Section
SANDY. OREGON. THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1981
The Sdntiy Post
If you think postal employees are
dedicated, try visiting a straw berry
field some tim e
It's done nothing but rain for the
past three weeks, but that hasn't
halted the efforts of local straw berry
pickers who have returned to the
berry battle front day after day. One
of the area's larger straw berry
farm s, Liepold's of Boring, has been
in business for some 30 years and
Elsa Liepold said that its the dedica
tion of the pickers who make it all
worthwhile.
“ Hain or shine, these kids are
out,” she said. “ It makes them
tough, stoic. And it gives them
money These people really hustle
out here — they like to hear the
jingle in their pockets ”
The rain has had a mixed effect on
the straw berry business this year.
On one hand, the m ild w inter and
constant rains have helped produce
a bumper crop of berries. But the
rain has also presented the possibili
ty of rot and the d iffic u lty in
harvesting,
“ We have a huge crop this year, a
really good crop,” Mrs Liepold
said. “ The rot isn’t too bad. When
the plants were blooming, my hus
band (John) sprayed them and
we've been spraying them every
week since. The rain has really sized
the berries up, too ”
T hat’s good news for the pickers,
as well as the growers and retailers.
Many of the Liepold berries go to
Area News
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com m ercial stands, such as Janz
Berryland. Workers picking com
m ercial berries, those with the
stems on. are paid $1 25 a crate on
weekdays A $1 50 weekend price is
an incentive to get workers on Satur
days and Sundays A crate w ill con
tain 9*4 pounds.
Berries picked without stems are
targeted for canneries Pickers can
earn 10 cents a pound for their ef
forts.
“ I t ’s hard to say how much you
can make p icking,” Mrs Liepold
said. “ There is no average. One
Cambodian lady has been here two-
and-a-half hours this morning and
has already made $25. But not
everyone can make that much ”
The Liepold farm is a fam ily a f
fair. Everyone helps out on the
45-acre farm and many of their
pickers have returned year after
year.
We've been in the business for 30
years and there's lots of w orries.”
Mrs. Liepold said “ But I love it
when the old pickers come o u t; some
have been here for years
“ You always w orry about the
berry business, though,” she added
You have the weather to contend
with, the picker situation and the
government There are a lot of
hands dipping into your pockets, it
costs a lot to be a strawberry
fa rm e r.”
There may be a lot of worries, but
the pickers are out, the berries are
plentiful and good and another sue
cessful season is underway.
(flo rk w lw from top) Chang Dang, a Cambodian girl now living in Boring, picks in the
l iepold fields; to young Io pick. l.upe Castellanos plays with a carl in the mud while her
parents work; M arcia Liepold weighs a crate of strawberries as the line of fast pickers
builds; her mother. Elsa l iepold, shows off this year’s bumper crop of ripe berries.
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