The Seven-Day Grind on Strawberry Island
A visit to a local farm reveals the relentless pace of early 20th-century agriculture and the unique independence of island life.
Yesterday we took a trip to Strawberry Island to visit our old friends, Messrs. Livesly and White. We found them busy harvesting berries. When we called their attention to the fact that it was Sunday, they informed us that nature had not taken a day off and they had to keep hustling to keep up with her. Besides, they said, they were in the middle of the river and were not amenable to the laws governing other parts of the country. They have five acres of fine strawberries and a large crop. They have also made improvements in their water plant that gives them a largely increased flow of water. Besides their fruit crops, they have a large acreage of alfalfa and one of the finest bunches of hogs we have seen in many years.
“As far as they could notice nature had not taken a lay off and they had to keep hustling to keep up with her.”
Strawberry Island, once a productive farming hub near Pasco and Kennewick, is now largely managed as a wildlife area. This account captures a moment when the island felt like a sovereign, high-stakes agricultural enclave separated from the mainland's social expectations.
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