HomeMy Public PortalAboutMesa, Idaho: Mesa Orchardsi
THE WEISER SIGNAL Thursday, Feb. 25, 1965
History of Mesa Orchards
First instalimetit in the from the Orchard to a' railroad
F "
provided good air drainage and, built in 1920, and was used un-
until the 1940's, there was sel- til about 1940.
dom a killing frost. Flume Rebuilt
• Reservoir Built In 1938, the main flume from
Since water on the Middle the diversion dam to the Or-
. Fork of the Weiser river, from chards, now 28 years old, had
which the Orchards derived its to be rebuilt. This was done at
supply, was already filed on by the cost of $63,000 and was
ranchers al g the. lower end
of the main river, a reservoir financed as follows: a grant
was built on Lost River, six $23,000 was obtained from the
miles west of Tamarack, and Public Works administration;
the water thus stored was used 1000 acre feet of surplus water
to replace that taken out on was sold to ranchers of Middle
the Middle. Fork. Valley at Midvale, for $6 per
A six -mile, wooden flume and acre foot; $15,000 worth of Me-
sa Irrigation District bonds
two syphons were built to carry were sold to loyal men in Ad-
the/water by gravity flow, from
history of Mesa Orchards.
siding about three miles south
was furnished by Western Ida -
Another will follow .in an
of Council. This was slow and
•
early issue.
tedious work.
owner. These figures are cor-
and then by open flume. Bacon
When the Van Hoesens took
creek has its origin in the Or-
By CLYDE RUSK
over, they built a wooden and
treasurer - manager of both the
Some of the dates and ' f igures
cable tramway between three
river.
in this brief history- may be ap-
and four miles long, in a per-
He was also a director of the
proximate, so criticisms along
fectly straight line, from the
'
those lines are not invited, for
Mesa packing house to this rail-
construction contract, sold the
this history is written from
road siding. The writer of this
'.hP slower growing apple .trees,
memory only.
history was the surveyor and
struction which! was done by an
The Mesa Orchards was the
engineer of this project.
The flume, .syphons and the
brainchild of three men, George
The tramway could deliver
years old and is still in opera -
Weise, William Allison and
a carrier, laden with eight box-
.planted. Considerable replant-
Captain Carter, who formed
es of apples, every two or three
water but,-if the Orchard is to
the Weiser Valley Land and
minutes, day or night, in all
the first year, due to lack of
-Water company, in about the
kinds of weather, right to the
.
year 1908 or 1909, and began
to buy up land which later be-
• refrigerator car door. The tram-
20
planted to trees, was left for
came the Mesa Orchards.
way was abandoned about
years, later, because of deterior-
"Mesa," Spanish for high ta-
ation and because an oiled high-
bleland, seemed appropriate as
way had been built and large
y
Cross
a' name for this elevated area.
trucks could haul the apples
Sloping away on three sides, it
cheaper. The tramway was
F "
provided good air drainage and, built in 1920, and was used un-
until the 1940's, there was sel- til about 1940.
dom a killing frost. Flume Rebuilt
• Reservoir Built In 1938, the main flume from
Since water on the Middle the diversion dam to the Or-
. Fork of the Weiser river, from chards, now 28 years old, had
which the Orchards derived its to be rebuilt. This was done at
supply, was already filed on by the cost of $63,000 and was
ranchers al g the. lower end
of the main river, a reservoir financed as follows: a grant
was built on Lost River, six $23,000 was obtained from the
miles west of Tamarack, and Public Works administration;
the water thus stored was used 1000 acre feet of surplus water
to replace that taken out on was sold to ranchers of Middle
the Middle. Fork. Valley at Midvale, for $6 per
A six -mile, wooden flume and acre foot; $15,000 worth of Me-
sa Irrigation District bonds
two syphons were built to carry were sold to loyal men in Ad-
the/water by gravity flow, from
ams county; and the remainder
a. diversion dam to the high
was furnished by Western Ida -
oint on the orchard. From
ho Production Credit associa-
there =t was distributed to high
tion which had then become the
points by underground pipes,
owner. These figures are cor-
and then by open flume. Bacon
rect, for the writer of this his -
creek has its origin in the Or-
tory was at that time secretary -
cliards and flows about, six
treasurer - manager of both the
miles down to the main - Weiser
Lost Valley Reservoir company
river.
and the Mesa Irrigation district.
About 1690 acres of the land,
He was also a director of the
purchased by the company, was
Production Credit association;
planted with apple, peach and
he arranged the details of the
pear trees, the peach trees be-
construction contract, sold the
ing planted as fillers between
surplus water and the bonds,
'.hP slower growing apple .trees,
. and supervised the actual con-
. , be removed later.
struction which! was done by an
Trees Replanted
1
1 electrical firm from California.
The flume, .syphons and the
• The rebuilt flume is now 26
a 'Lost Valley reservoir were built.
years old and is still in opera -
in 1910, and 113,000 trees were
tion• The two original syphons,
.planted. Considerable replant-
built in 1910, are still carrying
ing had to be done in 1911, be-
water but,-if the Orchard is to
cause many trees didn't grow
continue receiving water by
the first year, due to lack of
this same system, the flume,
water.
syphons and piping will, no
About half of the land, not
doubt, need to be replaced some
planted to trees, was left for
time in the near future.
farming, mostly hay, and the
remainder, about 1600 acres,
was left with the original sage-
Red
y
Cross
brush which, to my knowledge,
is still in the same state.
The Orchard was laid out in
Meetina Held
10 -acre, rectangular shaped lots
v
and sold on the following basis:
At the annual R e d Cross
each purchaser of ten acres re-
meeting at the home of Mrs.
ceived a certificate showing
Fred Noll, Roger
him to be the owner of ten
*COUNCIL Swanstrom, out -
shares of capital stock of the
going chairman,
Orchards Water company, each
presided. Mrs. Leo Mink was
share entitling him to receiSe,
elected to succeed Swanstrom
between April 1 and Nov. 1 4f
as chairman. Other board mem-
each year, two acrq feet of
bers elected were' Jack Muller,
water for irrigattorn' and domes-
Council, Mrs. Don Yokum, New,
tic use. He agreed to pay $5,000
Meadows. Mrs. Viola Fields,
($500 per acre) for his 10 -acre
New Meadows, will be the vice -
tract, and the Weiser Valley
chairman, and secretary is Mrs.
Land and Water company
Fred Noll.
agreed to take complete• care
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Walker
RpRp
rp
DAY, uQ
3
848
LOG CABIN in a glass jugs was built by Clarence Brechbi,-L
711 East Main, Weiser. It took him about a week and a half,
working short periods of time, to build the. cabin, which is
complete with a glass window, in the bottle. Brechbiel said
that cutting and notching the logs to fit took longer than the
actual assembling of the cabin in the jug.
— Signal- American Photo
Sorority Holds {
Social Event
The Beta Sigma Phi sorority
held a Sweetheart's social for
b o t h chap -
9 HUNTING.TON ters at the
Elks lodge in
Ontario Saturd y evening with
13 members a d husliands at-
tending. All enjoyed dinner and
dancing.
Mr, and Mrs. Ted Brunabend,
Payette, and Mr. and Mrs. Cal-
vin Brunabend, Oregon Slope,
were Sunday dinner guests at
the John Adams home.
Dan Smith, LaGrande, for-
mer resident, underwent an
emergency appendectomy at the
LaGrande hospital Monday. He
is feeling improved but will be
confined to the hospital for se-
veral days. His mother, Mrs.
Harold Smith, left by train on
Monday night to be with him,
and Mrs. Smith left Tuesday.
Le +•Strick::and., N,yssa, w4s. a
Tuesday to Thursday guest at.
the Dick Pellissier home.
Mrs. Gayle Spinning, Ontario
was a Sunday guest of Mr, and
Mrs. Albin ,Johnston.
Mrs. Jean Ann Miller and I
Groundbreaking
At TV College
To Be in April
Dr. Eugenie F. Voris, the pre-
sident of Treasure Valley Com-
munity college, Ontario, ite-
ported that "impressive ground-
breaking ceremonies are being
planned for early in April" to
herald the start of construction
on TVCC's new campus build-
ings.
He also stated that present
"plans are for classes to be
held on campus' this fall."
"Planned f or construction
this summer," Dr. Voris said a
two -story admistration - class-
room building and a vocational -
technical building. Plans for a
one -story extension to the ad-
ministration- classroom are also
ready for approval. This com-
pleted structure will have thir-
teen classrooms besides the ad-
ministrative facilities."
15 Turn Out
For Club Meet
Fifteen members attended the
whichVthe Orchards derived its chards, now 28 years old, had
supply, was already filed on b'y to be rebuilt. This was done at
the cost of $63,000 and was
ranchers along the, lower end
• of the main river, a reservoir financed as follows: a grant
was built on Lost River, six $23,000 was obtained from the
miles west of Tamarack, and Public Works administration;
the water thus stored was used 1000 acre feet of surplus water
to replace that taken out on was sold to ranchers of Middle
the Middle. Fork. Valley at Midvale, for $6 per
A six-mile, wooden flume and acre foot; $15,000 worth of Me-
sa Irrigation District . bonds
two syphons were built to carry were sold to loyal men in Ad-
.the/water by gravity flow, from ams county; and the remainder
a,.- ,diversion dam to the high was furnished by Western Ida-
.4 , point on the orchard. From ho Production Credit associa-
there 't was distributed to high tion which had then become the
points by underground pipes, owner. These figures are cor-
and then by open flume. Bacon rect, for the writer of this his -
creek has its origin in the Or- tory was at that time secretary -
elaards and flows about; six treasurer- manager of both the
miles down to the main - Weiser Lost Valley Reservoir company
river. and the Mesa Irrigation district.
About 1600 acres of the land, He was also a director of the
purchased by the company, was Production Credit association;
planted with apple, peach and he arranged the details of the
pear trees, the peach trees be- construction contract, sold the
ing planted as fillers between surplus water and the bonds,
Chi- slower growing apple .trees, : and supervised the actual con-
., be removed later. I struction which was done by an
Trees Replanted electrical firm from California.
The flume, .syphons and the The rebuilt flume is now 26
Lost Valley reservoir were built, years old and is still in opera -
in 1910, and 113,000 trees were tion. The two original syphons,
.planted. Considerable replant- built in 1910, are still carrying
ing had to be done in 1911, be- water but; if the Orchard is to
cause many trees didn't grow continue receiving water by
the first year, due to lack of this same system, the flume,
water. I syphons' and piping will, no
About half of the land, not doubt, need to be replaced some
planted to trees, was left for time in the near future.
farming, mostly hay, and the
remainder, about 1600 acres,
was left with the original sage- ed CroQs
brush which, to my knowledge, ��++ ++++��
is still in the same state.
The Orchard was laid out .in Meeting Held
10 -acre, rectangular shaped lots .
and sold on the following basis: At the annual R e d Cross
each purchaser of ten acres re- meeting at the home of Mrs.
ceived a certificate showing Fred Noll, Roger
him to be the owner of ten *COUNCIL Swanstrom, out -
shares of capital stock of the going chairman,
Orchards Water company, each presided. Mrs. Leo Mink was
share entitling him to receive, elected to succeed Swanstrom
between April 1 and Nov. 1 Af as chairman. Other board mem-
each year, two acrq feet of bers elected were' Jack Muller,
water for irrigation and domes- Council, Mrs. Don Yokum, New
tic use. He agreed to pay $5,000 Meadows. Mrs. Viola Fields,
($500 per acre) for his 10 -acre New Meadows, will be the vice -
tract, and the Weiser Valley chairman, and secretary is Mrs.
Land and W a t e r company Fred Noll.
agreed to take complete care Mr. and Mrs. Roy Walker
of it for the next ten years, of Cascade visited Sunday at
which is about the length of the home of her brother, Mr.
time it takes an apple tree to and Mrs. Lorne Rice. Mrs. Wal-
bear fruit in any quantity, a ker is the former Minnie Rice.
contract the company kept up Dennis Rice is in the Council
to the last year. I Community hospital recovering
When trees were planted they from emergency appendectomy.
were placed in. the form of a I Frank Schwartz, Sr., Fruit -
square, 32.16 feet each way, 801 vale, who has been in the Coun-
trees to the acre, 800 trees to cil hospital with a heart ail -
the ten -acre tract. ment, is expected to return
Gray Was Manager home in a few days.
From the time of the original Guests at the Henry Kame-
planting, until 1919, J. P. Gray dula home in Fruitvale for the
was the general manager. That weelfend were Mr. and Mrs. Al-
year the Van ifbesen family bert Pinkal of Weiser.
came out from Courtland, N. Y., Mrs. John A. Edwards is in
and D. W. Van Hoesen took Boise this week with her hus-
over, with Charles Seymour as band, Rep. Edwards. Mrs. Cook
partner . Mr. Seymour was will s t a y with the Edwards
burned to death a year, or so children.
later, when a disasterous fire Mr, and Mrs. Robert Wood
destroyed the packinghouse. went to Meridian Saturday
Horace Woodmansee then be- where they attended the wed -
came a partner. Sometime, ding of her niece, Miss Judy
more than 'a year • after Mr. Van Paepeghen, to Ronald Mc-
Woodmansee became a partner, Dowell at St. Frances Catholic
Mr. Van Hoesen died in Boise church. Mrs. Wood served the
while serving Adams county as wedding cake. Mrs. Susie Van
senator in the state legislature. Paepeghen, mother of Mrs.
When the Orchards first be- Wood, returned to Council with
gan shippipg apples they had to them for a visit.
be hauled, mostly by bobsled Mr. and Mrs. George Ander-
and horses, about five miles, son and Charles Winkler ac-
companied Mrs. Mary Anderson
�6 a . r to St. Lukes hospital for a.
STEELHEAD checkup.
Mr. and Mrs. Nolan Woods
FISHING
and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Clay,
Weiser drove to Pittsburg Land-
ing on Snake river Sunday to
�na visit their son and brother, No-
LOG CABIN in a glass jug was built by Clarence Brechbial,
711 East Main, Weiser. It took him, about a week and a half,
working short periods of time, to build the, cabin, which is
complete with a glass window, in the bottle. Brechbiel said
that cutting and notching the logs to fit took longer than the
actual assembling of the cabin in the jug.
— Signal- American Photo
/`S�-ororitry Holds
a �1 �F 1}
�00]. ui i.Ve i': iitp.
The Beta Sigma Phi sorority
held a Sweetheart's social for
b o t h chap -
• HUNTING.TON ters at t he
Elks lodge in
Ontario Saturday evening with
13 members and husbands at-
tending. All enjoyed dinner and
dancing.
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Brunabend,
Payette, and Mr. and Mrs. Cal-
vin Brunabend, Oregon Slope,
were Sunday dinner guests at
the John Adams home.
Dan Smith, LaGrande, for-
mer resident, underwent an
emergency appendectomy at the
LaGrande hospital Monday. He
is feeling improved but will be
confined to the hospital for se-
veral days. His mother, Mrs.
Harold Smith, left by train on
Monday night. to be with him,
and Mrs. Smith left Tuesday.
Lee' $trigkland, Nyssa, wji a
Tuesday to Thursday guest at
the Dick Pellissier home.
Mrs. Gayle Spinning, Ontario
was a Sunday guest of Mr. and
Mrs. Albin ,Johnston.
Mrs. Jean Ann Miller and
Mrs. AnnaVee Carlson a n d
Debbie conducted business in
Poise Thursday. While there,
they visited Mrs. Carlson's
daughter and son-in-law, Mr.
and Mrs. Wayman West.
Mrs. Joyce Morton under
went a tonsilectomy at the Wei-
ser hospital Saturday. She is
improved. Her i n f a n t son,
Grant,' broke out with chicken
pox while she was ill.
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Conforth
and son, Hermiston, visited
from Monday to Friday with
her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Dwight Lockett.
Mr. and Mrs. Hurley Dye at-
tended funeral services for
Claude . Derrick in Iron Side
Monday. Enroute home they vi-
sited Mr. and Mrs. Ed Rose in
Brogan.
Mr. and Mrs. Mike McLaugh-
lin: and daughter visited briefly
w i t h Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Yeates Monday as. they were
enroute to their home in Pen-
dleton after a weekend visit
with ,her mother, Mrs. Charlie
Yeates, in Weiser.
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Wood
and grandson, Kim McDonald,
visited in LaGrande Sunday
with Kim's father, Larry Mc-
Donald. Kim is staying here
With his grandparents while his
mother, Mrs. Ella McDonald,
former resident, is in the State
TB hospital at Salem. Her ad-
dress is Box 28, Rt. 4, for those
who wish to send cards. She is
Groundbreaking
At TV College
To Be in April
Dr. Eugene F. Voris, the pre -'
sident of Treasure Valley Com-
munity college, Ontario, ite-
ported that "impressive ground-
breaking ceremonies are being
planned for early in .April" to
herald the start of construction
on TVCC's new campus build-
ings.
He also stated that present
"plans are for classes to be
held 'on campus' this fall."
"Planned f o r construction
this summer," Dr. Voris said a
two -story admistration - class-
room building and a vocational -
technical building. Plans for a
one -story extension to the ad-
ministration- classroom are also
ready for approval. This com-
pleted structure will have thir-
teen classrooms besides the ad-
ministrative facilities."
15 Tura -Out
For Club beet-.
Fifteen members attended the
Haas Ladies club meeting last
-- Wednesday. Mmes. L.
• HAAS A. Messersmith and
Grace Hatch were
hostesses. Some old Valentines
were shown by Olive Laird and
Eva Taylor. Some more than 60
years old. The next meeting
will be March 3.
A small size lady's or child's
sweater was left at the Haas
hall last fall. Owner may re-
claim it by seeing Mrs; Howard
Taylor who lives near the hall.
Mr. and Mrs. R o s s Laird
made a business trip to Ontario
Friday.
Mary' Ann Monteer, who was
married in Weiser Jan. 29, was
a Haas community girl.
Mr. and Mrs. John Stoffers
and Miss Anna Stoffers of Og-
den visited over the weekend
with the former's nieces and
husbands, Mr. and Mrs. Harold
Monteer and Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Wavrick.
Mrs. Jessie Woods visited
Sunday at the Irwin Brown
home. Clark Woods, Jr., was
home from the U of I for the
weekend with his parents and
his grandmother Woods.
Mmes. Howard Taylor and
Cecil Frost attended the funeral
of an aunt in Nampa last Fri-
day. —Olive Laird
John Ross Will
R to r
Q _ -
'';� Att PUUtlC LIg�A��.
BOX 848
THE WEISER SIGNAL Thursday, March 4, 196 I dater Mark "'t
History of Mesa Orchards
Second installment in the
history of Mesa Orchards.
Another will follow in an
early issue.
By CLYDE "RUSH
Ever since th early years of
the Mesa orchards several 10-
acre tracts have been owned,
lived on and operated by indi-
vidual owners. Some of these
are still there. The main or-
chard has passed through se-
veral ownerships since it was
put into the hands of a receiver,
following the Van Hoesens.
The line of ownership, as it
is recalled, has been about as
follows:
It was bought by Frank Ho-
fr of Payette, then it was ta-
ken over by Western Idaho Pro-
duction C r e d i t Association,
which had financed the opera-
tion and had about $70,000 in-
vested. The association sold it
/�to A. H. Burroughs in about
Irl! 79.42. He operated it for se-
veral years; then, in 1954, he
sold to a cattleman from Mon-
tana, a Mr. Ball, who tried oper-
ating tl�e holdings as both an
orchar and as a cattle ranch.
r ,rg,e Freeze Ruins Crop
think it was during about
second year there, with a
part of the apple crop
4 icked and in boxes and the re-
ainder still on the trees, that
heavy t freeze ruined the en-
tire crop. A few years ago Mr.
Ball was fatally injured in a
cave. -in of one of the dirt cell-
ars. His widow took over, and
at present two of her sons are
helping her.
Some three years ago she sold
the orchards to a man who was
to operate the holdings as a
cattle ranch. This venture was
short -lived.
Mrs. Ball and her sons have
the orchards back again now,
but, during the time the would -
be buyer was in charge, there
was no spraying, pruning or ir-
ragating done.
Previous owners and people
who had worked and lived there
over the years, were heartsick
over the change that manage-
ment, time and the elemnts had
wrought in the place. Before.
Mrs. Ball got the place back,
one was overheard to remark
that it looked "like the wrath
of God had descended upon it."
Has Plot
Much could be added to the
above, such as the amount of
production each year, income
from sale of fruit, changeover
of much of the white apples to
Delicious by the budding me-
Idaho Easter
Seal Sale
Gets Started
thod, etc., that has been forgot-
ten. The writer will add, how-
ever, that he owned 40 acres of
the orchards, which he sold to Senator Don W. Samuelson i
Mr. Burroughs when the latter (R- Bonner) said today the Pub
bought the main orchard. He lie Resources and Public Re-
still retains a plat (blueprint) of (creation committee, of which
the original layout of the or- he is chairman, is referring to
chards and a print of a later
one, made by Mr. Woodmansee the legislative council the pro-
in the 1920's. He also has pho- bleui of managing and controll-
tographs, taken during the early ing the area below the mean
years of the Orchards, which highwater mark on the navi-
he prizes highly. gable lakes and streams of
(To Be Continued Idaho.
"The committee is doing this
in the interest of the public and
also in the interest of the pri-
vate waterfront property own
or," Samuelson said.
The Idaho state constitution
and the Idaho admissions act
state the title of land lying be-
low the mean highwater mark
of navigable streams and lakes
is vested in Idaho in trust and
perpetuity for the benefit of
the people of Idaho. "The con -
stitution dues m a k e it quite
plain that the public's right to
public use of the public waters
Definition
I Is Sought
Norman Clark
Dies in Nampa
Norman Harry Clark, 24, a
former resident of Weiser, died
in Nampa Tuesday evening.
Funeral services will be held
at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Nor-
tham -Junes chapel, with Bishop
Leon Bergquist officiating. Bur-
ial will be at Hillerest cemetery.
Mr. Clark was born Sept. 18,
1941, in Weiser. He was the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Clark.
Surviving him are his par-
ents; one brother, Dennis, Pen-
dleton, Ore.; two sisters, Shar-
lene Smith, Vancouver, Wash.,
and Harriett Clark, Weiser; and
a grandmother, Mrs. William
Eriksen, Pendleton.
Missiles Being
Removed from
Mountain Home
MOUNTAIN HOME — The
Air Force began removal oper-
ations of all Titan I ICBM's,
belonging to the 569th Strategic
Missile squadron at Mountain
Home AFB last week.
The first of the missiles to
be removed was taken from its
launch emplacement, located at
Missile Complex B, near Grand-
view, then transported on a
specially equipped trailer to the
569th missile assembly and
maintenance shop, at Mountain
Home AFB.
The missiles are being re-
moved from the Launch sites as
part of the previously announc-
ed program to phase out the
Titan I missile.
The maximum amount of Ti-
tan I's will be removed from
the Strategic Air Command
operational missile sites sur-
rounding the base by June 30.
Lieut. Colonel Roy M. At-
well, commander of the Air
Force Logistics command site
deactivation task force from the
San Bernadino A i r Material
area, said that all Titan I mis-
siles surrounding the south-
western military installation
will be removed by mid-sum-
mer.
and benches cannot be denied," I
Samuelon said.
"A navigable stream is de-
fined as a stream that will float
a four -inch log in high water," I
Samuelson explained. "How -
ever the one thing the consti-
tution does not spell out is
`mean highwater mark. "'
McMINNVILLE, OREGON's, Bi
plenty of rapid -fire fiddling dui
Fair" held in Weiser this year.
featuring Idaho and Oregon fidd,
A new city will be picked each y
Girls' Staters
He said the title to many
pieces waterfront property
is clouded because of this lack
Speak at Lions
of definition.
1
"There has been much abuse
of both state and private pro-
perty because of this problem. .
"We would point out that this
I is not just a problem of the
es
Three Girls' State delegates '
people in any one area of Ida-
and one alternate — winners
ho. It is a problem wherever
the American Legion Auxiliary -
there is waterfront property
sponsored oratory contest on
along all your navigable lakes
"Americanism" — were guest
and rivers," Senator Samuelson
speakers at the Lions club noon
said.
meeting at the Washington ho-
tel yesterday.
Hickey, Oregon Side,
Dance Planned
Weiser, spoke on "The People's
Constitution, Ours to Defend ";
Amy Gross, Weiser, talked on
To Raise Funds
"The Responsibilities of Citizen-
ship"; Karen Ryder, Weiser,
made an address on "What Can
For Uniforms
a Woman Do to Help Preserve
American Heritage ? "; alternate
A benefit dance to help raise
Martha Rice, Weiser, wove her
money tc purchase uniforms
talk around "The Responsibili-
and equipment for Weiser Lit-
ties of Being an American."
tle League players will be held
Miss Hickey traced the his -
in April, it was announced to-
tory briefly of democratic gov-
day by Charles McGee and Bob
Deihl, Lions club members in
ernment and pointed out that
charge of the project.
since the Constitution was not
"We have some excellent mu-
infallible, the founding fathers
sic 1 i n e d up, and everyone
had provided an amendment
system for adjusting the docu-
should have a good evening's
er_tertainment," s a i d McGee.
ment. Only 14 amendments had
The Copper Lounge and Hotel
been added since its inception
Washington restaurant will do-
nearly 200 years ago. "It is our
nate the ballroom and some
money for the dance, he said.
duty to preserve and protect
our so- called people's constitu-
More than $200 has been
tion, Miss Hickey said.
raised for the uniforms and
Miss Gross said it had been
equipment, with pledges for
remarked that "the largest room
money. McGee commented that I
in the world is the room for
a t � •i home - -
��l
ty of Winnemucca and daughter'
Deanna, were Sunday viswis
in the home of her parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Arthur Kidwell.
Sunday Mr. and Mrs. Arch
Perkins took the Doughtys and
Kidwells to McCall to watch
the skiing.
Mr. and Mrs. V. Hopper,
Cambridge, brought stock to the
opening sale of the Council sale
yard. They report the Cam-
bridge school closed because of
the flu.
A 2/c Galen Woods, Lowry
AFB, Denver, is spending his
leave with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Thurm Woods.
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Garver vi-
sited their daughter and family
in Weiser Tuesday.
Ranchers are busy with Uaby
calves and fencing. Buttercups
are out on Hornet Creek, so
spring can't be far off. Arnold
Emery was in from Wildhorse
Monday and stated that he was
seeding grain.
Mrs. Fern G. Johnson of In-
dian Valley was shopping in
Council Monday.
Bob Maize, program chair-
man for the PTA, announces a
science fair at the next meeting.
Lyle Hellyer is in the Veter-
ans hospital in Boise where he
will have back surgery.
Mr. and Mrs. Ron McFadden,
Boise, spent thz weekend with"
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Cla-
rence McFadden.
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Fields
and daughter, Tennie, visited
her *mother, Mrs. S m i t h at
Cambridge Saturday.
—Mrs. Charles Averill
Most parents a g r e e that
there's nothing wrong with the
Beatles. But they keep hoping.
— Changing Times.
LAUNDRY
SERVICE BY
Ontario Laundry
FREE PICKUP
AND DELIVERY
IN WEISER DAILY
Phone 889 -5234
or
LEAVE YOUR
LAUNDRY AT
YOUR FAVORITE
DRY CLEA11'ZRS
L Y'n t i- t�c�io Mesa r1VYia icar' 1�� �op1
Third and l a s t install- the store, off the highway, visit Hyline
--t in the hostory of Mesa where it may now be found.
Orchards. M
Mesa School
Some time between 1912 and a
B CLYDE RUSH S
1918, a plot of ground across
Mesa Store f
from the Mesa store was given
The Mesa store was opened t
to the school district for school
I was 180 a month, and those
were eight -month terms. She
had two pre- school daughters,
and her sister, Now Mrs. John
• .. TO SELL AT Frasier, lived in the apartment
in the schoolhouse.
T. C. Mink, now living near
WEISER10 Cambridge, was serving . the
school board at that{ time.
Others to serve on the Mesa
school board at one time or ano-
ther were Clyde Rush, Mrs.
• Less Shrink Helen Spence, , niece s. the
late Fred Jewell, and Mrs. Wil-
liam Gray, still living at Mesa.
Although the school ground
• was donated to the school dis-
• Less Trucking Expense trict, it has come to light in
recent years that the donors
• Less Waiting apparently overlooked making s
deed to the property. So far as
can be learned, no deed was
avar dicenvered or recorded.
Mr. and Mrs. Herb Brogden
nd three boys, Reno, spent the
weekend as guests
• HYLINE of her mother, Mrs.
Pearl Griffin, and
Gerry. On Sunday they all at-
ended a family dinner at the
home of her brother and cister-
n -law, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin
Griffin and boys. Also attend -
ng was another brother and
ister -in -law, Mr. and Mrs. Da-
vid Griffin and Carol.
Mr. and Mrs. David Griffin
and Carol were Monday visitors
of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Galyen.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ruth,
Fruitland, were Thursday din-
ner guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ger-
ald Goodfellow. The Ruths have
recently returned from a three -
nonths tri15'�'o Mexico.
Mr. and Mrs: Bill McKnight,
Weiser, visited Monday with
Ml•. and Mrss J;)Vwey Magwire.
Mr nc� �llits: -'Bob Thompson
Si�eT Sunday with Mr. and
Mrs. Elmer Galyen.
Mr. and Mrs. Earl McCollum
and family of Dallas, Ore., were
overnight guests one night this
week of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd
Johnson.. Tha tUtLCQ1i„mc Were -
in the process of moving to On- I
rio and -, are now` settled ift
their home here.
Diana Coons was a Saturday
overnight guest of Linda Fa-
lash in the Tom Falash home,
Weiser. — Imogene Peterson
over most of the Mesa Orchards
and the townsite in 1919, they
built a large garage across the
road west from the store and
about 200 feet away. It was
about 60 by 100 feet in size and
housed a large machine shop
and storage room. And while
they were about it, they put
on an upper story, with a stage
and hardwood floor. This floor
was used for community acti-
vities, d a n c e s on Saturday
nights and church and Sunday
school on Sundays. The Van
Hoesens we r e. fine, religious
people and all the time they
were living in Mesa, there was
church and Sunday school on
Sunday.
The writer, being quite ver-
satile, conducted public dances
for a few years, and was also
Sunday school superintendent
at the same time.
Since the Rush family was
associated with Mesa, Council
and Cambridge activities for so
many years, and were known
over an even wider area, there
are many who will be inter-
ested in learning of their pre-
sent whereabouts.
Mr. Rush was born in Ohio.
He moved to Illinois with his
parents when he was 16. Later
the Rush family moved to Me-
sa to become one of the first
families to settle there and
maintain an orchard Clyde
Rush returned to Illinois to be
married, late in 1918, and in
1919 he brought his bride to
Mesa to live. Their daughter,
Louise, and son, Robert, were
born in Mesa.
Mr. Rush served as grand
master of the Grand Lodge of
Idaho, A F & A M prior to be-
coming grand secretary in 1940,
a position he held until recent
years. To be nearer his work,
he, Mrs. Rush and Robert mov-
ed to Boise, where he and Mrs.
Rush still reside. Robert is now
i.t_ Col. Robert E. Rush of the
Mr. and Mrs. Herb Brogden
nd three boys, Reno, spent the
weekend as guests
• HYLINE of her mother, Mrs.
Pearl Griffin, and
Gerry. On Sunday they all at-
ended a family dinner at the
home of her brother and cister-
n -law, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin
Griffin and boys. Also attend -
ng was another brother and
ister -in -law, Mr. and Mrs. Da-
vid Griffin and Carol.
Mr. and Mrs. David Griffin
and Carol were Monday visitors
of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Galyen.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ruth,
Fruitland, were Thursday din-
ner guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ger-
ald Goodfellow. The Ruths have
recently returned from a three -
nonths tri15'�'o Mexico.
Mr. and Mrs: Bill McKnight,
Weiser, visited Monday with
Ml•. and Mrss J;)Vwey Magwire.
Mr nc� �llits: -'Bob Thompson
Si�eT Sunday with Mr. and
Mrs. Elmer Galyen.
Mr. and Mrs. Earl McCollum
and family of Dallas, Ore., were
overnight guests one night this
week of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd
Johnson.. Tha tUtLCQ1i„mc Were -
in the process of moving to On- I
rio and -, are now` settled ift
their home here.
Diana Coons was a Saturday
overnight guest of Linda Fa-
lash in the Tom Falash home,
Weiser. — Imogene Peterson
over most of the Mesa Orchards
and the townsite in 1919, they
built a large garage across the
road west from the store and
about 200 feet away. It was
about 60 by 100 feet in size and
housed a large machine shop
and storage room. And while
they were about it, they put
on an upper story, with a stage
and hardwood floor. This floor
was used for community acti-
vities, d a n c e s on Saturday
nights and church and Sunday
school on Sundays. The Van
Hoesens we r e. fine, religious
people and all the time they
were living in Mesa, there was
church and Sunday school on
Sunday.
The writer, being quite ver-
satile, conducted public dances
for a few years, and was also
Sunday school superintendent
at the same time.
Since the Rush family was
associated with Mesa, Council
and Cambridge activities for so
many years, and were known
over an even wider area, there
are many who will be inter-
ested in learning of their pre-
sent whereabouts.
Mr. Rush was born in Ohio.
He moved to Illinois with his
parents when he was 16. Later
the Rush family moved to Me-
sa to become one of the first
families to settle there and
maintain an orchard Clyde
Rush returned to Illinois to be
married, late in 1918, and in
1919 he brought his bride to
Mesa to live. Their daughter,
Louise, and son, Robert, were
born in Mesa.
Mr. Rush served as grand
master of the Grand Lodge of
Idaho, A F & A M prior to be-
coming grand secretary in 1940,
a position he held until recent
years. To be nearer his work,
he, Mrs. Rush and Robert mov-
ed to Boise, where he and Mrs.
Rush still reside. Robert is now
i.t_ Col. Robert E. Rush of the
than Valley was shopping in
Council Monday.
Bob Maize, program chair-
man for the PTA, announces a
science fair at the next meeting.
Lyle Hellyer is in the Veter-
ans hospital in Boise where he
will have back surgery.
Mr. and Mrs. Ron McFadden,
-- "noise, spent tht- wmkend with_
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Cla-
rence McFadden.
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Fields
and daughter, Tennie, visited
her mother, Mrs. S m i t h at
Cambridge Mrs. Charles Averill
Most parents a g r e e that
there's nothing wrong with the
Beatles. But they keep hoping.
— Changing Times.
LAUNDRY
SERVICE BY
Ontario Laundry
FREE PICKUP
AND DELIVERY
IN WEISER DAILY
Phone 889 -5234
of
LEAVE YOUR
LAUNDRY AT
YOUR FAVORITE
DRY C:LEA11ZRS
when it came to making den while it was an organized scho lip e Sunday with Mr. and
tures. After being storekeeper district, and, since s NIis. Elmer Galyen.
for a few years, he opened a teaching in Cambridg� was
dentist office, first in Cam- available to give a little of in- Mr. and Mrs. Earl McCollum
bridge, then in Council, where terest pertaining to the Mesa and family of Dallas, Ore., were
he operated the store as mana- school as it pertained to her overnight guests one night this
ger foil a few years on a salary. time spent there as a teacher. week of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd
The store carried a goodly sup- The las_t term taught in the Johnson- Th" 0t°c'^iIUM&_Were
ply of -staple- gPeeeFiee, som 111 a- school, as an organized in the process of moving to On.
hardware and small orchard district, wasethe term of 1946 - Wrio and -are now` settled i$1
tools but, never, to my memory 47. There were 28 pupils. She their home here.
did it carry any fresh fruit or taught all eight grades and it Diana Coons was a Saturday
vegetables. was a nine -month Term. Eight overnight guest of Linda Fa-
Harry Mills was followed by of those 28 pupils. She taught lash in the Tom Falash home,
Gordon Reynolds and then by all eight grades and it was a Weiser. — Imogene Peterson
Sam Gentry, who was there
until 1941. Since the Orchards
nine -month term. Eight of those
28 children were from Jap-
became the property of the Ball
nese families in the M e s a
ever discovered or recorded.
However, that may not be of
family, I have been told, they
concentration camp and, Mrs.
and
bui
operate the store, along with
eigh related, she found them
established and there are so
few children residing in Mesa
cattle ranch operations and they
good students, and their par-
roa
maintain a few p e a c h and
ents very co- operative. For her
ab
prune trees.
work, Mrs. Beigh received $200
ab
Mesa Postoffice
a month.
d rin the
At first the Mesa postoffice
She lived at home. Her daugh-
an
was housed in the Mesa store.
ters, Marie and Coleen, attend-
th
Mail was brought from Council
ed school in Cambridge, and
on
each day by stage, under go-
Grandmother Mrs. Stella Beigh
an
vernment contract. The stage
cared for Ann, who was nine
wa
also distributed mail to ranch-
months old when school began
vit
ers along the eight miles be-
that fall.
ni
tween Council and Mesa.
Mrs. Beigh had taught two
sc
When the Van Hoesens took
terms in Mesa, previous to that
H
over from J. P. Gray, an addi-
last term, the years of 1937 -38
P
tion was built on the back of,
and 1938 -39. At that time she
`r
the store, for an office, and the
taught the four lower grades,
ch
postoffice was maintained there.
and Elwyn Tischer was in
S
L a t e r the postoffice) was
charge of the four upper grades.
aintained in a separate small
When school began that fall
sa
building just north of the store.
there were between 25 and 27
fo
When Mrs. Audrey Kilborne,
students in e a c h classroom.
S
postmaster, found home duties
Soon apple picker families ar-
at
too pressing to make daily trips
rived and attendance fluctuated
to the postoffice, she brought
to 45 for Mrs. Beigh and 50 for
as
about permission to move the
Mr. Tischer. Tlae nui .ber of
a
postoffice to her home, located
students dropped to 20 for each
m
some three - fourths mile east of
teacher after apple picking and
o
the mid -year holidays w e r e
a
over,
At that time Mrs. Beigh's pay
e
s
was $80 a month, and those
I# S WISER were eight -month terms. She
had two pre - school daughters, 1P
and her sister, Now Mrs. John t
.. TO SELL AT Frasier, lived o the apartment f
in the schoolhouse. f
T. C. Mink, now living near
Cambridge, was serving . the
WEISER! school Board at that{ time. Others to serve. on the Mesa 1
school board at one time or ano-
ther were Clyde Rush, Mrs.
• Less Shrink Helen Spence, a niece s. the
late Fred Jewell, and Mrs. Wil-
liam Gray, still living at Mesa.
Although the school ground
• Less Trucking Expense was donated to the school dis-
trict, it has come to light in
that the donors
• Less Waiting
recent years
apparently overlooked making a
deed the property. So far as
deed
can be learned, no was
a
ever discovered or recorded.
However, that may not be of
_BUT—
real importance any more since
consolidated schools have been
MORE MONEY
established and there are so
few children residing in Mesa
any more.
The school property reverted
For Your Livestock
back to the original property
and is now owned', by Mrs. Ball.
The schoolhouse is still stand-
That's at the Regular
ing and is serving as a store-
room for the Ball ranch.
THURSDAY Sales
Mrs. Ball gave permission
that it be used for a school -
d rin the
house for a time, u g
AT THE time the new Council grade
schoolhouse w as under con-
struction. Who taught the school
• • • • at that time was not learned.
Weiser Livestock Commission Coe equipment of the Mesaground
Phone S49 -OS64, Weiser, Idaho grounds is still there, and chil-
Norman Sitz, Manager, Res. Ph. Ontario 889-8257 ddrey in Mesa often go there to
Walter Brown, Yard Manager, Res. Ph. 549.2478 Social Time in Mesa
When the Van Hoesens too
r most of the Mesa Orchards I
the townsite in 1919, they
It a large garage across they
d west from the store and
out 200 feet away.
out 60 by 100 feet in size and
used a large machine shop
d storage room. And while
the were about it, they put
an upper story, with a stage
I hardwood floor. This floor
s used for community acti-
ies, d a n c e s on Saturday
ghts and church and Sunday
hool on Sundays. The Van
oesens were. fine, religious
eople and all the time they
we living in Mesa, there was
urch and Sunday school on
unday.
The writer, being quite ver-
tile, conducted public dances
r a few years, and was also
Su school superintendent
the same time.
Since the Rush family was
sociated with Mesa, Council
an Caibridge activities for so
any years, and were known
ver an even wider area, there
re many who will be inter -
sted in learning of their pre -
ent whereabouts.
Mr. Rush was born in Ohio.
He moved to Illinois with his
arents when he was 16. Later
he Rush family moved to Me
-
a to become one of the first
amilies to settle there and
maintain an orchard Clyde
Rush returned to Illinois to be
married, late in 1918, and in
919 li brought his bride to
Mesa to live. Their daughter,
Louise, and son, Robert, were
I in Mesa.
Mr. Rush served as grand
master of the Grand Lodge of
Idaho, A F & A M prior to be-
coming grand secretary in 1940,
a position he held untilgrecent
years. To be nearer his work,
he, Mrs. Rush and Robert mov-
ed to Boise, where he and Mrs.
Rush still reside. Robert is now
Lt. Col. Robert E. Rush of the
U. S. Air Defense Development
and is stationed at Ft. Bliss, El
Paso, Texas.
After teaching in Mesa, Lou-
ise taught in Council, and she
remained in Council as the
bride of Ralph Van Houten
when her parents and brother
moved to Boise. At that time
Mr. Van Houten was employed
in the bank at Council. The
Van Houtens later moved to
Hines, Ore., wherei they still re-
side.
When shopping visit the
Globe Used Department —Save
Money!
We Take Care of Your Car
Like We Would Our Own
BC .3Y CORNER
SHELL STATION
State & Main S &H Stamps
k
Reproduced from material in the collections of the Idaho historical Society
Mesa Orchard Is Sold
By JOY BECKMAN
The 3,500 a c r e Mesa Or-
chards, owned by Mrs. Emma
Ball, has been sold, it was an-
nounced today (Thursday) by
Lloyd's Agency, Weiser. Buyers
are Mr. and Mrs. Harry M.
Daum, Parma, who also own
the Karcher Mall Shopping
Center between Caldwell and
Nampa. No purchase price was
announced.
The ranch is to become a cat -.
tle operation. The Daums a4 e
currently running Black Angus
but it is not known if this
breed will go on the Mesa.
'The resent plan, to be car -
ried 011 over a two year period,.
WU fdr the' reasoval of : _o old
trees. T h e younger orchards one management.
will be checked to see if they Bryan (deceased) and Emma
are worth keeping. Old build- Ball bought the ranch in Janu- t
ings are to be cleared off also. ary 1954 from A. H. Burroughs
The present water system, Jr., Boise. The sale included all
which consists mainly of seven I livestock, fruit packing and pro -
miles of wood flume, will be cessing plants and a cannery.
replaced and all but 160 acres There were still 650 acres of
will be brought under irriga- old apple trees, and 20 acres
of old pear trees. Included in
L. L. Dahl of Salt Lake in
March 1963 for $475,000 but this
sale fell through, ending in a
law suit over pasture and feed
bills for cattle put on the ranch
by Dahl, who in Council's big -
get "cattle drive," dumped 26
carloads at the Mesa siding.
November 1932 File
tion. This will mean an increase 150 acres of new plantings were Word received from Mesa is
to nearly 1,320 acres under Middle 60 acres of pears, 40 of peaches, that the big task of harvesting
ter. Water source is the Middle 40 in apples and 10 in prunes• the season's crop of apples was
Fork of the Weiser River.
Mrs. Ball plans In the fall of 1955, an early I completed, early last week, and
20 to live on a acre plot belonging her frost literally wiped out the
b that the work of packing` is pro -
r, crop, most of which had been I ceeding with great' rapidity. It
rother, Pat, near the town site. picked but was not yet in stor- is estimated that 180 to 200
Largest Apple Orchard is World age, carloads of apples are yet to be
At one time the 1,500 acres Mr.. Ball was killed in a• cel- shipped' out, 'which will ap-
of apple orchard was the Zest cave -in in 1961.: praximaate 400 -cars sent out of
in the world .in one - tract wader I The. ran& was purchased -by I that district tb4 —y6ar ' _F
leo
�1 &6 4y, VQD) -
0,,o
THE IDAHO DAILY STATESMAN
BOISE, IDAHO, MONDAY MORNING, AUGUS
Sprawling Apple Orchards of Ilesa Si
STORAGE CELLARS at Mesa Orchard held many thousands of baskets of fruit back in the
pre - controlled atmosphere days. Today, these cellars have caved in, below.
IDAHO, MONDAY MORNING, AUGUST 7, 1967
PAGE TWENTY - THREE
ids of Mesa Succumb to Changing Timi
ONLY A FEW TREES remain of what was once the "woria•s
'largest apple orchard." Other farming operations are being
put into effect where 1,200 acres of apple trees once stood.
By BOB LORIMER
Statesman Staff Writer
MESA — It took more than
500 persons to harvest the crop
of apples at Mesa Orchard back
in 1933. Each of 13 crews picked
between 15,000 and 20,000 boxes.
Eighteen trucks and 150 head of
horses were kept busy bringing
the fruit to the packing shed.
The "Big M" mark from the
world's largest orchard under
one management was well
known at the time — not only
in the United States but abroad
— England, Sweden, Norway,'
Egypt. According to a story in
The Idaho Sunday Statesman,'
dated Dec. 3 of that same year,
"Practically every characteris-
tic of Mesa Orchard borders on
the extraordinary."
Today, there is a hum of
activity around Mesa as the
ground is being prepared for
future production. In fact, there
is a stand of grain this year —
and new grass. But the apple
orchard is gone. The 1,200 acres
of the original orchard develop-
ment are bare or, at least, void
of trees.
Not the Same
The old storage cellars have
caved in. The school house is
padlocked. Some of the windows
have been boarded over. Weeds
have grown up in the yard. The
bell is silent. Mesa as a com-
munity is not what it once was.
Even the post office has been
moved a half mile to the east.
D. W. Van Hoesen came from
s * �
the time. The dehydrator and part of the orchard may be seen in the background. (John -
cnn and Son Photo)
New York. He was fascinated
by what he envisioned on the
rolling slopes a few miles south
of Council, Adams County seat,
and he did something about it.
It was 1910 when he began to
think seriously. By 1919, he had
moved his family to the area.
Like Arrowrock Dam was a
massive engineering "first," the
Mesa Orchard was a "first" in
agriculture. To tame the hills
into production, required in-
genuity.
First, it was necessary to run
a flume up the Middle Fork of
the Weiser River in order to
divert water to the slopes. Un-
derground pipes carried the
gravity flow water from the
main flume.
Tramway Built
But, in spite of the efforts
expended to prepare the land
and provide the water, the most
spectacular single achievement
of the project was the tramway
which carried the fruit three
and a half miles to Mesa Switch
on the Pacific & Idaho Northern
Railway.
Van Hoesen and his partner
(Van Hoesen and Seymour) con-
structed the elaborate system at
a cost of $45,000, a major in-
vestment at that time. Forty -
eight wooden towers, varying
from 20 to 45 feet in height,
were constructed in a straight
line over rough terrain varying
500 feet in elevation, crossing
the Weiser River once and the
North and South (95) Highway
four times.
Forty -two steel baskets, each
capable of carrying eight boxes
(or six baskets) of fruit were
supported by steel carrier. Two
15- horsepower motors, backed
up by an auxiliary power unit
(two Fordson tractors) in case
of power failure (which hap-
pened), transported the baskets
back and forth between the
headquarters and railroad.
Draws Interest
It was of no ordinary passing
interest, drawing, among others,
two engineers from Hawaii who
looked it over with the idea of
seeing if they could use such a
system for transporting I
ple.
the Mesa operation was i,
on by a partner, H. J.
mansee and Van Hoeseq
sons, Mynderse and End
Through the years, o
changed. Market, war l
factors — dimmed the q
enthusiasm and practicd
the Mesa concept.
Today, the property h
purchased by Mr,
Harry M. Daum of I
Barley and grass are
where once stood the `h
largest apple orchard."
But the orchard hasp ",
forgotten.
PAGE TWENTY -THREE
Changing Times
New York. He was fascinated
by what he envisioned on the
rolling slopes a few miles south
of Council, Adams County seat,
and he did something about it.
It was 1910 when he began to
think seriously. By 1919, he had
moved his family to the area.
Like Arrowrock Dam was a
massive engineering "first," the
Mesa Orchard was a "first" in
agriculture. To tame the hills
into production, required in-
genuity.
First, it was necessary to run
a flume up the Middle Fork of
the Weiser River in order to
divert water to the slopes. Un-
derground pipes carried the
gravity flow water from the
main flume.
Tramway Built
But, in spite of the efforts
expended to prepare the land
and provide the water, the most
spectacular single achievement
of the project was the tramway
which carried the fruit three
and a half miles to Mesa Switch
on the Pacific & Idaho Northern
Railway.
Van Hoesen and his partner
(Van Hoesen and Seymour) con-
structed the elaborate system at
a cost of $45,000, a major in-
vestment at that time. Forty -
eight wooden towers, varying
from 20 to 45 feet in height,
were constructed in a straight
line over rough terrain varying
500 feet in elevation, crossing
the Weiser River once and the
North and South (95) Highway
four times.
Forty -two steel baskets, each
capable of carrying eight boxes
(or six baskets) of fruit were
supported by steel carrier. Two
15- horsepower motors, backed
up by an auxiliary power unit
(two Fordson tractors) in case
of power failure (which hap-
pened), transported the baskets
back and forth between the
headquarters and railroad.
Draws Interest
It was of no ordinary passing
interest, drawing, among others,
two engineers from Hawaii who
looked it over with the idea of
seeing if they could use such a
system for transporting pineap-
ple.
the Mesa operation was carried
on by a partner, H. J. Wood -
mansee and Van Hoesen's two
sons, Mynderse and Enderse.
Through the years, ownership
changed. Market, war — many
factors — dimmed the original
enthusiasm and practicality of
the Mesa concept.
Today, the property has been
purchased by Mr. and Mrs.
Harry M. Daum of Parma.
Barley and grass are growing
where once stood the "world's
largest apple orchard."
But the orchard hasn't been
forgotten.
THE 1933 CROP of apples at Mesa. Orchard required 172,000 baskets. This was the scene at
;een in the background. (John-
A GENERATION has passed
since the Mesa. General Store
was opened for business. To-
day, it is closed and even the
later -added gas pumps have
rusted.
0
MSS
Pop. 3
"The Orchards Made This Country."
by
DOUG JONES
At the beginning of this century
a barren, high - grassland prairie
south of Council, Idaho was trans-
formed into the world's largest pri-
vately -owned orchard. In a scant
fifty years it was born, grew to a
struggling but bountiful maturity,
bore fruit, dramatically altered the
lives of those who lived around it,
and then disappeared.
It's obvious now that the dream
which spawned the Mesa Orchards
Company was no more than that.
All that remains today of the or-
chards is the steadily decaying town
of Mesa, a few photographs, and
the fleeting memories of those who
remember it as one of the most
beautiful places on earth.
On these and several following
pages is the story of the orchards
of Mesa as HIGH COUNTRY was
able to reconstruct it. The story
may not be complete in every
detail, but we think the interming-
ling of history, personal interviews
and photographs begins to portray
the sad and beautiful truth of am-
bitious human effort destined to
fail. The winds of Mesa which once
carried fragrant scents of fruit blos-
soms in bloom now stir only the
dust devils residing amidst the ruins
of memory.
Ism's
;y kkk
W ;s
Pictured seventh and eighth from the right in the back row are D.W. Hoesen and Charles Seymour, co- owners of the Mesa Orchards
HIGH COUNTRY No
the Mesa Orchards Company.
V November '77
Van Hoesen's spinster sister is in front of them. Circa 1923.
a
A HISTORY OF MESA
THE BEGINNING
The Mesa Orchard was located
in Adams County between Coun-
cil and Cambridge on Highway
95. At one time the 1,500 acres of
fruit trees growing there made up
the largest orchard in the world
in one tract under one manage-
ment.
The 3,333 acre ranch on which
the orchard was planted was orig-
inally purchased in 1909 and 1910
from homesteaders by an invest-
ment company called Weiser Val-
ley Land & Water. Officers of the
company and originators of or-
chards were: C. E. Miesse of Chi-
cago; Oberlin M. Carter, a re-
tired military officer; J. J. Alli-
son, a noted horticulturist; and
C. K. Macey, a well -known
Idaho agriculturist. The ground
was broken, fruit trees were
planted and a townsite was laid
out between 1909 and 1911.
The orchard was divided into
ten acre rectangular lots which
were sold to small investors
around the country, mostly from
the east and midwest, in order to
raise money to pay for the opera-
tion of the business. Each pur-
chaser of a lot received a certifi-
cate representing ten shares of
stock in the company. For each
share of stock he owned, the in-
vestor was entitled to ample
water for irrigation and domestic
use. Ten acre lots sold for $5,000.
The Weiser Valley Land & Water
Company was responsible for the
complete care and maintenance
of the trees for a period of ten
years, which is about the length
of time.required for an apple tree
to mature and bear high quality
fruit.
Water was hauled to the or-
chards with teams and wagons
and applied to the trees manually
from the time they were planted
until the irrigation system was
completed several years later. A
large, wooden flume was built
from a dam on the Middle Fork of
the Weiser river running down to
the orchards, eight miles away.
FM
Fruit worker's tent town at Mesa during harvest. Circa 1915.
Corner of Orchard Boulevard and r iesa Avenue. Circa 1910.
Photo from Thurn Woods.
Photo from C. Winkler.
All tracks lead to Mesa. Circa 1915.
Photo from C. Winkler.
18
MRS. WILLIAM GRAY, RESIDENT OF MESA FOR FORTY -SEVEN YEARS
My uncle worked here at Mesa in
1909. That's when they were clearing
the ground and getting it broken up
ready to plant the little trees. They also
had a crew of Chinese men working
with them. It was in 1911 that they
started planting the trees. They had to
haul water with tanks and teams be-
cause the irrigation system wasn't built
yet. During the time that the trees were
growing they planted row crops be-
tween the trees. We still have a throw-
back of asparagus from that time. The
first man who owned the orchards was
named Miesse.
The idea of an orchard at Mesa ac-
tually originated in France. Someone
from Council sent apples from his fam-
ily orchards to an exposition in Paris.
The apples were sampled over there
and they liked them better than any
they had ever tasted. Consequently a
representative was sent to Council who
eventually determined that Mesa was
an ideal location for planting an or-
chard.
The first owners that I can personally
remember are D. W. Van Hoesen and
Charles Seymour. Then the packing
house caught fire and Mr. Seymour
was trapped and burned to death. His
wife and daughter sold his share of the
company to a man named Horace J.
Woodmansee. He ran the orchards for
a long time with Van Hoesen at first and
later became partners with the old
man's sons, Enderse and Mynderse
Van Hoesen. Things went bad for them
during the late thirties and a loan com-
pany took control. A man named Mr.
Fields managed the orchards for the
loan company until A. H. Burroughs
bought Mesa in 1943. Burroughs
owned and managed it until Bryan Ball
bought the ranch in 1954.
My husband and I moved to Mesa in
November of 1930. We owned 15 acres
of orchard here which we operated as
individuals. When Mesa was thriving,
there were 35 -40 families which lived
here year around. In the fall when
harvest -time came, people came in by
the droves. There might have been
1500 or 2000 here. The whole hillside
was just a tent town as far as the eye
could see. It was quite a thing to see.
People really can't imagine what it was
like in those early days. In the spring
with all those trees in bloom it was
beautiful.
There was no organized labor at
Mesa. There was a job for everyone
who wanted one at harvest time.
Farmers and townspeople alike de-
pended on the autumn wages to buy
their winter's groceries. Folks came
from miles away to work in the or-
chards. Whole families came to work
picking apples during the depression
just to make a little stake. During the
"dust bowl'' era farilies flocked to
Mesa by the truckloads.
One of the outstanding features of
the Mesa orchards was the tramway
which was built to transport the boxes
of fruit from the packing house to the
railroad siding some three or four miles
away. It was really something to see. It
crossed over the old highway bringing
full boxes of fruit to the siding and
empty boxes back to the packing
house.
Also of interest was the seven mile
long irrigation flume. The water for the
orchard came from seven miles up the
Middle Fork of the Weiser River. The
flume was about four feet wide and four
feet deep. There were big trestles built
to support the flume across canyons on
the way to the orchard. When it reach-
ed the edge of the orchard, there was
another ground system for distributing
the water throughout.
During the time when Mr. Burroughs
ran the orchard, a cannery was built
and most of the apples went into mak-
ing apple sauce. The trees were past
their prime then and the apples they
bore were of lesser quality. ❑
HIGH COUNTRY
"I IRRIGATED, SPRAYED, THINNED, PICKED, CORRUGATED,
PRUNED, PACKED, GRADED, AND DRIED." — THURN WOODS
I'm 58 years old now. I started work-
ing in the orchards when I was 14. 1 did
practically everything they had to do
there. I irrigated, sprayed, thinned,
picked, corrugated, pruned, packed,
graded, and dried. All the apples they
didn't use for packing and shipping
were dried. They called it an evapora-
tor when they first started. Everything
was done with teams in the early years.
The first mobile trucks that they had
were Model T's.
My dad helped set the orchard out.
They set the trees out first while they
were still working on the flume -line. Be-
fore the flume was complete and the
water got down, they had to haul water
with teams and water wagons. They
had a lot of the trees planted for a year
or more before they got the irrigation
water down to them. Then after the
flume was complete it must have been
at least a couple of years more before
the system was actually complete.
After the flume and irrigation system
were operating, they built the aerial
tramway. Each one of the tram cars
held about six or eight bushels of ap-
ples. There was a steady stream of
them coming with the empties going
back. It was kind of like a ski lift. The
tramway was used for some twenty
years before the highway was built and
it became more efficient to use big
trucks. Some mining outfit bought the
tramway just before the Balls took over
Mesa. They dismantled the towers and
took the cable and cars.
Like I say, there have been a lot of
changes in Mesa since I started work-
ing there. The first manager of the or-
chards was a man named J. P. Gray.
Then there was Van Hoesen and Sey-
mour and Woodmansee and Hogue.
Mesa changed hands so often, it was
hard to keep track from one year to the
next. It was that way for a while any-
how.
When the orchard first started, the
company sold lots to individuals to
raise operating capital. All the investors
eventually lost their holdings — other
than those few who came out to run
their own orchard. The company let in-
dividuals use the tramway and the
company's facilities for a price.
The profits from the orchards varied
a lot from year to year. The only ones
who lost money consistantly were the
investors from back east. They didn't
even come out to look at the orchard.
They just sent money which was sup-
posed to be put back into the business.
Instead the money was pocketed and
the company just took whatever they
could get out of the orchard. The east-
ern brokers lost their money and the
orchards went gradually downhill. They
just didn't run it right. In a big orchard
like that there has got to be new or-
chards going in practically all the time.
They wouldn't do that. They just work-
ed with the old trees all the time, skim-
ming the cream and letting the rest go.
Then, as the years went by, the own-
ers stopped caring for even the old
trees. Mice killed a lot of them one
winter in the fifties when we had deep
snow and no one bothered to protect
the lower tree trunks with screens.
I had a year- around job with the or-
chards. I picked apples all fall. Then I
worked all winter in the dryer peeling
and packing apples. In the spring and
summer I thinned and pruned. My
wage, and the standard wage as well,
was ten cents an hour when I started.
We worked a ten -hour day everyday
and twelve to fifteen hours during har-
vest. There was no such thing as time
and a half in those days.
In the company office they issued
coupon books which were taken out
against your wages. Books ran from
one to ten dollars and the coupons
were good in the company store and
cookhouse. It was all quite fascinating
when I think about it now; at the time it
was just a way of life. When I left the
orchard to work in the mill wages were
up to forty cents an hour. That was in
1944.
During harvest time workers came
from all over. Cops used to go round up
bums from the railroad yard at Weiser,
put them on a truck and haul them up to
work at Mesa. Some would last two or
three days, sometimes a week. They'd
make enough to buy some wine, then
they'd take off and the cops would go
down to get another truckload of them.
They sent a regular bus down to Weiser
and anyone who wanted to pick apples
could get on. At that time when the
orchard was really producing, the line-
up to get their checks on payday was
Apples picked and ready for shipping at ME
background. Circa 1920. Photo from C. W
easily a half -mile long.
The company hired all the teams that
they could get. Farmers from all around
would come in with their teams to haul
apples. The teams all pulled wagons
with small iron wheels and some pulled
slips. The slips would bank the applesa;
out to the road at the end of the rows
- ;
and the wagons would haul them from
there to the packing houses.
We drove a hybrid truck, which was a
Model "T" frame with a Model "A"
re -,a
motor and front end welded onto the
frame. We put them together with com-
pound gears and as many as ten for-
ward speeds. Those old trucks would
The
go anywhere. rear end was a;
Model "T" and the front was a Model
"A ".
We needed a vehicle with lots of
'
power that would go real slow so as not
to be injuring the trees. I used to haul
from 100 to 125 lugs of apples, each
weighing around sixty pounds.'
The orchards fed a lot of people. All
1"
the townspeople and all the farmers
-E
from around here depended on their
wages from apple - picking to put them
through the winter. The orchards made
: r
this country. At one time Mesa Or -'
� -
hirt
chards was one of the prettiest places
in the world. Now it has gone to pot. ❑
pipe
ered.
Thur
THE PROMISE OF IV
A man named Judah P. Gray
managed the orchards from the
time of the original planting until
D. W. Van Hoesen and Charles
Seymour took over in 1919. Sey-
mour died a little more than a
year later when he was trapped
inside a packing house which
caught fire and burned to the
ground. Seymour's wife and
daughter sold his interest in the
company to Horace J. Wood -
mansee. About a year after Sey-
ran
the
railr
tinu
trans
tram
work
cars
pack
A
ty -G
ing i
elude
When the orchard first started, the
company sold lots to individuals to
raise operating capital. All the investors
eventually lost their holdings — other
than those few who came out to run
their own orchard. The company let in-
dividuals use the tramway and the
company's facilities for a price.
The profits from the orchards varied
a lot from year to year. The only ones
work at Mesa. Some would last two or
three days, sometimes a week. They'd
make enough to buy some wine, then
they'd take off and the cops would go
down to get another truckload of them.
They sent a regular bus down to Weiser
and anyone who wanted to pick apples
could get on. At that time when the
orchard was really producing, the line-
up to get their checks on payday was
Tramway for transporting apples from packing houses to railroad siding
three or four miles away. Circa 1920. Photo from C. Winkler.
in the world. Now it has gone to pot v ❑
pipe installed and about to be cov-
ered. Circa 1915. Photo from
Thurn Woods.
THE PROMISE OF MESA
A man named Judah P. Gray
managed the orchards from the
time of the original planting until
D. W. Van Hoesen and Charles
Seymour took over in 1919. Sey-
mour died a little more than a
year later when he was trapped
inside a packing house which
caught fire and burned to the
ground. Seymour's wife and
daughter sold his interest in the
company to Horace J. Wood -
mansee. About a year after Sey-
mour's death D. W. Van Hoesen
died in Boise while serving in the
state legislature as senator for
Adams County. Thus Woodman -
see became manager along with
Van Hoesen's two sons, Enderse
and Mynderse.
The irrigation flume and the
Mesa tramway were both com-
pleted by the time of Van
Hoesen's death. The tramway
ran three to four miles between
the packing house to the Mesa
railroad siding. It ran on a con-
tinuously circulating cable which
transported boxes of fruit. The
tramway made it possible for
workers to send fruit to the train
cars as soon as it was graded and
packed.
Anywhere from forty to seven-
ty -five families lived in Mesa dur-
ing its prime. The townsite in-
cluded a schoolhouse, a general
store, a post office and a commu-
nity hall located above a large
machine shop and storage shed.
There were four to eight spacious
mansions and a large number of
smaller dwellings known as cot-
tages. There were two company
packing houses and two large
storage cellars as well as numer-
ous other structures essential to
the operation of the orchards.
November '77
19
"... PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING AT MESA WAS IN TENTS."
CAL MARVIN OF COUNCIL, ID
I started working at the Mesa Or-
chards in 1916 when I was eleven years
old. At that time practically everything
at Mesa was in tents. We were living in
a tent and I went to school in a tent. My
stepdad did all the building there. He
built the first packing house and stor-
age cellar there. He was named Lynch
and the construction company was
called Lynch and Watkins. Later they
dissolved the partnership and my step-
dad went to work for the Mesa Or-
chards company doing whatever build-
ing needed to be done.
He built the large managers' houses
as well as the cottages at Mesa. The
schoolhouse was built before he came
to live there. J. R Gray wanted a school
district out there so he had that school -
house built. He put up the money for it
tas far as I know. He was manager of
the orchard when I first came out here.
In 1919, 1 think it was, Van Hoesen
and Seymour took over as managers of
the company. Seymour burned up
when the packing house caught fire in
the early twenties. My stepdad rebuilt
the whole works after Woodmansee
came in to take Seymour's place. After
my stepfather's suggestion they leased
a sawmill up near the head of Gray's
Creek. The lease of the mill of course
made it possible for the company to cut
their own lumber and save a lot of
money.
Lynch also built the warehouse at the
end of the tramway near the Mesa sid-
ing. The Mesa switch wasn't originally
there. The only stop was called Vista
on the Council side of the Cottonwood
road. They hauled their apples to Vista
using teams and loaded them on the
train there. Then when they built the
tramway, the railroad put in the Mesa
siding. He built several warehouses for
individual growers as well.
There was a big bunkhouse at Mesa
which housed the single men. I sup-
pose there were fifteen or twenty bach-
elors who stayed in the bunkhouse.
Then there were twelve cottages and a
family lived in each one. And there
were always a number of families scat-
tered here and there. I'd say there were
forty or fifty people who lived in Mesa
year around.
I remember there were a couple of flu
epidemics in 1917 and 1918. Folks from
Council to Weiser were dropping like
flies. We didn't have a single case of
the disease at Mesa. Doctors said we
didn't get the flu because the environ-
ment was healthy and we were isolated
out there. ❑
Remains of the dam on the Middle Fork of the Weiser River constructed
to irrigate the orchards. Photo by Vivian McGown.
Section of eight- mile -long irrigation flume as it looks today. Photo by
Vivian McCown.
20
"AT THAT TIME THE MIDDLE FORK ROAD WAS JUST A
SNAKE TRAIL. " —ELSIE FRY FORMERLY OF MESA
The land at Mesa was originally all
dry-land homesteads. The way I un-
derstand it, Captain Carter was the
man who originally conceived the idea
of planting orchards at Mesa. I believe
he was in a military prison when he
heard of Mesa and the idea of planting
a giant orchard and selling shares in
the company occurred to him. When he
was released, he and his brother came
west to see Mesa for themselves. Later
Captain Carter promoted the idea
amongst his wealthy friends and suc-
ceeded in raising capital to start the
business.
Captain Carter's brother ran the
store at Mesa for several years and
later became a dentist here in Council. I
don't really know what became of the
captain. By the time the trees were
actually producing Van Hoesen and
Woodmansee had taken over the or-
chards. The two of them froze out most
of the original investors. They just
didn't give them any income from their
investment. Most of them were school-
teachers or low to middle income
workers who were blindly hoping for
profits. The management simply did
not give them any revenue from their
land holdings.
I worked at the company cookhouse.
They had their first big crop when I
started there. They had a real big crop
of apples. The trees were all young and
very productive. They "rat- packed" all
those apples and shipped them east.
They employed probably 300 people
that year. We had to cook for an aver-
age of 125 people every meal.
My husband started working at Mesa
before World War I. He helped set out
the trees and helped the engineers
when they surveyed the lots. He was
their chore boy who did all the running
and helped place the stakes. That was
when he was about fifteen.
He told me what a lot of work it was to
haul all the lumber they used to build
the flume up the Middle Fork of the
Weiser. At that time the Middle Fork
road was just a snake trail. He said they
had to cross the stream six times going
up the Middle Fork. They packed all
that timber up there for the flume and
the siphon pipes. Where the flume had
to cross the canyon, they made a
wooden pipe with slats that fit together
like barrel staves. The wood pipe had
bands around it to hold the slats to-
gether. They had to keep it wet to keep
it from falling apart. There had to be
water running through the pipe and the
flume.
It was a well built water system. The
management kept a man to walk the
length of the flume every day to and
from the dam on the Middle Fork. His
job was to check for leaks and to re-
move varmints from the flume -line. The
flume had screens every so often to sift
out whatever fell in there. They had to
keep that water clean since they used it
to drink.
Charles Seymour was one of the
managers of Mesa when I started work
until he was burned up in the packing
shed fire. The fire was thought to have
been started by faulty electrical wiring.
There were a lot of empty apple boxes
stacked up inside the shed. Seymour's
body was found right near the door,
burnt beyond recognition. Evidently he
was confused by the smoke and heat
and the empty boxes near the door
trapped him. As close as he was to the
door, he never found his way out. ❑
HIGH COUNTRY %.
THE FINAL HARVEST
Frank Hogue of Payette leased
the orchard and managed it for
some time before it was taken
over by the Western Idaho Pro-
duction Credit Association in the
late thirties. The credit associa-
tion sold to A. H. Burroughs, Jr.
in 1943. Burroughs ran the or-
chard for about eleven years. In
1945 -46 the orchards produced a
record crop which netted a mil-
lion dollars. Burroughs built the
cannery and finally sold the
ranch to Bryan Ball of Montana
in 1954.
The Ball family suffered a ter-
rific loss when an early frost in
the fall of 1955 ruined their entire
crop, much of which had already
been picked but was not yet in
storage. Mr. Ball was subse-
quently killed on the ranch in a
storage cellar which collapsed in
1961.
The Mesa ranch was pur-
chased from the owner's widow in
1963 in a sale which was never
consummated and ended in a
lawsuit. The prospective buyer,
L. L. Dahl of Utah, unloaded 26
carloads of cattle at the Mesa sid-
ing before the sale was com-
pleted. Mrs. Ball later sued for
the feed and pasture bill when the
transaction failed between her
and Dahl.
In 1967 the ranch was sold by
Mrs. Ball to Harry M. Daum in
another sale which eventually
failed to happen. Mr. Daum had
all the remaining trees from the
orchard removed to pasture his
cattle before the deal between
himself and Emma Ball fell
through.
One of the original Mesa packing houses. Photo by Vivian McGown.
A collapsed storage shed at Mesa. Photo by Vivian McGown.
"DURING THE FALL AT HARVEST WE'D HIRE FROM 300
TO 350 MEXICANS... "— CLIFF MARTIN OF COUNCIL
...
Remains of one of the Rush family residences.
Photo by Vivian McGown.
The two -room schoolhouse at Mesa. Photo by Vivian McGown.
November '77
A collapsed storage shed at Mesa. Photo by Vivian McGown.
"DURING THE FALL AT HARVEST WE'D HIRE FROM 300
TO 350 MEXICANS... "— CLIFF MARTIN OF COUNCIL
Yes, I worked in Mesa from 1945 to
1951. 1 got a job as an accountant for
the Mesa Orchard Co., and about
thirty -five other people worked there
year around. During the fall at harvest
we'd hire from 300 to 350 Mexicans to
work the 600 acres of trees. We had
Japanese in here too from the intern-
ment camps.
A. H. Burroughs owned the orchards
at that time and he was a relative of the
adding machine people. I don't know
who Burroughs bought it from but the
orchards were always a loosing propo-
sition financially. Although the first year
I was here there was a bumper crop
and we shipped 650 carloads of ap-
ples. I think the company grossed
$750,000 that year. They would have
made more but there was a price ceil-
ing put on apples just after the war. The
problem was that at this altitude the
orchards would only produce profitably
one year out of ten.
Harvest time traditionally began Oc-
tober 5 and ran for about six weeks. If
we had bad weather we had to feed the
labor anyway and the apples wouldn't
get harvested. The Mexican labor lived
in huts taken from old CCC camps.
Lots of local people worked the or-
chards too, but they had their own
homes in the area.
One interesting thing about the or-
chards is how they were irrigated.
There was a wooden flume about eight
miles long which carried water from a
wooden dam on the middle fork of the
Weiser to underground wooden pipes
which irrigated the orchards. The irriga-
tion system was built a long time before
I got there. We used to have a man who
walked the eight miles of flume every
day to check it. That was his only job.
There were thermometers placed
throughout the orchard. When it started
to get too cold we had to put out
smudge pots. Sometimes as many as
3,000 pots had to be placed, and each
held nine gallons of fuel oil. Right there
you have 27,000 gallons of fuel. While I
was there Burroughs installed a 60,000
gallon fuel tank. There were a lot of
problems with the orchard. Besides the
cold we had moths and mice damaging
the trees.
When I left Mesa, Burroughs still
owned it. Just about anyone who has
lived here long enough worked there at
one time or another. ❑
21
-a*
The skeletal remains of these gas pumps are all that's left of the Mesa
general store. Photo by Vivian McGown.
". . . WE HAD EVERY INTENTION OF GOING INTO THE FRUIT
BUSINESS." — EMMA BALL, PRESENT OWNER OF MESA
We bought the Mesa Orchards in
1954 from a man named Burroughs.
There were only about 700 acres of
orchard planted at the time. The ranch
itself was 3,333 acres. There were
quite a few more people living in the
town of Mesa at the time we bought the
property.
When we bought the ranch and
moved our family from Montana to set-
tle here, we had every intention of
going into the fruit business. There was
a big freeze that year which froze or-
chards all the way to Oregon and which
changed our thinking about fruit.
We had 47,000 bushels of apples
already picked and in boxes the first
night it froze. The apple broker told us
to leave them where they were until the
apples thawed out because they'd get
spotted if they were moved. The first
day they were all right. I went out and
took an apple off the tree and put it on
the table and said, "Daddy, that apple
isn't hurt at all." My husband looked at it
and said, "I know but the apple man
says to leave them set and that's what
I'm going to do."
The first day it was all right. We left
them there the next day and I went out
and took an apple off the tree again and
it was all right the second day. But the
third day she went down and cooked
everything. Of course then the broker
said, "You can bring them in now but
handle them careful - like," but they
were ruined then.
They brought in a few thousand
bushels after the second day but they
weren't enough to amount to anything.
We lost everything. After that expe-
rience, I sold the place to a man named
Daumwho pulled all of the trees out to
run cattle. That was the end of the or-
chard though he never did take over
and I still own the ranch.
We lost 175,000 dollars on fruit that
year. There was 45,000 dollars in ap-
ples alone that were already picked.
They said we had another 115,000
bushels of our best apples on the trees.
After that first year we weren't very
strongly enthusiastic about the fruit
business. We didn't go very heavy into
the spraying or anything for the next
season. ❑
The abandoned post office at Mesa. Photo by Vivian McGown.
"I THINK SOME OF MY HAPPIEST MEMORIES ARE BACK
THEN." — AUDREY KILBORN . POSTMISTRESS OF MESA
People from Midvale to New Mea-
dows used to come here in the fall to
work for their grubstake to get them
through the winter months. Most
stayed in tents which they pitched in
the townsite or in some of the orchards
owned by individuals. Seems like there
were a thousand people here in the fall.
I personally worked in the packing
house, in the cannery and in the dryer.
It was actually kind of fun too. We
worked hard, at least ten hours and
sometimes more.
The company maintained a cook
house where anyone who worked at
Mesa could eat and pay for his meals
with company coupons. Most people
just brought sack lunches or went back
to their tents to eat. It was a very in-
teresting place to live.
In the fall, when there were lots of
people in here, we just didn't know
everyone. Atce the number of workers
thinned out through the winter months
and early in the summer, it was just like
one big family here. We all lived in the
townsite within twenty feet of each
other's houses. We were all doing farm
work together and it was quite wonder-
ful. I think some of my happiest mem-
22
ories are back then.
They had a gardener who kept the
yards around the townsite looking like a
park. The big houses the owners built
were as fine as any houses built in
those days. Of course they didn't com-
pare with the new buildings we have
now. As I remember, the big houses
were built for several of the Van Hoe -
sens, Mr. Woodmansee, and several of
the Rushes. The Rushes never man-
aged the Mesa Company but rather
had some orchards of their own.
As well as apples, which were the
main fruit crop, the orchards produced
peaches, prunes, pears, berries and
cherries. They used to haul the fruit in
flatbed trucks. I remember my daugh-
ter said that when she was a little girl
she thought the second man on the
truck was there just to throw apples to
the school kids. It was a fun place here.
Now we see quite a few new houses
have gone up, quite a few acres have
been sold, other people are planning to
build and wells are being drilled. We
have hopes that someday it will be a
nice little community again. Far as that
goes, it is a nice little community right
now, but it's going to be bigger.
The disintegration of the Mesa Orchards Company is nearly final.
MESA WILL SINK NO FURTHER
Mrs. Ball continues to own and live with her youngest son on
the ranch which used to be the the largest privately owned orchard
in the world. Though she is surrounded by the delapidated ruins of
the old Mesa Orchard Company, there exists an intangible feeling
that Mesa will sink no further. Some new houses have been built,
old mansions have been renovated and persons are buying parcels
of the old ranch from Mrs. Ball with the intention of building
homes. While it is doubtful that the world's largest orchard will
ever again grace the rolling plains of Mesa, it appears that possibly
people may inhabit the community again, bringing renewed life
and maybe eventually a few backyard fruit trees.
THE END.
HIGH COUNTRY