Two loads of peaches make a beautiiul 

 sight in the orchard of H. H. Thurness & 



Son, near Centralia. Loaders are Vcrlin 

 Fouls and Lyman Moore. 



Woman power runs most of the peach 

 packing sheds. Left to right: Mrs. Lou 



Beadle. Mrs. Ora Thurness. Mrs. 

 Moore and Miss lewel Thurness. 



Loren 



AN all-time rccoril for the Illinois 

 I'ruit Growers Exchange in mar 

 kctin^ peaches appears to have been es- 

 tablished Ml the 19*1 season )ust cojn- 

 pleted with an estimated volume ol 

 130,000 bushels. This compares with 

 36,000 bushels during; the short crop 

 year of 19 43, and 67,000 bushels in 

 19I-. 



This volume of marketing was made 

 in the fate of wartime ditliculties sueh 

 as truck, labor and basket shortages. 



There were fewer trucks to move 

 the crop in 19-ii than in iy-i3 and 

 there were more breakdowns on the 

 road, L. L. Colvis, director of fruit and 

 vegetable marketing for the lAA re- 

 ported. In spite of this situation, 30 

 per cent of the peach crop moved by 

 trucks. In addition the Exchange han- 

 dled about 250 cars of peaches by rail.- 

 Here again, labor shortages were noted 

 and as a result railroads found it diffi- 

 cult to furnish iced cars. 



The job of picking and packing the 

 crop was largely achieved through lo- 

 cal help working extra long hours. 

 Drouth conditions that destroyed other 

 crops in southern Illinois made it pos- 

 sible for more farmers to help out with 

 the peach harvest and their help was d 

 saving factor. 



The labor situation also was aided by 

 the Victory Farm Volunteers and Ja- 

 maicans. At Centralia, 183 boy VFV's 

 were housed and fed in the Centralia 

 High School and made up 13 teams 

 that worked in orchards. At Salem, 8 t 

 boy VFVs made up 6 teams that were 

 housed and fed in the Salem High 

 School. There also was an Illinois- 

 Missouri adult labor camp set up at 



EXCHANGE MARKETS 



/I// - ^Une. (leca^ 



PEACH 

 CROP 



Harold Moore, water boy. is a welcome 



sight to thirsty pickers in the orchard such 



as Bernard Drees. 



t 



1 * 



16 



I. A. A. RECORD 



