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| Honeycrisp, Door County, Morel Mushrooms | |
Sweet Cherries, Strawberries |
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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF FRUIT GROWING IN DOOR COUNTY! In 1955, James and Barbara Wood purchased 40 acres of apple orchard just north of Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin. It was an established orchard of outdated apple varieties, but it was the beginning of their dream to support a young family by growing apples on the Door Peninsula. Jim immediately began grafting the poor varieties over to McIntosh, Cortland, and Red Delicious. These were the popular apples in the 50’s and 60’s in Wisconsin. From that meager beginning, Wood Orchard has grown, changed, and provided our livelihood for 50 years. There have been lots of changes over the years. From the original 40 acres, the orchard grew to 500 acres and has now downsized to about 200 acres. The first "apple storage building" was a circus tent that evolved into Wisconsin’s first Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Storage building. Although McIntosh and Cortland are still part of the variety mix, Honeycrisp has become the "apple of our eye". The orchard started selling apples wholesale in the 50’s, added modern apple packing machines and grew with the increased demand for our apples. As the years passed, retail became an important part of the marketing plan. First was the opening of the Apple Store in Green Bay and recently, the addition of Wood Orchard Market in Egg Harbor. They greatly compliment the wholesale business. And not to be left behind in the world of IT, www.woodorchard.com has customers that have never been in Door County. We have lost some family over the years; Barbara and Joe. Some have moved far away; Karen and David. And others have joined the family; Eunice and Janice add their talents to the business. Now in 2005, Jim is in his 80’s, his son Steve and grandson Jeff work with him in the orchards. We have been fortunate to have friends who have worked with us for many years! They make up the core of a group of employees that do a wonderful job in growing and selling our fruits and other products in the orchards, at The Apple Store, and Wood Orchard Market. We want to thank you all for your business, and as we think about the future, new ideas and plans are in the works, so we invite you keep track of us as we start the second 50 years! Thank you again for making our life in this beautiful part of the country a reality for these 50 years. Sincerely, Wood Orchard Family. |
