My grandparents, George Frederick and Lillie Barnes Stenberg bought the farm that his father owned before him in 1941. The family had lived at this location since 1895. As a child in the early 1960’s I remember long days spent picking strawberries on this farm. It was customary at that time for children to be excused from school to help with chores. While I enjoyed school, I was thrilled to be asked to help.
The farm was at the end of Stenberg Road and Fred and Lillie’s children had built homes along the way. As a child three years of age when I was ready to visit, my grandmother was called and she waited at the end of her drive for me to round the corner and walk the rest of the quarter mile to her house.
My grandparents farmed many fruits and vegetables and sold the majority to H. G. Hills grocery chain. I knew there were a lot of strawberries but it was not until I was grown that I heard it referred to a strawberry farm. Picking would begin at about 8:00 a.m. after the cows had been milked, breakfast eaten, and the dew dried. With aunts and cousins there to help, there would be as many as 15 to 20 people working all day twice a week, Monday’s and Thursdays. Strawberries are picked in quart baskets and were generally held in gallon carriers hand made by my grandfather. He had also made several that held only two quarts and one for me that held one quart so the children would be carrying a lighter load. His instructions were clear; don’t include any bad fruit and don’t place only the large berries on top. Customers needed to know what they were getting with no surprises underneath.
There was a special occasion when the local newspaper wanted a picture of a child picking berries to highlight the Portland, Tennessee strawberry festival. Apparently, it was easier to come to Whites Creek which is only 10 miles northwest of Nashville, rather than to go to Portland which is 36 miles north. I was told that someone was coming to take my picture eating a strawberry and my sister offered to take my place. I was up to the task even when the gruff photographer told me to open wider and I accidentally bit into the berry. Though I hadn’t done it on purpose, it did surprise me when he told me to return the berry to the basket rather than letting me eat it.
Generally, six gallon of strawberry fit in a crate and a truckload of crates were picked each time to be hauled to market. Posing with the truckload is Selma Stenberg Capps, Lillie Barnes Stenberg, Fred Stenberg, and Clarence Stenberg.
Below is the photo of me “eating” the very large strawberry.
Marsha Stenberg Murphy