Kennewick Claims Horticultural Superiority
Local boosters defend Kennewick's early fruit season against claims of supremacy from the wetter coastal regions.
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.
Some time in the latter part of April the Sound papers were making big talks about the early fruit that the growers of that section would put on the market, and how they would be ahead of Kennewick. They even reported some hothouse berries on the 28th of April, the day our outdoor grown berries were first brought in, claiming that they were samples of what was being done by the early season. Today it is a different story. G. E. Hanson received a letter today from a friend over there from whom he had been expecting some flowers. The letter stated that the flowers were not ready yet on account of the cold weather. It stated also that the potatoes had been killed and ferns frozen so hard by recent frosts they were all black. Kennewick is still boss on the early question. We have had roses and other flowers in bloom in our gardens for the last three weeks.
“Kennewick is still boss on the early question.”
This early 20th-century 'region vs. region' boosterism highlights the historical importance of the Tri-Cities as an agricultural powerhouse. The pride taken in local climate advantages remains a staple of the region's identity.
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