2 CapitalPress.com August 17, 2018 People & Places Sisters nurture legacy at family orchard Capital Press Established 1928 Board of Directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Harrison Forrester Mike Omeg Cory Bollinger Jeff Rogers Kelley family keeps orchard going with unique offerings like Airbnb stays Western Innovator By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press FILER, Idaho — Nestled alongside the Snake River just west of Twin Falls, Kelley’s Canyon Orchard has been a draw for generations of fruit lovers. The orchard is in its 110th fruit-crop season, and locals with bushel baskets knew their way to the U-pick rows of peach trees on Sunday after- noon. Others, from as far away as Boise, chose freshly picked produce from the farm stand welcoming visitors to the or- chard. The operation has a rich history from its beginnings in 1906 to its current, fourth-gen- eration owners — sisters Robin and Gretchen. Although mar- ried, the women still go by the family name, Robin Kelley Rausch said. While the operation has had small blips of large distribution, its focus has always been direct sales to customers, she said. It’s a business model that harkens back to her great grandfather, John Steele Gour- ley, who planted the first fruit trees at the orchard in 1906. His father, a preacher, had come to the Magic Valley from Pennsyl- vania to help with the develop- ment of the First Presbyterian Church of Twin Falls. Gourley recognized the cli- mate in the Snake River Can- yon was ideal for cultivating stone fruit and obtained land and water rights there. He es- tablished his orchard on 50 acres along the banks of the Robin Kelley Rausch and Gretchen Kelley Bietz Photos by Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Robin Kelley Rausch, co-owner of Kelley’s Canyon Orchard in Filer, Idaho, puts ripe-picked peaches in a market bag on Aug. 11. Alex Badenhop, left, an employee at Kelley’s Canyon Orchard in Filer, Idaho, helps customers with peaches they picked at the orchard on Aug. 11. Snake and planted melons be- tween the trees to make a little money while the trees were ma- turing. For years, he would haul his produce to Twin Falls by horse and wagon, selling to houses up and down neighborhood alleys, Kelley said. Love for the orchard was carried down to his daughter, Mary Anne Gourley Kelley, and grandson, Richard Kel- ley — the father of Robin and Gretchen. The business ran under the Gourley name until Richard took over in the late 1970s and expanded the operation. After Richard’s death in 2014, Robin and Gretchen took the reins. “Some of the things I love the best are the multiple-gen- eration experiences. It’s a rite of passage,” she said, not just for her own family, which is bringing in the fifth generation at the orchard, but also for the customers who have been com- ing to the orchard for genera- tions. People who brought their children to the orchard are now bringing their grandchildren. It’s a connection of food and family. Kelley’s is part of other families’ traditions, she said. “It’s always been a place for people to come and enjoy. We really pride ourselves on a sense of place,” she said. But it isn’t an easy business. The orchard lost 85 percent of its cherry crop this year due to a late spring freeze. The freeze and a hail storm took half of the peaches and plums and dec- imated the nectarines. Apple production is also down due to a bad bud set. “The orchard business is a four-month revenue stream, maybe, if everything goes well,” she said. But she and her sister, who both also have careers outside the orchard business, are ded- Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Acres: 200 acres, 70 acres cultivated Production: Cherries, apricots, cantaloupe, water- melon, tomatoes, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and apples Sales: On-farm stand; farm- ers’ markets in Twin Falls, Boise and Mountain Home, Idaho; farmers’ market in Elko, Nev.; private distributor in Reno, Nev. Website: www.kelleyscan- yonorchard.com icated to making the orchard thrive. They are putting all the income from the orchard back into the business, and they’ve opened their grandmother’s house on the property as an Airbnb destination to bring in more revenue and provide visitors with a unique experi- ence, she said. “There is a love for the place and the legacy of tra- dition and a responsibility to family,” she said. The orchard is a shared story between the family and customers, old and new, she said. Thursday, Aug. 23 Inaugural Washington FFA Founda- tion Golf Tournament. 1:30-6 p.m. Apple Tree Golf Course, 8804 Occidental Road, Yakima, Wash. To take part, con- tact FFA Foundation Executive Director Jesse Taylor at jesse@washingtonffa. Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Entire contents copyright © 2018 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ......................... 800-882-6789 Email ........ Circulation@capitalpress.com Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898 Boise Brad Carlson .................... 208-914-8264 Cent. Washington Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099 W. Washington Don Jenkins ...................... 360-722-6975 E Washington Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923 Oregon George Plaven ................. 406-560-1655 Mateusz Perkowski .......... 800-882-6789 Graphic artist Alan Kenaga ..................... 800-882-6789 To Place Classified Ads Ad fax .............................. 503-364-2692 or ...................................... 503-370-4383 Telephone (toll free) .......... 800-882-6789 Online ......www.capitalpress.com/classifieds Subscriptions Two Russell steam tractors on display at the 48th annual Great Oregon Steam-Up near Brooks, Ore. Joel Messer, John Winn and Vickey Winn are longtime members of the John Deere Museum at Powerland Heritage Park, which hosts the Great Oregon Steam-Up each year. ple while an announcer tells the history of each piece. Tim Ruffing has attended the Steam-Up for decades and now brings his 1911 steam tractor to the event. “I have been coming here since about 1970, back when this was just an open field,” he said. “This engine, supposedly … they used it as a road en- gine,” Ruffing said, adding that the tractor was used to pull a road grader. Ruffing started out bring- ing stationary steam engines but eventually worked his way up to a steam tractor. He thinks that teaching people to run the engine is important, and he usually has other people operate the en- gine for the Parade of Power. Vintage Machinery Museum featuring John Deere. Vickey Winn and her husband, John, have participated in the Steam- Up for 30 years. She is the pres- ident of the John Deere muse- um. While the museum opened in 2013, the John Deere club at Powerland has been around a lot longer, she said. The Winns and a friend, Joel Messer, have long appre- ciated John Deere equipment. “We had John Deeres on the farm,” John Winn said, adding that there was a Deere dealer down the road from his family’s house when he was young and they found the brand to be reliable. Messer’s story was simi- lar, he said as he motioned to a John Deere tractor and said he had driven one just like it. For all three, being a part of the Steam-Up each year and being members of the mu- seum allow them to preserve the heritage of farming for the next generation. “This is history,” John said. The three spoke of the old machine shop across the way from the museum and men- tioned there is an importance to showing younger gener- ations how things used to be done. That’s why the museums and Powerland exist, Vickey Winn said. Powerland Heritage Park is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday from April through September and peri- odically hosts other events. It is closed Aug. 18. Tuesday, Sept. 4 Christmas Tree Association Tree Fair & Trade Show. Holiday Inn, Portland Airport, 8439 NE Colum- bia Blvd. Portland, Ore. The world’s largest trade show in the Christ- mas tree industry. Members have the advantage of market exposure at the Tree Fair and Trade Show, where buyers and sellers meet. It features industry equipment and supplies on display as well as retail lot demonstrations, research and marketing information. Cost: $19- $29 Website: www.pnwcta.org Photos by Desiree Bergstrom/Capital Press First held on the current grounds in 1970, the Steam- Up’s roots go back farther, Duchateau said. “It started as a threshing bee,” she said. Farmers would get done with their harvests and want to do something fun, so they would hold the threshing bee, Duchateau said. As the event grew they ran out of space on the farm prop- erty they were using. They eventually gained use of the current location from another group and purchased the land later. The park is now home to 15 heritage museums, includ- ing a truck museum, an an- tique Caterpillar museum and a blacksmith shop. One of them is the Oregon Calendar Western Idaho Fair. Western Idaho Fairgrounds, 5610 Glenwood St., Boise, Idaho. Website: www.idahofair.com Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Location: Filer, Idaho Capital Press Friday-Sunday Aug. 17-26 Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor By DESIREE BERGSTROM To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@ capitalpress.com. Write “Calendar” in the subject line. Rick Hansen Chief Financial Officer Owners: Kelley’s Canyon Orchard Steam-Up stokes interest in ag history BROOKS, Ore. — A rhythmic popping sound filled the air at Powerland Heritage Park on Sunday as all sizes of antique machin- ery chugged along grav- el roads and hissing steam came from all directions as exhibitors stoked their boil- ers to keep agricultural his- tory alive. The 48th annual Great Oregon Steam-Up welcomed 17,000 to 20,000 people during its two-weekend run, said Michelle Duchateau, president of Powerland Her- itage Park, which is on 62 acres off Interstate 5 near Brooks, Ore. “(The Steam-Up) goes along with our mission to ed- ucate people about how agri- culture has changed and how machinery has fielded that change,” Duchateau said. The Steam-Up offers vis- itors a chance to witness the sights and sounds of the past through many types of an- tique steam-powered equip- ment, a blacksmith shop, a unique steam-powered lum- ber mill and even an old- time electricity-powered trolley. Each day the high- light is the Parade of Power, during which the tractors and machinery drive past grandstands filled with peo- Corporate Officers Heidi Wright Chief Operating Officer org or 253-208-9071. A dinner and auc- tion will follow the tournament. Thursday, Aug. 30 Meat School 2018. 5:30-9 p.m. OSU Southern Oregon Research & Extension Center, Auditorium, 569 Hanley Road, Central Point, Ore. A five-evening class series beginning Aug. 30 covers vari- ous aspects of producing and market- ing grass-fed and grass-finished meat animals. Instructors include renowned authors, successful producers, OSU Extension livestock and grazing special- ists, faculty from other universities and speakers from the American Grassfed Association and the Niche Meat Proces- sors Association Network. The program covers cattle, sheep and goats. There is a discount for second registrant from the same farm. Choose all five classes for $175 or select individual classes for $40 each. Details: https://extension.oregon- state.edu/sorec/events/grass-finished- meat-school-class-1-5-part-series. Class 1, Aug. 30; Class 2, Sept. 4; Class 3, Sept. 6; Class 4, Sept. 11, Class 5, Sept. 18. Each class is 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday-Monday Aug. 24-Sept. 3 Oregon State Fair. Oregon State Fair and Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. https://oregonstatefair.org/ Friday-Saturday Aug. 31-Sept. 8 Eastern Idaho State Fair. Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds, 97 Park St., Blackfoot, Idaho. Website: https://fun atthefair.com/ Friday-Sunday Aug. 31-Sept. 23 Washington State Fair. 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup, Wash. www.thefair. com/ Meat School 2018. 5:30-9 p.m. OSU Southern Oregon Research & Ex- tension Center, Auditorium, 569 Hanley Road, Central Point, Ore. The second session of a five-evening class series on producing and marketing grass- fed and grass-finished meat animals. Details: https://extension.oregonstate. edu/sorec/events/grass-finished-meat- school-class-1-5-part-series. Thursday, Sept. 6 Meat School 2018. 5:30-9 p.m. OSU Southern Oregon Research & Extension Center, Auditorium, 569 Han- ley Road, Central Point, Ore. The third session of a five-evening class series on producing and marketing grass-fed and grass-finished meat animals. Friday-Saturday Sept. 7-8 60th Annual Pacific Northwest Tuesday, Sept. 11 Meat School 2018. 5:30-9 p.m. OSU Southern Oregon Research & Extension Center, Auditorium, 569 Han- ley Road, Central Point, Ore. The fourth session of a series on producing and marketing grass-fed and grass-finished meat animals. The program covers cat- tle, sheep and goats. Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $3.75/month (direct with- drawal from bank or credit card account) 1 year U.S. ...................................$49.99 2 years U.S. .................................$89.99 1 year Canada .................................$275 1 year other countries ......... call for quote 1 year Internet only .......................$49.99 1 year 4-H, FFA students and teachers ....$30 9 months 4-H, FFA students & teachers .....$25 Visa and Mastercard accepted To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main office or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. 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