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The Postill family arrived in the Okanagan in 1872. Alfred (son of Edward and Mary Postill) and his brothers William and Edward Jr. bought a ranch in the northern part of the Mission Valley - in what is now known as the airport/Ellison area. Alfred ran the business and William looked after the cattle on the five thousand acres with an additional two thousand acres for grazing located a few miles away. They had the largest herd of cattle in the Mission Valley and also bred some very fine horses. Sheep and pigs were soon added. The ranch also included a sawmill left behind by a previous owner. The family was the first to plant alfalfa in the area.

Alfred Postill was one of the first in the Mission Valley to plant an apple orchard in 1874. "Soon every farmer had his little plot containing two or three varieties of bearing fruit trees." ("A Fruitful Century: The British Columbia Fruit Growers' Association 1889-1989", p.4) Any surplus fruit might be sold to neighbours, but was largely grown for personal consumption. Later on when commercial fruit growing was being considered, the Okanagan's early small orchards were used as examples that the Okanagan was an area in which that it would be possible to grow fruit commercially.

On February 1, 1889 a meeting was held at the Vancouver Board of Trade to "discuss the propriety of forming a Fruit Growers' Association for this Province." ("A Fruitful Century: The British Columbia Fruit Growers' Association 1889-1989", D. Dendy, 1990, p.9) George Grant (G.G.) MacKay, a well-known and successful land promoter from Vancouver, also attended this meeting. The new agricultural organization, British Columbia Fruit Growers' Association (B.C.F.G.A.) was formed at this meeting. Board of Directors included: G.G. MacKay, who was elected the B.C.F.G.A. director for Vancouver city and vicinity; Alfred Postill representing the Okanagan and A.L. Fortune from the Spallumcheen district. Only eight of the twenty-nine directors were present at the meeting, the others, including Postill and Fortune appear to have been selected 'in absentia'. Even though G.G. MacKay and Alfred Postill likely did not meet at this time, their mutual interest in fruit growing would soon bring them together in the Okanagan Valley.

"Alfred Postill's advocacy of his valley's fruit-growing potential likely caught the attention of MacKay. It was a fortuitous encounter, as G.G, MaKay would soon play a very significant role in the transformation of the Okanagan." ("The Kelowna Story: An Okanagan History", p.37)

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Portrait of George Grant MacKay
3 February 1891
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia


Credits:
Vernon Museum Public Archives #12044