Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 26
THE PROBLEM WITH GROWING FRUIT IS THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT LULL BETW
1,496 farms in Nelson," says
Woody Greenberg, a former newspaper editor and county supervisor. "In 1982, there were 25."
Many of those agricultural operations had been wiped out by the
cataclysmic flooding from Hurricane Camille in 1969. For farmers
who were already on the financial
edge, that was the final shove.
IN MANY WAYS, WILL, MASSIE,
DOC, DICK AND SAM SAUNDERS
WOULD HARDLY RECOGNIZE
THE BUSINESS THEY BIRTHED
IN 1914 AND NURSED INTO
YOUNG ADULTHOOD.
26 BlueRidgeCountry.com
Saunders Brothers survived that, but
reached a crossroads with the peach
harvest of 1978.
"Thousands of bushels of fruit
weren't picked," Paul Saunders recalls, "because there was nobody to
pick them."
There was only one solution, it
was decided: workers from Mexico.
At first, the family used imported labor in the traditional manner,
transient crews showing up for
the harvest and then departing en
masse. But Paul Saunders and his
sons soon began to realize the extent of the newcomers' work ethic,
and decided that if they treated
these workers well, some of them
might stay-if not permanently, at
least more than a few months.
"We paid them three dollars
an hour over minimum wage,"
Paul Saunders says, "and we went
around the county and fixed up
some houses for them to live in,
with everything they needed."
Some of these Mexican workers
wound up gaining American citizenship and sending for their families.
Others signed on for nine-month
stretches. Tatum made sure to include
the Mexican kids in a preschool she
started, and Paul often took a group
to church with him at Rose Union
Baptist, where he serves as a regular
Sunday School teacher.
When Terry Miller, a team leader
in the ornamental operation, wanted
to expand communication with her
Mexican co-workers, "I asked some
of the guys to teach me. I wanted to
learn Spanish the way they spoke it,
including slang."
Even Paul Saunders, not exactly bilingual, delights in shouting "Hola!"
to the Mexicans he encounters in his
frequent pickup tours of the farm. He
also likes pointing out the Mexican
flags flying in front of some houses in
Nelson County, and the soccer field
http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015
The Family Farm is Alive and Well in the Virginia Mountains
7 States of Mountain Treks, Complete with a Beer or Wine Stop
The Photo Essay: Autumn Beauty
Wendell Scott Gets His Due
Weekend: Where the North Carolina and Tennessee Mountains Rub Shoulders
Chillin’ in Chattanooga
Charlottesville to Charleston aboard Amtrak
Great Tastes of the West Virginia Panhandle
Cavender Cabins: Enjoy the North Georgia Woods
From the Editor
Letters / Worth a Click
Mill Creek Stories
The Hike
Creature Feature
Mountain Report
Great Home Buys in the Mountains
Country Roads
Festivals & Events
Singing in the Garden
Guest Column: Liz Belcher
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - B1
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - B2
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Letters / Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Great Home Buys in the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - The Family Farm is Alive and Well in the Virginia Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 7 States of Mountain Treks, Complete with a Beer or Wine Stop
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - The Photo Essay: Autumn Beauty
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Wendell Scott Gets His Due
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Weekend: Where the North Carolina and Tennessee Mountains Rub Shoulders
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Chillin’ in Chattanooga
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Charlottesville to Charleston aboard Amtrak
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Great Tastes of the West Virginia Panhandle
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Cavender Cabins: Enjoy the North Georgia Woods
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Singing in the Garden
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Guest Column: Liz Belcher
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2015 - Cover4
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