Blueberries

Happy Friday!

What a couple of weeks it has been for HFP. Last week we revealed some breaking news about a new sponsor followed by a live stream all about ancient civilizations that collapsed due (in part) to crop failures and then a new episode all on the history of blueberries. Whew! That was certainly a healthy dose of produce history. But we're not complaining. After all, how fascinating was it to learn about agriculture on the world's most isolated island and how blueberry demand was born out of the Civil War?

Now, let's keep the good times rolling with some extra stories on a blueberry survivor and the return of a familiar face.

Blueberries That Survived a Cyclone

We heard a lot of interesting stories in this week's episode from the Civil War to the Blueberry War but one story the boys didn't touch on was the 1882 Cyclone and the unlikely survivor: a jar of blueberries.

On June 17, 1882, two storms converged on Grinnell, Iowa. One storm entered the town from the southwest and another from the northwest. According to the Herald, ""the rain came in floods, as if a water spout had burst...The wind and rain and blinding lightning continued so furious...that it was scarce safe for those whose roofs staid [sic] over them to open their doors." As the tornado moved into town, "the northwest quarter of the town was laid flat...scarcely anything was left standing..." (Grinnell Herald Extra, June 18, 1882).

One of the homes destroyed by the cyclone was that of Mr. Henry Pitman. Henry's wife, Cornelia, had a twin sister, Cordelia, who according to records had visited the Pitmans in 1882 from her Wisconsin home. During this visit, it is believed that Cordelia gifted a jar of Wisconsin blueberries to the Pitmans.

Cordelia's son, Frank Pearce, reported to the Mason City Globe-Gazette in 1957 that this jar of blueberries survived the tornado that tore through Grinnell in June 1882. The newspaper goes on to describe the jar and the berries contained within:

The "Gem" jar, of glass and with a covering which resembles rubber or plastic, [and which] appear [sic] to have been a predecessor of the Ball or Mason type of fruit jar which came into rather common use around the turn of the century (ibid.).

The berries, believe it or not, are still recognizable as such after a three quarters century of containment. Whether they are still edible is probably something never to be determined. They are too precious as a keepsake.

In 1968 the Grinnell Historical Museum reports receiving a donation of the blueberries.

Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence available to say whether or not the blueberries at the museum survived the 1882 Cyclone. While the jar does appear authentic to the period, there is no absolute proof that this jar was in Grinnell at the time of the cyclone - and we will probably never truly know for certain. That said, there's just as much reason to believe these blueberries did survive this catastrophic event of 1882. We like to believe it did.

Read more here.

Captain Cook Visits Easter Island

During this week's live stream, the boys shared the story of Rapa Nui (or better known today as Easter Island). It was a fascinating exploration into an island that most of us only know for their statues but there was one character that was not mentioned: Captain Cook. That's right our friend from the Hawai'i series, who met his unfortunate demise on the shores of Kealakekua Bay, also had a role to play in the story of Easter Island.

Fifty-two years after the first-recorded European contact with the island took place, Captain James Cook and crew visited the island in mid-March 1774. Cook himself was under the weather at the time so it was his crew that explored the island. The crew reported seeing statues that had been neglected with some having fallen down. But what of the agriculture and gardens?

On the southeast side of the island, it was observed that the land was barren and everywhere covered with stones. Yet, there were several large tracts planted with potatoes. However, once they moved to the northeast side of the island, it appears that they came to the most fertile part of the island. The crew observed plantations of "potatoes, sugar-canes, and plantain trees, and these not so much encumbered with stones as those which they had seen before". It was also noted that they "passed some huts, the owners of which met them with roasted potatoes and sugar-canes".

But what of the taste of these crops? Lucky for us, Captain Cook describes this in his journals:

"The produce is sweet potatoes, yams, tara or eddy root, plantains, and sugar-canes, all pretty good, the potatoes especially, which are the best of the kind I ever tasted. Gourds they have also, but so very few, that a cocoa-nut shell was the most valuable thing we could give them."

So, it would seem, as John and Patrick shared during the live stream, that the peoples of Easter Island were far from starving. While the island had indeed been stripped of its trees, the natives were innovative enough to still find ways to grow enough food to feed themselves and their foreign visitors.

Read more from Captain Cook's journals here.

Cornell University

It's official! We are proud to share that 美国康奈尔大学 will be the first official university sponsor of HFP. More details on this partnership will be released in the coming weeks, so keep those eyes and hears open. The entire HFP team are honored excited for this next chapter.

In the meantime, watch John and Patrick make the official announcement of this exciting partnership here.

History test

Have you listened to the latest HOFP episode? If yes, you may just know the answer to this week's trivia.

Click here to test your knowledge!

Livestream Event

Are you ready to go bananas? Because this next livestream is going to be a real peach. Keep your eyes open as we get ready to reveal next month's livestream topic and date.

We hope to see you there!

As always, you can send your questions and comments in advance via email to [email protected].

DATES FOR YOUR CALENDARS

There's no shortage of stories to tell when it comes to fresh produce and history. Here's what's coming up over the next few weeks.

Tuesday, April 30th: Civilizations Lost to Crop Failures (Livestream episode)

Tuesday, May 7th: The French Revolution: Vive les produits!

TBD: HOFP LIVESTREAM @ 8PM EST on YouTube

Tuesday, May 21st: Produce in Golden Age Baghdad

Thanks for reading, and please drop us a line in the comments or email ([email protected]) to let us know what you think of the newsletter and all things HOFP.

-John, Patrick and The History of Fresh Produce team