• Saturday-What'sUP October 30 - 09:30 am

When Brenda Leigh sent me these cranberry picking photos and information, I was kind of surprised. I didn't know that cranberries could be found growing here in the U.P., but Brenda provides proof of them, over in the Sault Ste. Marie area.

The adventure starts out with pushing the row boat through the mucky area of the bog, out to the shallow water, then they row over to the small boggy island and carefully pick their way around it. I say carefully, because Brenda says if you don't step cautiously, you can go right through the bog and into the water, with the result being, wet, cold feet.

It looks like this picking crew came back with a good yield of cranberries and if you look closely at the 5th picture, the green container is actually Brenda's hat. She said that is called called, "Yooper Knowledge… when your bucket is absolutely filled and there are still many more …one needs to use their hat." :->

The last photo shows one of the essentials needed for picking cranberries in a bog... waders, fancy rubber boots or plain muckers. A note of interest about the boots... Brenda wore the "fancy rubber cowboy boots" and she ended up being the only one with dry feet. She admits that it wasn't exactly the boots though, it was because she was cautious as to where she stepped, so as not to go through the bog.

To sum it all up, Brenda says, "It does take some effort to get out there, but it is all worth it. I can’t wait to put some of the fresh cranberries in my fresh grown pumpkin puree to make muffins... yum yum and fresh cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving or with our venison... it's making my mouth water just typing this. I LOVE CRANBERRY ANYTHING."

Brenda has brought some of the most awesome adventures to us Pasty Peeps...she and Jim are incredible caretakers of Mother Earth too....and we need all we can get that'll help with that...Blessings!

And Mary..there are cranberries all over...up there too!

I like to make turkey and cranberry sandwiches. Love the pictures.

Cranberries are great. I love 'em. But I think people should
also remember the family that died picking them back in the
50's. I think it was a family of about 14 or 15. Remember
them and their tragedy and be safe!

Might as well get an early start on Thanksgiving. It's only 57 days until Christmas (lol).
http://www.christmastree.org/home.cfm

Richard (Dick) how can one find out more about that '50's tragedy? I'v never heard of it.

I was going to ask the same thing, Kay. I've never heard of it either. And I knew there were cranberries in the UP, just don't know that I've seen them anywhere.

Looks like a fun but cold adventure, Brenda. Since cold is the operative word there, I doubt I'd want to do it. Sure glad you do, though, so we can see the pictures. Thanks so much for sharing!

I'm not crazy about cranberries but I love smelling them when they're cooking. Our daughter makes a cranberry sauce that's out of this world...I think one of the ingredients is sherry! :9

Thank you for the great pictures, Brenda and Mary. They give me new respect for the cranberry. I learned something new today, because I had had the impression that cranberries were grown only in New England, for some reason, which may well have to do with the advertising.

The U.P has cranberry farms.
Whitefish Point Cranberry

What a treasure! What a simple, wonderful way to spend a day! Thank you, Brenda!

Boy that looks like fun. And Shirley you mentioned cranberry sauce...mmmmmmm. We mix mandarin oranges with ours...not sure why though.

I didn't know about the cranberries at all. Interesting. I am also wondering about the tragedy. 14 to 15 people? I can't imagine.

There is a big cranberry growing area out here in WA state as well, out towards the coast. We have an Ocean Spray factory out that way as well, to do the processing. I Googled it. Here's some info on the states that grow cranberries:

Which state produces the most cranberries?

Since 1995, Wisconsin has produced the largest crop of cranberries -- currently, about 57% of the United States' total production. Massachusetts fell from first to second largest producer in 1995, and currently produces another 23-30%. The remaining U.S. cranberry crop comes mainly from New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington.

So know we all know!

JoAnne
Port Orchard, WA

This is probably the incident of which Richard J. writes:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19590923&id=_uEpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8QAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4359,3555315

Happened near Munising in 1959.

NOW...it's NOW we all know. Hit the "post" button and THEN saw the typo... Oops, too late.

:-0

JoAnne

Also in 1959, LIFE Magazine (11-23-1959) reported on cranberry crops being
contaminated:
http://books.google.com
/books?
id=XlUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepag
e&q&f=false

Don't feel bad about the mistake JoAnne. After all, nobody's Human.

Wow...what a tragedy!

Yep, Mike, daughter uses oranges in her sauce too. I remember the 'contaminated cranberry' incident, Thomas, we really missed 'em that Thanksgiving.

I remember picking those wonderful wild blueberries in the UP, but I surely didn't know there were cranberries, too! How special!

My wife's grandmother used the hubcaps off the car when the
blueberry buckets got full! That's hardcore!

Oops, wild strawberries. Anyway, hardcore.

THe photos today are very cool! I did not know about
cranberry picking in the U.P.

When I was sailing aboard the HENRY R. PLATT Jr. in the fall of '59 there was a cranberry scare out east. We called 'em cancerberries. We weren't afraid of them, we ate 'em with our turkey dinner in the galley. Very tasty!!