Historic Hood River
Fruit Grader
10-17-2013
Notes
I’m always impressed when someone gets the exposure just right on an interior shot. I wish we knew the date and the packing house. This fruit grader looks like a “Cutler Grader” we have in other images. It’s an impressive mechanism to rapidly sort apples by size without bruising them.
charlott
Those papers hanging from the ceiling are box liners. Actual apple wrap is stacked over there where the windows are. They, in the very early years lined the boxes prior to packing. Apparently this is the tail of the packing line, with the sorting done at the other end. The little cone shape things are where the apples would drop in from above and help cushion them for the final drop into the bin.
The little Good example of the wooden apple box to the left there. Wouldn’t have a clue as to whos packing house this might have been. One guess might be Mason.
Arlen Sheldrake
Yes, an amazing interior shot Arthur..the hanging light bulbs don’t seem to be providing any glare. Any body with ideas on how this shot was pulled off?
So once the apples were graded….how did they move to the packing area or were they packed where the fellow with the apron is standing? Bet that floor got real hard after some hours standing there…..
l.e.
Alva Day promoting electricity?
Everything looks new. The wood, the belts, but not the window.
Looks like the box that is hanging off the side can slide down the line.
charlott
They would have processed them right there. That is the actual packing line. Have stood on the packing house floor for many hours, but it was concrete. Which would be softer, wood or concrete?
Judy
Museum has an early example of how the apples were washed and then wrapped and crated before new technology intervened. One of these days it might be on display again. Come down and see some of Alva’s early photos on display at the Museum.
Jill Stanford
I’m not able to get to Hood River for the Apple Festival this year but I bought some HR apples today at a local fruit stand. Every year, my grandfather would send us (by railroad — Hood River to Edmonds, Washington) a large crate of red delicious apples. i remember coming home from school and there was the crate– the smell of those apples!!!! Mother made pies and applesauce and I had a fresh, shiny apple in my lunch box for weeks. The apples were all wrapped, like these are.