The Davison family is celebrating their 80th anniversary of farming in Vernon.
They have been looking back over the years and the many changes to Vernon and their farm since 1933.
Then: milk was 42 cents a gallon, now it is $4.56
Then: the average house price was $5,759, now it is $353,000
Then: the most popular apple variety was Macintosh, now it is Honeycrisp
Then: the population of Greater Vernon was 3,937 (1934), now it is more than 58,500
Then: the Davison family farmed 34 acres, now they farm 120 acres
Then: they sold their apples to the packing house, now they sell directly to their customers.
Then: Tom and May Davison farmed alone and were new immigrants to Canada, now there are three generations working and farming together including grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and grandkids.
On Saturday, the Davison family is hosting an anniversary celebration at their farm. They will be sharing lots of photos and stories from the past to the present, as well as giving away a family season’s pass to one lucky family. Anyone 80 years or older will be honoured with free ice cream and a free Johnny Popper ride on Saturday.
“We asked our customers on Facebook for some ideas on how we should celebrate our anniversary. They said, ‘free apple pie,’ so that is what we are going to do,” said Laura Shaw, head baker and fourth generation Davison.
“We have decided to serve it up in style and are baking one massive apple pie, big enough to serve a crowd!”
The pie is 80 inches around and Laura is confident that this one pie will feed 80 people.
“It’s our version of an anniversary cake,” Laura says, “but we figured go big or go home!”
The pie will be cut at 2 p.m. and will be first come, first served. Saturday also marks the first day of the “Great Pie Giveaway,” where the Davisons have decided to keep up the free pie theme and will be giving away one free (regular sized) Deep Dish Apple pie each and every day for 80 days until Aug. 4. There will be a different way to win each day so watch the Davison Orchards Facebook and Twitter for daily updates.
“We want to thank Vernon for helping us keep farming through all the changes that have happened over the last 80 years, we couldn’t do it without our customers” says Tamra Davison, marketing director. “We are looking forward to eating pie and celebrating together!”
The pie cutting as well as the season’s pass giveaway will begin at 2 p.m. in front of the country market at Davison Orchards on Saturday. Call 250-549-3266 for more information.
Source for Vernon population: Vernon Museum Archives, Barbara Bell; for average house price: http://www.livingin-canada.com/house-prices-canada.html
