest.”
Post-war resettlement efforts were central to the development of the Columbia Basin, with many veterans being granted land under state and federal schemes. The cooperative spirit here highlights the precarious nature of agriculture in the region before large-scale irrigation and centralized marketing became the norm.
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