Cranberries

Autumn means that it's cranberry harvesttime on Cape Cod!  Let's read what cousin Pearl remembered about this special time of year.

Family member name: Pearl Keith Gibbs Thomas
Tree branch: Smith
Lifetime: 1890-1981
Relation: My 1st cousin, 3x removed (my dad's mom's dad's 1st cousin)

Pearl lived in Wareham, Mass. Today, Wareham is the home of the largest cranberry grower in the world, AD Makepeace, which was around in Pearl’s day. Cranberries are one of just a handful of fruits native to North America.  

The bright red berry is grown in a sunken, dry field called a bog.  They grow on vines.  Pearl picked using the dry method, by hand, also done with a tool resembling a comb.  When ready to harvest using the wet harvesting method, the bog is flooded with water.  The lightweight berries float to the top and can be skimmed into a truck via a huge vacuum hose.

Several years ago we were visiting Cape Cod during September and came across this beautiful bog flooded for harvesting. 

Cranberry bog harvest on Cape Cod 2003.