Growing season for the Klicker Straberries™ is generally from June 1st continuing to the end of July. With fields at different elevations the picking season for fresh strawberries is extended. Earlier strawberries are picked from the field at their ranch at an elevation of 1000 feet and finishing the season at the top of Klicker Mountain at 3800 feet. Strawberries are best eaten within 3 days of being picked or it is recommended you freeze them.
Frozen Klicker Strawberries™ are normally available year-round in buckets at the Walla Walla
Klicker's Antique and Fruit Store or other outlets outside of Walla Walla.
Klicker Strawberries™ - Outlets
Klicker History:
The Klicker Family has been raising strawberries in the Walla Walla Valley since 1918. It began when brothers Del and Jake Klicker picked too many garden strawberries at their mother's Klicker Springs Hotel located in the Blue Mountains. Needing to dispose of the extras (a strawberry pie does not need 10 flats of strawberries!), the industrious brothers hitched their wagon to their horses and traveled 15 miles to town and immediately sold the strawberry flats for a premium price. They found out they could make more money selling their mom's garden strawberries than the family could earn housing hotel guests.
What began as a garden patch of strawberries grew into a full-time business that over the years has been blessed to have employed several generations of local youth.
Today, we (Kirk and Nancy) are the fourth generation of Klickers to raise June bearing strawberries and still employ primarily youth to harvest the crop. It is a joy for us to have the opportunity to give young people the chance to work and grow as individuals. We currently have 35 acres of strawberries and employ approximately 250 workers, from ages 12 and up. Our field bosses and supervisors are all high school age and older who have earned their positions of leadership by working hard as pickers, displaying exemplary leadership skills, and earning the respect of their peers.
Posted on July 11, 2005 01:07 |
Agriculture