Kennewick’s Strawberry Gold Rush
Local growers prepare for a high-stakes market as early berries hit the streets, out-pacing competitors and promising windfall profits.
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.
Several ripe strawberries have been on exhibition in town today, picked from various patches in the neighborhood of town, and the indications are good for lots of ripe ones between the first and fifth of May. In fact, there is no longer any doubt as to the ability of our growers to go onto our market with good berries about that time. Tom McCain says he will have the first shortcake of the season on Sunday next. Advices received from other berry-raising districts say they will not be ready for the market before the tenth. This will insure our growers the very highest price for their product; those who are in a position to know are talking $8 a crate for all berries that reach the market ahead of other northern-grown berries.
“Buy one now and clear up a hat full of money or forever after hold your peace.”
Kennewick’s economy was built on the promise of the 'early harvest' advantage in the Columbia Basin, a legacy that survives in today's local agricultural tourism and fruit industry. While $8 a crate doesn't sound like much today, the competitive drive to be 'first to market' remains the defining obsession of the region's agricultural cycle.
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