These little nuggets were a gem yet not the type you’d think… What makes them so special?

The first known people who grew potatoes in this area, before the gold rush, were the Joseph’s, a Lil’Wat family. Joe Joseph’s grandmother was the first person to grow the potatoes before she moved to the Fraser Valley. Early miners passing through during the gold rush were astounded by their potato fields. During the gold rush potatoes were sold for $1 each.

In the 1930s the seed potato industry began to grow in Pemberton. It started with seed purchased by W.C. Green, who brought one sack of netted gem potatoes. The next year, Green sold a ton to William Miller. Thus began the potato industry in Pemberton. In 1937 John Decker was crowned the Potato King by the American Potash Institute, which was a huge achivement for the Decker farm. John was also given the highest award for certified seed potato at Toronto. The Ross brothers were also no strangers to farming awards. The Ross brothers won four prizes at the Vancouver show in 1937 kick started their many potato related awards. During the next couple of decades, government inspectors came in every year to check for disease and to see if the potatoes could be sold for seeds or commercial use.

The first virus-free potatoes were achieved in 1967. N.S. Wright, Dick Stace-Smith, Frances Mellorand, and Ted Cole, from the agricultural department of UBC, received the Public Service Merit Award in 1972 for outstanding research leading to the development of virus-free potatoes. The free potatoes were grown in 1968 on the farm of Clifford Ronayne and the following year on the farm of George Mitchell. In 1969, 7.5 acres of virus-free potatoes were planted; this had increased to 540 acres by 1984. The agricultural department (federal with some input from provincial) has maintained an experimental plot in Pemberton, where new varieties are tried out each year. There are 8-10 different potato seeds that are switched each year in the valley.

For more information about Pemberton’s seed potato journey, please click HERE. 

Pemberton is celebrating 160 years of being a place name. The museum is posting Throwback Thursday to highlight this anniversary. 

Citations 

• Pemberton Museum, The Pemberton Gazette, July 24th, 2008
• Frances Decker, Fougberg Margaret, Ronayne Mary, The History of a Settlement Pemberton. Pg. 19-21, October, 1977