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Family Rich in History |
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In
1901, the first generation of Allan Brothers (Sam, Thomas
and William) left the cold North Dakota winters for the milder
climate of the Naches Valley. For the next 20 years, the family
raised corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, and hay to feed the dairy
cows. In the 1920’s, the second generation (Walt, Alex, Bob
and John) planted orchards as none of this generation appreciated
being on the milking end of the cows.
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Their
first venture in fruit was four cherry orchards of Royal Anne’s,
Black Republicans and Bings. The cherries were sold for 6
cents a pound to the Libby Cannery and this was quite good
money considering a bucket of cherries cost 2 cents to pick.
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Stamin
Winesaps were planted in the first apple orchards. While the
orchards were coming into production, corn and potatoes were
planted in between the 30-foot tree rows as a cash crop. With
time, the Allan Brothers replaced the hay, potatoes, corn,
grain and pasture with fruit trees.
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In
the early 1950’s the first packing room and cold storage was
built. Since then, additional controlled atmosphere (CA) storage,
and computerized cherry and apple lines have been added to
the packing facility.
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Over
the years the Allan Brothers have replaced their orchards
five times. The old trees have been replaced with new varieties.
The trees are smaller and closer together. The boxes are larger
and the equipment is faster. The apples are no longer stored
in the root cellars but in CA storage. Cardboard boxes have
replaced the wooded boxes. All would agree the best part is
that not a cow remains on the farm.
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The
old family house is part of the family. The pride in our family
remains strong. The third generation (George, David, Todd
and Larry) will preserve the family name, and the Allan family
will always be an important part of the Naches Valley and
the fruit industry.
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