THE BEGINNING OF PECAN MARKETING
Mr.Tiedke
didn’t come back much to Papinville after 1927.
He passed away in 1943 in Illinois and the land he bought in 1919 came
up for sale. World War 11 was over and
in 1947 Fred and Martin Marquardt decided to
buy the Tiedke Pecan Grove south
of Papinville. With Mr. Tiedke not being able to manage the grove for about ten
years it had grown up in brush.
It took Fred
and Martin many years to get the grove back in shape. With both working in the
Marquardt Super Market and only being able to come out on Sunday to do clearing
they decided to hire a caretaker. A cabin was built on stilts for him to live
in and John Hawkins started clearing out the grove and getting it back in
shape.
When pecan
harvest started many people would come out and pick up nuts. A log was attached
to a chain that was attached to a tall frame and was mounted on a farm
truck. It took two men to swing the log
back and forth to hit the tree to make the pecans come out of the tree. Some of
the pickers would pick over a hundred pounds of nuts a day. They were paid 5
cents a pound.
In 1955 the
pecan market was started to pick up and equipment was being made in the
southern states. To make the pecan picking process faster a pecan picker was
purchased. Ever since 1955 more and more
different types of harvester and shakers have been built. The harvest has
become a lot easier than crawling on your knees and picking pecans.
Since the
machines were harvesting a lot more nuts and the procedure was a lot easier and
the quantity was larger this is when
Fred and Mildred Marquardt decided to start marketing the pecans. At this time
Martin had moved to Colorado and Fred and Mildred were the owners of Osage
Pecan Orchard and cracking plant. Other pecan equipment had to be purchased
including crackers, cleaning and grading equipment washer and dryer. Roc and
Zack Marquardt still picks the pecans in
this grove but no longer have a pecan plant.
When John
and Phyllis moved to Papinville they decided to build a barn and started harvest
their own pecans and purchase crackers, cleaning machine, washing , inspection and
drying equipment. Their children (Lori and David) come on weekends to help with
the harvest and cleaning operation.
Riverside Pecans has been in business since 2008. We sell native and graved cracked pecans. Our
plant is located in Papinville south of the museum.
Our families have been in the pecan business
since 1947. As for these families we will never forget all the hard work that
has gone into developing this business and all the fun times we have had with
picnics, hunting ,walking in the woods, fishing and most of all how our
families love this land and all the wonderful times we have spent together in this area of Papinville. We are still planning to continue serving
Papinville and the surrounding area for
many more enjoyable years. Come out and see us and we would be glad to show you
what it takes to get a nut off the tree to the table. If you have any questions
call 417-395-2594 or 816-590- 1029. Will be glad to serve you with good fresh
pecans. Hope you have enjoyed reading some history on pecans.
Submitted by Phyllis Stewart
