Vashon Island - Dockton - Agriculture
"We got 60 cents per flat for currants and U cents a flat for raspberries. You turned your ticket in at the general store owned at that time by Mr. and Mrs. Berry." - John Friars AGRICULTURE [8] Although the early Scandinavian and Croatian settlers mostly came to Dockton to work in the dry dock, many supplemented their family income first by fishing and later by farming. Land in Dockton was relatively cheap in the early days and many families acquired five- and ten-acre plots adjacent to their homes and slowly cleared the land for gardens and later for fruit orchards. Currants, gooseberries, loganberries and cherry trees were the primary crops until after World War II. While the men were away fishing during the summers, the women supervised the fields, managed the harvest and handled the business side of the farms. Harvesting was a community affair. Each farm had its loyal "pickers" made up of neighbors, adults and children. Early each morning they would gather at the fields and be assigned rows. They would often pick until noon unless a crop was overripe, then they would pick all arternoon. As each picker filled a flat (twelve boxes) they were given a ticket. A good picker could fill ten flats in a morning. At the end of the season, usually after the fishermen had returned, a picker would go to the farm family and exchange their tickets for money. Usually coffee and sweets were offered as the whole process was a family affair. For those who couldn't wait, especially the children, Theo Berry, owner of the Dockton store; would redeem the tickets which bought two popsicles! STRAWBERRY CAPITAL By the 1920's, Vashon had become known as the "Strawberry Capital.” Near the end of World War II, Theo Berry and his son-in-law, Donald Johnson, developed a large tract of land on upper Maury Island into the largest strawberry field on the island. They converted the former Shipyard Hotel/ School into a cannery and controlled their business from field to consumer. Competition from California growers and increased transportation costs with the decline of the Mosquito Fleet, brought an end to commercial farming in Dockton Side Box: Dockton residents were hardworking, enterprising people who built a strong community with respect for ethnic and religious differences.