We’ve got history.
Walter and Mabel Bailey Established Orchard View Farms in 1923
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﹢History of the Orchard﹢
The initial business base was processing cherries (Maraschino Cherries). According to records kept by Grandpa, the farm produced 18 tons of white cherries and six tons of black cherries during its first season.
Walter’s son, Don and his wife Edwina, joined the business prior to 1940. Don and Edwina, with sons Bob, Ken, Tom and Jon, planted additional orchard acreage and in the 1980’s oversaw the construction of a cold storage and packing facility for apples. In the mid 1990’s, the facility was converted to a fresh cherry packing line.
Today, Don’s granddaughter, Brenda Thomas and grandson, David Ortega, along with a management team, oversee 3,300 acres of cherries. The facility packs more than 10,000 tons of cherries a year.
We work together.
Leadership Team
Brenda Thomas
President
David Ortega
Director of Packing Operations
Brian Wineland
Director of Finance
Mike Omeg
Director of Operations
We guide the way.
Board Members
Brenda Thomas*
Chairman of the Board
Jeff Kaser
Vice Chair
Dawn Gray
Secretary
Ed Ortega*
Board Member
Jeff Fagg
Board Member
Kris Belles*
Board Member
Ed Weathers
Board Member
*Bailey Family Descendant
This is how we do it.
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We grow plums and prunes too.
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﹢Plums & Prunes﹢
In 2015, we began working with growers in Milton-Freewater to provide Italian prunes and Empress plums for picking, packing and marketing. Once cherry harvest is over, our packing house continues to be a very busy place indeed!
What’s the difference between prunes and plums? Other than subtleties in flavor, our prunes are typically a bit smaller and more oblong in shape than plums. Our plums are larger and wider, with a nice, dark, blue-purple color.
Both kinds are delicious, so look for Blue Goose plums and prunes in your local grocery store from mid-August through September!
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