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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Agriculture in Utah does fairly well considering that the state’s climate is mainly dry. Each summer, our farmers seem to harvest plenty of produce with some years being better than others. And one of the great places to get that produce is Utah’s Fruit Way, a series of roadside stands along Highway 89 in Box Elder County.
I’m sure many of you know of the Fruit Way. After all, traveling there for fresh produce has been a tradition for many Utahns that dates back to the 1940s.
George Nielson, who founded the famous Nielson’s stand, probably was the first to sell fruit along the road. During the ‘30s, George needed a second job—aside from teaching chemistry at Box Elder High School—to keep his family busy. So, he rented a farm in Brigham City and bought additional acres with his brother. They planted peach and apricot trees, row crops and strawberries. During harvest time, George and his children started selling the produce at the former Bushnell Hospital. They also took their produce to Salt Lake. At the time, raspberries were very popular and sold very well door-to-door in Salt Lake’s neighborhoods.
The success from selling his produce led George to buy more land and eventually open his stand along Highway 89 in Perry.
Today, Utah’s Fruit Way features about a dozen stands. There’s Pettingill’s Fruit and Produce, which includes a snack bar and fresh fruit shakes; Sumida’s Farms, specializing in sweet cherries; Valcarce’s, which is located across from Maddox; and several others. Their stories are like that of the Nielson family. Many began selling the produce they farmed in the summer, and their businesses have continued as generations have kept them running.
Utah’s Fruit Way stretches from Perry, just south of Brigham City, to the southern end of Willard just before the connection from 89 to I-15. This summer, as with every summer, the stands began selling cherries in June and of course, drew huge crowds for peaches in late August and early September. And if you haven’t been up this year, it’s not too late to pick up some late season tomatoes and October pumpkins.
For Zions Bank, I’m Fred Ball. I’m speaking on business.
