Cranberry Stressline

Archives for September 2002

This does not have images


Middleboro visitors greeted by ag friendly banners

9/18/02 As visitors and residents enter and leave Middleboro on the town's historic South Main Street, lined with impressive mansions, they only have to glance overhead to see two of three large banners promoting agriculture. The one pictured above urges Middleboro residents to turn out for the September 23rd Town Meeting to vote in favor of establishing an agriculture commission. The second promotes the Soule Homestead Annual Farm Fair and Folk Festival on Sept. 22nd and 23rd. The third is for the annual Herring Run Art Festival. Click here or on the picture for a pictorial  of the banners and of Middleboro's S. Main Street mansions.

Links on proposed Middleboro Ag Commission: Stressline article, Gazette article


Editorial

Columbus was an explorer and a businessman

9/16/02 -- A poster on the Forum who calls himself Christopher Columbus writes about Ocean Spray: "the people who are in charge of making the decisions have decided not to pursue a sale. We don't need any more distractions. Focus on the future and stop worrying about things you don't have any control over."

I am prompted to wonder whether had this poster been living in Spain in 1492, would he have even given the time of day to the real Columbus, let alone given him support or encouragement? Columbus, a businessman as well as an explorer, didn't sail off to find a new world, he set about to find a westward route to Asia. Either would have been a crazy idea for most people. A distraction! But after Columbus found no support in Portugal, he moved to Spain where he managed to persuade Queen Isabel and King Fernando to support his mission.

Columbus lived in a time where monarchs ruled with rarely questioned authority. Today we live in a democracy and Ocean Spray growers belong to the ultimate of democratic companies, a cooperative. However, some of them seem to be thinking like the subjects of the kings and queens of fifteenth century Europe. CONTINUED


Another Cran, and it's "Ravin' "

 9/5/02 It isn't "cravin" but it is called "Ravin' Red." As far as we can determine, it isn't an Ocean Spray Product either. But it is a a beverage which utilizes the first syllable of the word cranberry on its label.

Ocean Spray has registered "cran" as a trademark. "Cran" is what is called a morphene, an element of language that carries a constant, indivisible meaning. It is unusual enough to have a separate section devoted to it on a web page from the Linguistics Department of the University of Rochester. The term "cranberry morphene" is even listed in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (Oxford University Press 1997).

The soda is manufactured by the Sprecher Brewing Company out of Glendale, Wisconsin. See entire label scan along with pictures of several other "cran" products


OpEd

Growers right to vote
 Sept. 13th deadline.

By Gregory Gitter – President
Wisconsin Cranberry Cooperative 

9/4/02 -- With the upcoming September 13th deadline to submit written comments to the USDA/AMS , I would urge all growers to support the  “right to vote issue”. 

A number of proposals have been made to Section 929.22 Nomination and 929.23 Selection to guarantee growers the right  to elect representatives to the cranberry marketing committee.      

Lets review who does and does not support the growers right to vote issue. CONTINUED

 

Middleboro establishes Agricultural Commission

9/24/02 Once a quorum was reached after 45 minutes, a fast-paced Middleboro Special Town Meeting moved quickly through six articles on the warrant and voted unanimously to establish an agricultural commission.
8/22/02 Agricultural Commission to be proposed at Special Town Meet, Middleboro Gazette


Tech News:

www.cranberrystressline.com activated on new host

9/21/02 For those of you following the changes in Cranberry Stressline, we have completed step one. Moving a web site from one host to another takes time. For one thing, you have to prove you are who you say you are. For another, it takes a few days for name servers across the Internet to update. If  www.cranberrystressline.com was the address in your favorites, you already saw our interim test page if your name server processed the change, and you may have noticed that cranberry stressline is now displayed on your browser address bar.

If you have oocities.com/cranberrybogs saved as a favorite, you can see the test page by clicking here. Don't make any changes yet. We'll let you know when to change the address in your favorite list.

Once a few technical problems are worked out, the web site will be entirely on ehostsource, our new host company. At that time anyone who ends up on the Geocities site will be redirected to the ehostsource site.

Then Cransoft will be working on putting an onsite search function on the web site.

Changes in store for Stressline

9/17/02 Thanks to the efforts of six senior students from the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth who have made Cranberry Stressline their class project, readers will see some changes over the next couple of months. CONTINUED


Obituary

George Norman Clairmont 

George Norman Clairmont, age 60, of 131 Cross Mill Road, Northfield, NH died Saturday, September 14, 2002 from injuries suffered following a helicopter accident near the cranberry bogs where he was working in Rochester, MA. 

George was born in Laconia, NH on  December 28, 1941, son of George and Elsie S. (Rollins) Clairmont.   CONTINUED


Growers lose friend in helicopter crash

9/15/02 George Clairmont, 60, was killed yesterday while off-loading dry picked berries for Morse Brothers Cranberries at the Gerrish Road bog in Rochester. George flew for Joe Brigham Helicopter service, one of the two main aerial applicator companies used by cranberry growers on the south shore. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

According to newspaper reports, "Federal Aviation Administration spokesman William Stevens stated that one of the crates swung and hit the helicopter's tail rotor, according to the Associated Press. The rotor broke off and the helicopter plummeted to the ground at about 11:45 a.m." However, some of those at the scene report that there was an engine problem prior to anything hitting the tail rotor.

Most growers got to know George having shouted conversations with him over the roar of his helicopter engines as he sat in his pilot's seat while his side tanks were being loaded.

Last Monday George transported former President Bush to a New England Patriots game.

From the Standard Times:

But his evasive action saved the lives of bog workers, said Chip Morse, vice president of Morse Brothers and a fourth-generation cranberry grower.

"We had 35 people under him. It's an absolute miracle no one else died," said Mr. Morse.

"It was only his expertise that did it," Mr. Morse said. "As that engine is dying, you have seconds -- I mean, one, two, three, and you're down."

When Mr. Clairmont realized he was in trouble, he discharged his load of cranberries and veered off to try and land away from people on the ground, Mr. Morse said.

"He did a great job," Mr. Morse said. Then he added, "It's an absolute shame. It's a tragedy." Read Article.
 



August Edition

 

Drought aggravates cranberry ills: Some berry farmers turning to other jobs, 9/27/02 Boston Globe

"October is Cranberry Month" Press Release

Warrens Cranberry Fest to Celebrate Another Harvest, 9/26/02 WI Ag Connection
 

Makepeace land:  "$31M for 6,200 acres not enough, owner says" 9/27/02 Patriot Ledger

Did you know that Ocean Spray has become a major player in powdered cranberry supplements? Read "Extracts Exposed: from the Ocean Spray Technology Group" in the 9/26/02 edition of Food Navigator. Learn about what Ocean Spray is doing in this niche market from "a global food ingredients news web site based in Europe (that) aims to provide a European-driven view of food formulation and design."

"Color Borden Town cranberry this October during annual fete" in the 9/26/02 Register News.

In Ashland, Wisconsin, The Daily Press reported on their cranberry fesitval.

In Banden, Oregon, "Good cranberry crop expected" from the 9/22/02 Statesman Journal.

Also, an article titled "Better price anticipated for Oregon cranberry harvest this year" from the Associated Press, 9/1/02 in the Seattle Times. Television station channel six, WKOIN, reported a similar story. 

Wisconsin to have average harvest 9/22/02 WI Rapids Daily Tribune

World Juice Conference, Netherlands 10/14-16

Co-ops:
 
At the "Crossroads" on AgWeb

9/19/02 Farmers harvest white cranberries, Marshfield (WI) News-Herald News

9/19/02 White seems right
Growers who harvest early berries like their bonus WI. Rapids Daily Tribune

Grapefruit
Citrus growers file suit vs. state, 9/13/02 TC Palm Tribune

White berries put green in growers pocket in 9/12/02 Burlington County News

A great year for Russia: Hardly any of its food glows in the dark 9/12/02 in Seattle PI



 

June and July Editions

Cranberry Stressline is published by Hal Brown

273 Tispaquin St.
Middleboro, MA 02346

 

 

 


 

The Hitbox ad, is required for free use of a web statistics tracker.

.