Fruit History – A Bountiful Heritage

August 11, 2015August 11, 2015 jodibuchan A Bountiful History, Festivals, Food History, Fruit History, Heritage Tourism, Uncategorized, Western Slope

Palisade’s Peach Past (Part I)

The history of Palisade peaches began with pioneers, explorers, and town builders who breached the backbone of the continent—the Rocky Mountains—in the Territory of Colorado. The question is how did they know in the 1890s that peaches would be a juicy contributor to Colorado’s $40 billion plus and growing agriculture industry of today?

They had vision, motivation, and a market.

MARKET

Mining interest cut into the mineral-rich mountains of Western Colorado, extracting gold, silver, and coal. They laid out communities close to their mother lodes and far from their markets. Enter next the railroad companies like the Denver & Rio Grande (D&RG) and the Colorado Midland Railway (later Railroad) who set tracks within the precarious passes to export the precious commodities. The BLM’s Cultural Series No. 10 by O’Rourke, Frontier in Transition, explains:

“The construction of railroad lines in southwestern Colorado during the 1880’s and 1890’s was determined by the desire to connect gold and silver mining camps with the rest of the state, but was also motivated by the necessity of securing locomotive fuel from the many rich coal fields in the area.”

VISION

photo courtesy Grand Valley Water Users' Assoc. — photo courtesy Grand Valley Water Users’ Assoc.

“It is uninviting and desolate looking in the extreme.” That is what the Denver Tribune wrote in 1880 of the Western Slope, as cited in Ingersoll’s legendary 1885 book Crest of the Continent.

Yet, elephant-skin colored cliffs and dusty, brush-covered terrain is not what Colorado agriculture and irrigation expert William E. Pabor saw. He writes in his twelve-year agriculture study Fruit Culture in Colorado, published in 1883, “We see, through the mists of the present, the fruit-lands of the future.” His extensive interviewing of fruit growers, coupled with his knowledge of irrigation opened his eyes to the possibility of a fruitful future in Western Colorado’s semi-arid landscape.

MOTIVATION

The world was moving west at a pace as fast as the railroad could lay tracks. Once the U.S. government relocated the Western Slope Ute Indians (again), the west was open for business. Town founders like George Crawford (Grand Junction) and Pabor (Fruita) set up orchards and communities. They, among others, recognized that the isolated Western Colorado was ripe for development. They untied their motivation with their vision to tap into the nearby market.

“The miners pay cash. The harvest gathered from the soil, under the genial influence of the sun and water, is as golden as that taken from the hills, whose supposed wealth attracts so many prospectors…. The mines furnish a very profitable market, and towns are springing up in every direction,” Pabor wrote, adding that food imported from California, Utah, Kansas, and Nebraska “ought to be raised at home.”

As so it was. In the 1880s, and as the end of the century neared, Harlow, Bowman (owner of the peach-picking sack patent), Blain, and Steele planted the roots of an iconic legacy.

This legacy is celebrated each year in August at the Palisade Peach Festival in Riverbend Park. The Palisade Chamber of Commerce, the Palisade Historical Society (run by chairperson Priscilla “Bowman” Walker), and author of Western Colorado Fruit & Wine: A Bountiful History will honor that history at the 2015 festival August 14 & 15^th with a special “Palisade’s Peach Past” booth—a journey through the people, places, and tastes that have made Palisade a juicy destination.

July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 jodibuchan A Bountiful History, Food and Wine, Food History, From the Author, Fruit History, Heritage Tourism, Palisade Fruit & Wine Byway, West Elk Scenic and Historic Byway, Western Slope, Wine

What Are Book Signings Like?

My first signing for “Western Colorado Fruit & Wine: A Bountiful Heritage” is less than a week away. The calendar is filling in with more. People say to me, “How exciting.” Well, sort of. I love to write. I love to learn things. I love to Eat, Drink, Cook—my version of Elizabeth Gilbert’s journey that does not require vaccinations or a passport.

Here is what Mary Janice Davidson says about book signings: “A book signing can be (is!) terrifying. It’s like throwing a party and being certain no one will come … pens clenched in sweaty hands, smiling brightly (baring [my] teeth, anyway) at every would-be buyer who strolled past … and not look like a depressed vulture waiting for something to die at my feet.”

Photo courtesy Z's Orchard. — Photo courtesy Z’s Orchard.

Davidson and Eric Gelb, author of “Book Promotion Made Easy” (whose book signing audiences have numbered zero to 200), both say the same thing, though. Have fun with it. Enjoy the ride.

For me, even more than signing jitters, is the idea that my book is a vehicle—with a word count—for the stories of other people and places. I kept that notion with me in the hours, days, and months of research, fact-checking, writing, and revisions while the peach trees and vines lay dormant under the snow. I was reminded that I was a voice for old and new pioneers, for fruit and wine, for profit and nonprofits deeply rooted in the North Fork and Grand Valley’s fruit story when I listened back to the recorded interviews.

Now, with the fruit ripening in the valleys and the wine pouring in the Grand Valley and West Elks AVAs, it is nearly time to talk to the people for whom I wrote the book—the people who every time they taste a peach, or tour an orchard, or sip a Cabernet they become part of the story. It is time to embrace the words of the kitchen magnet: Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone. Yikes.

June 23, 2015June 23, 2015 jodibuchan Fruit History, Water History, Western Slope

Rollin’ On the (Colorado) River

Palisade Historical Society celebration logo

The Grand River Diversion Dam—the irrigation icon of the Grand Valley on the Colorado River—turns 100 years old this June. To celebrate, the Palisade Historical Society is throwing one big, okay, dam big birthday party.

FAQ:

Took roughly (figurative and literal) 20 years from start to finish.
Provides H2O for five irrigation canals
Innovative “roller” design at the time (1897)
Affectionately called “Roller Dam” by locals.

The Palisade Historical Society (a.k.a. Priscilla Bowman Walker) is the historical source and tells the dam story best at the event. Activities include How the West Was Watered video by Larry Seibert (InFilms & Design, Inc.) and his photographer and editor, Scot Stewart. There will be speakers, an information booth (look for me and say hello!), historical photos, and more to add to the hydro-historic narrative. To wet your palette check out Melody Gonzalez’s news report, “Grand Valley Diversion Dam Celebrates 100 Years” on Westernslopenow.com with Fox 4 News television shout-out.

Details…

When: Saturday, June 27, 2015
Where: Veteran’s Memorial Community Center (8^th & Main)
More when: 9-5 “
What else: “Dam Art Show,” Slice ‘O’ Life Bakery “Dam” birthday cake by Dorothy Carver Hines; Bookcliff Harmony Barbershop Chorus

Visit the Palisade Historical Society’s Dam birthday party site for additional programing details and activities.

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 jodibuchan A Bountiful Heritage, Events, Fruit History, Western Slope

Fall Day on the Farm at Cross Orchards

Cross Orchards Historic Site is a historic fruit ranch brought back from the dead.

From 1896-1923, the Massachusetts-based Red Cross Land and Fruit Company ran one of the largest and most productive fruit ranches in Colorado. With 243 acres and over 22,000 trees—mostly apple—the site was alive with growing and harvesting. Then came the codling moth and other challenges for the offsite owners.

The ranch died a slow death.

In the 1980s, the ranch rose from the grave, up out of the “weeds as big as trees,” and twenty-four acres of the original ranch site were saved from being buried under demolition and sub-divisions. The community united around the project, with the Territorial Daughters leading the way.

Territorial Daughters are still preserving history…and apple butter.

Cross Orchards

Territorial Daughter of Colorado volunteers can be seen in era-appropriate costume making treats on the wood cooking stove for Fall Day on the Farm this October 18, 2015. Other historical demonstrations include blacksmithing, quilting, weaving, and pressing cider.

Cross Orchards Director of Operations says Fall Day on the Farm is “a celebration of the harvest.”

Cross Orchards Historic Site is an opportunity for our 21st Century culture to travel back in time. It is a generational experience: children, parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents come together for the day. Walking into history—whether it’s the packing shed, the bunkhouse, or the summerhouse—is an opportunity for older generations to take youngsters by the hand and share their own walks down memory lane.

At Fall Day on the Farm history is very much alive!

Fall Day on the Farm:
Hours: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Cost: Free to members, family groups – $15, Kids – $3.50, Seniors – $4, Adults – $5.
Click here for map.