14

During the harvest time, the pickers would get everything ready in the early morning and head out to the orchard where they picked the fruit and placed them in baskets. The farmer would oversee all of the workers on the farm at harvest time, going between the fields to check on the pickers, and then to the sheds to check on the women sorting the fruit. The produce was packed in baskets and many fruits were covered with coloured mesh to improve their look for sale. Pink fabric was for peaches because it made the fruit appear more appealing and a nicer colour.

15

Picking Baskets with Insert of Coloured Mesh
20th Century
Bridgman Farm, Winona, Ontario, Canada

16

Basket, Stamps and Piecework Cards from Maplehurst Farm
1955 - 1990
Maplehurst Farm, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

17

Basket Stamps from Maplehurst Farm
1955 - 1990
Maplehurst Farm, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

18

When Nature Smiles - Picking the Fruit
20th Century, Circa 1918
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Produced By the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau, Circa 1918. Copyright: National Film Board of Canada

19

From the sheds, the baskets of fruit were piled onto a wagon and taken to the railway station for shipment to many cities across the country including Halifax. Not all fruit was shipped because there was a need for peaches and other tender fruit at the Grimsby canneries. At the end of the day the pickers would be paid based on piece work, which paid them per basket picked. It is said that the experienced workers were able to make as much as five times the money as someone with little experience.

20

Piecework Cards From the Nelles Farm
1880 - 1940
Nelles Farm, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

21

The jobs required on the farm changed according to the time of year and the busiest time was the harvest. Many farmers hired dozens of extra workers to help with the fruit picking and packing of baskets and other containers.

22

Picking Peaches on Fred Kitchen's Farm
20th Century, Circa 1930
Fred Kitchen's Farm, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

23

Farmers Picking Fruit
20th Century, Circa 1905
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

24

Postcard of Girl Picking Cherries
20th Century, Circa 1950
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

25

Anne Bridgman Describes the Cherry Harvest on Bridgman Farm
4 October 2008
Bridgman Farm, Winona, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Bridgman, Anne
Grimsby Museum Collection

26

Anne Bridgman Describes the Cherry Harvest on Bridgman Farm
4 October 2008
Bridgman Farm, Winona, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Bridgman, Anne
Grimsby Museum Collection

27

Anne Bridgman Describes the Process of Sorting and Packing Cherries
4 October 2008
Bridgman Farm, Winona, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Bridgman, Anne
Grimsby Museum Collection