10, ENTERTAINMENT, THE HERALD, Wed. July 21, 1976

ROAM AT HOME

[A TRAVEL BRITISH COLUMBIA FEATURE

‘Sweet, juicy,. colorful
Okanagan fruit, ship

the carload, is familiar in

grocery. stores across the

country and overseas. But
the on-the-spot showcase of
. the valley beside the big
blue iakes and of its near

neighbor the Similkameen |

Valley, is the roadside fruit
stand.

Some 150 of these direct-
from-the -farm sales outlets
tempt the motorist to taste
fruit fresh from vine or tree
along a route starting at
about Hedley on the west,
and extending from the
United States -border just
‘below. Osoyoos north along
Highway 97 as it follows the
lakeshore line through
Oliver, Penticton, Sum-
merland, Kelowna, Vernon,
- Armstrong and Enderby
'.and the many smaller
centres in between.
- The fruit stand -season

d by

_ By Ginnie Beardsley

starts.in June, when the rich
reds of cherries succeed the

‘delicate pastels of valleys
full of blossom. For the.

more permanent © and
diversified stands, of which
there: are about 70, the
bounty of the land spills like

a cornucopia as the muted:
colors of apricots and .

peaches are succeeded by
the deep blues of prune and
other plum varieties, - and

the soft, pale golds. ‘Com-

plementing the . glory of
color of the massed fruit
displays are the delicious
and varied aromas of the
different fruits.

While most stands are.

primarily in the business. of
selling fruit, vegetables also
appear at many, starting
with the early asparagus,

and carrying on with.
tomatoes, cucumbers, corn
and miscellaneous field.

vegetables ‘ripening in in-

. . -
Dining R ii Open |
8 A.M. - a P.M.

Buffet Lunch ©
11:30 ALM, - 1:30 P.M.
SAUNA BATH.’
"SWIMMING POOL, ;

{. 4828 Hwy. 16 West
i Terrace, B.C.

635-9151 |

7 ‘valleys’

CHa aed cn

single crop, or farms which

_ . simply put a sign on the gate
', from time'to time to sell the.
results of a day’s picking of

tree-ripened fruit. These
small selling o operations 3 are
important in that they give
the grower a market for
some of the varieties which
are grown in quantities too
small to interest packing
houses.

‘Some 15 kinds of apples

. are needed to provide cross-

creasing numbers - as the
season advances. Right into
fall ‘and throtgh October,
the various melons and
squashes add a variety of

greens and golds to the

picture--and what would
Hallowe’en and
Thanksgiving be without
pumpkins?

The season is extended for

_ the permanent stands by on-

the-spot -cold storage and

vegetable humidifying .
. facilities, so that very late
fall. visitors may still take.
’ home’ fresh produce to
“4. freeze or can to prolong the

pleasure of the garden
summer.

‘More numerous ‘than the
permanent stands are the
many which set up for
perhaps ¢ a month to. sell a

pollinization, while only six

interest to the
Similarly with

are of
packers.

- apricots, and so on, giving

the motorist the opportunity
to buy first qulaity fruit
directly from the grower.

Okanagan fruit stands had
their very modest start in

Osoyoos in the.30’s, selling .
very limited quantities of

cantaloupes. The roadside
stand as a regular part. of

thé grower’s business had to.

wait another 15 to 20 years--

for the completion of .the

Hope-Princeton Highway,

with the consequent growth.

in popularity of travel to the

interior valleys.
Many ‘stands

started out with a card table

or a few planks laid across
sawhorses have since. grown .

__CALL

_same . stand’ in

which -

JOE’ $ PRINTER’ S-

2 - 4611 Lazelle, Terrace

ALL TYPES OF COMMERCIAL PRINTING —
OFFSET & LETTERPRESS |

to most attractive and
ambitious proportions,. with

some of the most advanced .
‘merchandising concepts of

any of North America’s
fruit-growing areas. Many
of the original stand owners
and their families--in what -
is essentially: a family
business-are still ‘at the
more
sophisticated form after 20
years.

' The Similkameen ac-

counts for about 40 per cent
of fruit stand sales, the
Okanagan 60 per cent. More

‘than 10,000. (9,000 tons) of

the main tree-fruit crops

alone are sold by the regular -

fruit stands—apart frorn. the’
afore-mentioned ' direct
farm sales. Total fruit stand
sales .exceed ‘$6 -million ‘a
year, and Bive employment.

.fo about 450 -people--to say

nothing of the pleasure and
excellent value
fruit, vegetables and
assorted allied lines such as
ciders. and fruit candies
which they provide for the
travelling public. In ad-
dition to private motorists,
most tour buses make at
least one fruit stand stop in
the Okanagan and
Similkameen valleys.

-

[635-3024

_Res. 635-6471

Lakelse Hotel |

 635- 2287

_ Cover Charge |

ONE DAY SERVICE ON RUBBER STAMPS

4820 Lakelse
Terrace”

Monday - ‘Saturday * 9: 30 pam. to 2 a.m. |
: Fri Sat, $2. 00 per person |

in fresh -