The Apple-Packing Championship
A town competition turns into a high-stakes display of skill and speed.
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.
The apple packing contest staged in Liberty Hall last Saturday night drew a crowd that filled the hall. Three packers contested: Miss Faith Firman from the Perham Fruit Company, Mrs. Minnie Schicka from the White Bluffs Warehouse, and Miss Erna Krug from the Wenatchee house. L.W. Beldin announced that while time was an element, quality of the pack would be the controlling feature. One hundred and twenty-five was chosen as the average sized apple; packers began at the same instant and finished remarkably close together. Miss Krug was first, Mrs. Schicka second, and Miss Firman third, just a second or two apart. W.S. Smith, deputy horticultural inspector, judged the boxes. Mrs. Schicka was awarded a score of 241 out of 250, losing only 9 points on wrapping and making a perfect score on position, winning the $5 prize.
“Mrs. Schicka was awarded a score of 241, losing 9 points on wrapping and making a perfect score on position.”
This event highlights the era's reliance on manual agricultural labor, specifically the skilled art of fruit packing that built the economy of the Columbia Basin. Today, the physical act of packing is largely mechanized, but the competitive pride of the 'apple capitol' still echoes in regional festivals.
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