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Show where the street market was locatfirt... Toany other than to the retail storekeeper, peddler, etc. . . i 'Henry Wilcox sold a crate of his peaches to a mart who was not a ' retail grocery man. Mr. Wilcox was arrested and brought to court and charged with the violation. When Judge Lewis heard the case, he ask- ed Mr. Wilcox where he got the peaches. Mr. Wilcox said he grew them on his farm at Farmington.. . The judge then explained that he had a perfect right to sell the goods produced - by his own , hands anywhere in the confines of the United States. . v "In 1909 a group of Ogden financiers, fi-nanciers, Eccles . Browning - In- vestment, purchased what was then known as Eccles Avenue (now it is called Pierpont Ave.). They erecjed buildings with railroad facilities in season and,therefor-denied-juie condemnation proceeding of the health departmenL It was suggested that the only solution would be to have the farmers prepare a place for themselves where they could conduct con-duct their own city market and in this, way be prepared to do their part in solving this problemT. " ' "The farmers decided they need- . ed to organifce. They even succeeded succeed-ed in getting the Centerville Brass Band to advertise throughout Farm-ingtorvXentejcrille Farm-ingtorvXentejcrille and Bountiful about a meeting to be held in Hales . Hall in Bountiful in January 1911. The result was that a very well rep- o resented - group of growers met together. Committees were appointed ap-pointed to meet with the city coun- " cil of SLC, to survey every paved street in SLC (there were not many then). -ture. The first thing dunewas marfc ing off this street and numbering spaces on the curb. At that time - light and telephone poles' were in the: center of the street They succeeded suc-ceeded in getting the city to request all the public utilities to remove these, poles. Thus, the marking on the pavement was done, leaving the -center space for through traffic. "Certain regulations were established. estab-lished. First, the time of the opening Of '" thenarket-operations were from 6 a.m. to 1 1 a.m. Also wagon tongues should be raised and fastened securely and all horses should be removed from the farmers vehicles when they were backed against the curb. Fees to the growers for the use of these market facilities were established before the market was put into operation. It took considerable money and the helped area farmers MuffrWiHianrmegarrAmos . ' Cook," Duncan Kippen, Joseph E. -Williams, Nephi Hepworth, Sterns Hatch, Joseph N. Ford, Ezra T. f Clark. , "Also, James' Lucas, Sr., Wallace W. Muir, Frank Cutler, James Briggs, Elmer E. Smith, Ezra F. Richards, Charles Sullman, Chas 0. Chrisman, James Burns, Ed L. Hanson, James Smedley, Jr., Edward Ed-ward L. Davis, John H. Barlow, Jr., Franklin Smith, Wilford Tuttle, William S. Muir, Chas Rollins, John Jackson, James Bryson, Dan Lee7 Jr., David Glover, James JSmedley, Sr., Moses Holbrook and Leo J. Barlow. "The last manager of the Growers' Market was Douglas B. Roberts from Centerville. He spent some two and one-half years in the Armed Services in India during World War II. He served ably and with distinction. v "David F. Smith interviewed Pres. Grey of the Union Pacific . Railroad in the hope that the RR Co. would be interested in a market development Finally in 1918, a five-acre piece of property in the heart Of Salt Lake City was listed for sale. This property was not clear financially. But through some complicated com-plicated negotiations with Thomas Dry Goods Co., a NY Co., and Ashton Jenkins Realty Co., a parcel of 10 acres was offered to the Growers' Market Company for a sum of $95,000. United States Liberty Lib-erty Bonds would be accepted at face value in payment. "Liberty Bonds were sold by the U S Government during World War 1. Most of our people had some of these bonds. The market place depreciated to about 80 percent of cost Thus, the sale of stock in the Growers' Market Company was made easier due to the fact that these bonds were accepted at face or cost price in payment for Growers' Market stock. "Early in the history of the Growers' Market Co., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was asked to buy $10,000, par value, stock of the Growers' Market Co. This purchase was made by the church. A representative of the church was on the board of directors. direc-tors. "In the course of about five years after organization, the Growers' Market Co. had made financial progress pro-gress and had a considerable sum of money on hand. i "About 800 farmers owned and controlled the Growers' Market Co., and .thousands of others used the market and distributing agencies for selling their produce. Among our members, are the producers of practically all of the onions produce ed in this state. Utah Sweet Spanish CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE : - -- ---- Z. -KSs-KKlyj: S' ;w:.Si.iv..t, - ........... V: ' y fllillliilliPwIlBPIiil Cyy ' iJZ fed 3 Kf m t1 -n sn'- ' tiful and Centerville. The quality of fruits and vegetables was improved as well as the methods of grading -and packing. "Most of the early producers of Utah were English speaking people who owned their farms and homes'. -The quantity of vegetables and fruits has increased by leaps and Z . bounds, due in part - to wider "i distribution,; Some of these conw-modities conw-modities at certain seasons of the year were hauled in great quantities to surrounding states and such items as potatoes and ..onions were shipped to markets as far as the eastern seaboard. "In 1952, 360 RR cars of sweet cherries were shipped" east from Utah. lit addition there was a large truck movement of cherries, as well as canning and heavy local consumption. con-sumption. "During this time, Salt Lake City , had become a distributing center of . some importance both for local and out-of-state produce. It was necessary to have an assembling place and a wholesale market It was mentioned earlier 'that ; First South between ; Main and West Temple was used longer than any other street. However, the city, due to the complaints of abutting property prop-erty owners, required farmers at different periodsto use the south . side of South Temple between Main and West Temple, West Temple between be-tween South Temple and 100 South and 100 South between West Temple Tem-ple and 100 West - "The city had no regulation wherein the same farmer was -allowed the same space. As time went on it became a city problem of considerable importance. It also became more ' difficult for the farmer to get a place on the designated curb. It . became so difficult .that farmers were leaving their farms as early as noon the day before In order to better their chances for the most desirable spot On the street This resulted in many . hours of extra time and also extra :v.' expenses.-Wf;:r. . ;-' ;-' "From time to time the city passed pass-ed Ordinances that were a source of irritation and detrimental to the i T fanner. One ordinance was passed wherein the farmers, were not allowed to unhitch their horses to take them to the feed yard frit had to leave the tiorses hitched . to Vehicles -backed, against the curb. The proper care of their animals was not possible under this regulation. regula-tion. Some other ordinances jvere "The retail grocery - men succeeded suc-ceeded in getting an ordinance passed wherein a fanner could not sell within the-xenter Jof-ihecity-- ' 1 "' 11 1 w.v..u.iiiii ii imiiit - . .'.v V .'..m :Wtw:v JUKI: WHWW iMLWWIUblUW This is a scene from the early days of the Growers'Market where South Davis farmers gathered to buy. and sell their goods, the market was organized shortly after the turn of the century by a group of prominent South Davis farmers. "Financial reimbursement was offered to abutting property owners who objected to the street chosen. Committees also met with several presidents of the banks and presidents presi-dents of the bigstitutions. This solicitationgpt 7ut one active . helper-Simon Bamberger who later became governor of Utah. "As a result of many meetings, . the farmers were given the street of u200,West, between South Temple and 100 South; for an open public market place. David F. Smith was made manager of this market ven- influence of SimoH" Bamberger to make adjustments with three , neighbors who did not want the market in front of their properties. "So it was that during the summer in 1911 a corporation was organized in the name of the Salt Lake Gardeners and Fruit Growers Association with a capital stock of $ 1&000. No farmer could buy more than four shares at $5 per share. "Some of the men who, worked so diligently in this cause are: David F. Smith, John T. Williams, Frank Cuder, Andrew Sjoblom, Leo the rear and a hard surface street in front They contacted the SLC officials offi-cials with the result that in 1910 the . farmers using the street as a market were expelled or denied this privi-; lege. The date was set for this expulsion ex-pulsion to occur and the police were sent to clear the street of all farmers. The farmers maintained that Eccles Ave. was not adequate , :. ' to take care , of them. Therefore, i. they refused to go there. Instead ;f they went into the . old Continental yard which was located on the south side of 100 South, between West Temple and 100 West "This had been used as a feed yard-feeding mostly horses that were driven from out of the city while the people did their shopping. " Mr.' Hillman, who leased this lot, . welcomed ,jhe farmers. However, . within a very short time, the health department o SLC condemned this yard as a place of distribution of food items. The farmers raised' money to defend their case in court " The judge of the court felt there was no solution for this matter that " By VES HARRISON 1 "To market, to market, to buy a fat pig..." But this was not the theme of the presentation on Wednesday evening by William W. 1 (Bill), Tingey, His subject was ah-" other market, the Growers' Market, organized shortly after the turn of the century by a group of prominent South Davis farmers. ' Bill took his facts, mostly verbatim, ver-batim, but condensed, from the booklet of the same name, written by the late David F. Smith, formerly of Centerville in 1954. Mr. Smith served as manager of the market during most of its life. The talk was updated and embellished with Bill's . own recollection of his first-hand observatjonslrand personal experiences. experi-ences. -'-v.' S From the Smith book: "Many outstanding and highly competent gentlemen have made a ' find contribution to the development de-velopment of the produce business in Utah; during the last 100 years. There , are many important facts . connected with the unique way in which this development came about "There was no other large wholesale-Hoduce market within a radius of six hundred miles. "The early Mormon Pioneers brought' with them many varieties Of seeds of vegetables and fruits; such as beans, beets, cabbage, com, canots, melons, onions, peas,' potatoes, squash, tomatoes, turnips , arid some other varieties. . : -'Rhubarb and asparagus were planted in the Salt Lake Valley at a : later period. The early pioneers brought with them fruit tree seeds ; jhat were planted; such as, apples, cherries, peaches, pears and plums. i i These fruits at first were seedlings mostly planted the first five years J after Settlement Peaches were the :.. ' most common fruit trees..; As a ; matter of fact, in many of the early J settlements, peach pits were planted ; : : so as to produce a peach hedge. -V "Small ; fruits- such - ais raspberries, gooseberries and curr rants were an early development in the valley, in a small way, however. . Many of these fruits and vegetables r were stored for winter use. Home processing was necessary. . "Tfee first sweets that were pro-: pro-: duced'were corn syrup and cane - -1 molasses. It is thought diat Samuel V . Parrish fashioned some heav I: rollers which he used to squeeze the -v juice from corn stalks. Early in the,. , ' ; history .ofUtah, Chinese sorghunT seed was obtained. It was thought that this seed was purchased from I people on their way overland to the - gold fields .of California. Some y :l yearrlater fruit was preserved by T y using molasses. Some swarms of 1 i bees were brought into the valley in the early period. -A IzU 4 The first marketing of fruits and vegetables was largely by direct sales from the producer to the consumer. con-sumer. Practically; every family stored its potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables, There was some street marketing in Salt Lake City as long as 130-135ears ago. In the fall, the1 farmers -brought their potatoes to the city in open wagon boxes. They also brought along home" woven bushel baskets by which they measured out their potatoes. ' "Consumers and some of the ' ;.; ' merchants purchased from these . ; ' wagons as the wagons stood " alongside - the street ',The old v-! 'Church Tithing yard' which was located in the city block just north ' " i of where the Hotel Utah now stands ; - -was used somewhat as a farmers1 marketing place. "There used to be the old hay .: . market The city block of ten acres which is now occupied by the new-' : ly renovated City and County1 - J: Building was the open hay market-i market-i under fence, however. The farmers : came with loads of loose hay and , waited for a purchaser, Those who, purchased this hay were individuals as well as owners of livery stables, . ' etc. y r-::7rv';v; ';;;,:.;: :;-.:;' "The street market increased as years went by. Many of the . different istreetsefe-designed by- the city at different times. However, the street that was longest used was First South between Main and West .; , " ..-Temple.- i4 ' , ....... ... . . . - , "The distributors that purchased from the growtfrs were mostly retail merchants and a large number of houcs poddlcrs or hucksters. The - - " " whc!;::'3 Czzlzt of fruits and . ' vef :: ':sv:zs a 1-Ucr development "I : . !.;t gsriinhj as a business -.- '. had a very snnll beginning but in-ctzzzzi in-ctzzzzi over a period of years until . -t t ., .., pr-vr'-rJ srrce cf in- " cc...;ljLtLc'-r.ul,WestEoun- Market helped area farmers CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Onions (seed from Spain, 2 lbs. per grower) , and Utah Celery (best flavored -and most tender in the nation). - " ' "The directors of the company I thought to pattern the market , I facilities after the produce market at J-Seventh and Central Streets in Los -jAAngeles (which was probably the . : largest market vof its kind in the world). They located an entire block between Main and West Temple and 800 and. 900 South' Streets-also nearly 28 acres south -of 900 South, between West Temple Tem-ple and Main Streets. However, it developed that the Los Angeles Co. planned to take over the Salt Lake concern.. This was not what the Growers' wanted so the negotiations negotia-tions were discontinued. ' "The Growers' Market was very active for years in assisting in the organization and operation for the Davis County Asparagus Association. Associa-tion. This Asparagus ' Association, with the assistance and cooperation of the WoodsL Cross Canning Co., did much to stabilize the asparagus market. This effort made money for all asparagus growers. " "By 1928, the", market 'had . outgrown its, facilities," and it was determined that the company would make an extensive", building' pro-"' gram. This began early in 1929. The' improvements comprise wholesale produce buildings, office buildings, long market platform docks, etc." In addition to the participants, mentioned in David. R Smith's book, Bill gave us the names of those men from Centerville whom he personally recalls as haying regularly hauled' their produce to the Growers' Market They were- Herbert StreeperT"' Henry Barber, Henry Cleveland, Wesley E. Tingey, William Barber,, Willard G. Carr, Norman Barber, ' . Edward Everett, William Whicher, Clifford Smith, Paul Smith, Bert Val Glover and Wesley P, Tingey. Then Bill showed a number of pictures of the old market as it ap- . , peared at various times, and a lively -discussion of some of the most colorful market characters' follow-. follow-. ed, along with personal experiences of several in the audience. If you - missed thisf you missed a lot of fun. The market closed its operation '" in 1973. Steve Roberts became manager after Doug's -death in .1972.- - : I ' ' The group's next meeting will be J in September. - '.. -j - j : " " "-' " r.'V '" '-"v ' "- ' ' Arrr-r-v ; .' . -' ' "i ' '- |