Picking Blueberries Becomes a Trip Down Memory Lane
Arthur Campbell, Peggy Campbell, Anna Hasegawa, Don Cone, Molly Cone, Louise Cobb
Once upon a time, an entire orchard of blueberry bushes was moved to make way for the construction of the Wesley Homes Des Moines campus. That happened in the early 1950’s.
All the bushes were transplanted to the Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm, and for over 60 years these same plants have continued to bear fruit.
In recent years residents and staff started the grassroots tradition of making a yearly summer pilgrimage to harvest the fruit from these same bushes.
Sten Crissey, a Wesley Homes Foundation staff member who participated in this year’s outing, described the plants as “very mature healthy stocks standing about 6 feet tall.” “Some of the branches were 1 1/2” thick” said Crissey.
Executive Chef Chuck Chalfant plans to use some of the berries for refreshment goodies at the Des Moines Open House Sept. 20th.
At the November 6th annual bake sale the berries will be baked into pies and other delicacies. All proceeds from the bake sale go to benefit the Circle of Concern. The Circle of Concern is a fund that provides financial assistance to residents of the Des Moines campus.
The generosity of the Wesley Homes culture is evident in the supportive attitudes of their residents and staff. “Former Executive Director Ron Klipping bakes two of the blueberry pies for us each year, even though he’s retired,” said Anna Hasegawa.
This year in less than an hour the berry pickers, both residents and staff, came away with 12 lbs of berries. According to Crissey, Louise Cobb would have won any berry-picking contest. “She picked twice as many berries as the rest of us,” said Crissey. When Cobb was a student she picked berries for extra money.
You can’t beat a fruit that carries such a bite-size burst of flavor, commemorates history and evokes timeless memories of youth. Anyone remember how the song goes, “I Found my Thrill on Blueberry Hill.”
ilene little for Wesley Homes
September 9th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Sound like we all should mark our calendars for the November 6th Bake Sale!
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 am
I had no idea that the original blue berry plants on our Des Moines campus were moved to the Mercer Slough farm! Over the years I have driven by this farm and did not know of its connection with Wesley Homes. The warm spirit of our residents shows through in this great story and I pray it remains a tradition for years to come! There seems no better way to learn of the heart and joy residents experience at Wesley Homes than getting what I like to call “Did You Know That” kinds of facts and stories. Thanks for this one!
September 24th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I’m sorry that I did not get to chance to participate in the harvest! Not only are the blueberries you picked flavorful and memory evoking, they are really good for you! One cup of blueberries contains 14 mg of Vitamin C and 0.8 mg Vitamin E. According to the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (Boston, MA), blueberries are among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 am
A wonderful story; great tradition and everyone will benefit from this tasty power foods! The Blueberry, that tiny fruit packs in the most antioxidant power. My guess is those pies will be THE number one hit at the bake sale!
October 19th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I had the pleasure of accompanying this group on the blueberry expedition and what a great time we all had! Picking the blueberries was fun, but the joy of being together on the outing was the thing that made the day very special.