Tree Crops and the Hershey Legacy
Saturday, September 26th, 2020
About John Hershey:
John Hershey started a tree crops nursery in Downingtown, Pennsylvania in 1921. In 1936 he was appointed director of the tree crops division with the Tennessee Valley Authority by President FDR. There he collected some of the most productive and superior specimens of fruit and nut trees, the results of breeding and selection by indigenous peoples and American farmers. Returning to Pennsylvania, he continued propagating the best varieties of tree crops from across the Appalachian regions. His work was featured in J. Russell Smith’s influential book “Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture” in which Hershey’s farm was considered one of the finest examples of perennial tree crop farming. John Hershey was a pioneer in the practices of alleycropping, silvopasture, nut culturing, and biodynamic agriculture. Following his death in 1967, by the ‘80s his 72-acre farm in Guthriesville and his nursery rows downtown had been carved up into parcels and turned into housing developments. Although most trees he planted were lost, by good fortune many were left alone by the developers, preserved now in yards, along roadsides, and in neighborhood greenways. These offer a glimpse of what tree crop based agriculture looks like nearly 100 years later.
Under the shade of the Hershey trees seems like a fine place for a new tree crops cooperative to meet. While we tour the trees, learn their history, and meet each other, we’ll also discuss the future of tree crops and the many ways in which we can work cooperatively to build right livelihood around the abundance they produce.
Please RSVP your attendance to keystonetreecrops@gmail.com. Thanks!
(If you are unable to attend the event on the 26th, send an email -- there will be other opportunities to visit the Hershey trees!)
Itinerary:
We will arrive at 11 am to the parking lot of the Downingtown Friends Meetinghouse at 800 E. Lancaster Ave. Downingtown, PA 19335 and by 12 noon we will begin the tour. We will take a break and then travel the few miles north and west to Guthriesville for the second portion of the tour, ending by 5-6pm. Rain or shine!
Brought to you by the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative
https://www.facebook.com/events/816755055772001/