Anyway, after [Walter] Knott rented this vacant field, these neighbor lads and myself laid for him and when he finally showed up, he gave us a job. We were put to work digging out sand burrs and putting in new strawberry plants. Besides us three, the other neighbor was added; also an old guy and three Mexicans. The crew stayed the same during those two years except at the height of strawberry picking time when he would hire some of the poor starving chicken ranchers that were scattered throughout the valley.
During the slow days he would put us to work down at his Anaheim place. He had already built an open winged shed by the road that ran past his place and was selling mostly strawberries and watermelons. Soon Knott put up a shed-like stand where we lived. I sure got hooked on strawberries while working for him. I have never taken a withdrawl cure yet, so when the first strawberries hit Davenport each spring I gotta have a strawberry fix. Sugar and I get away with more than two flats a week all season long till I frantically cannot find anymore.
Lee, Russell, photographer. / Library of Congress
Maryhill, Washington State
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