Apples To Oregon

Apples To Oregon:

Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes and Cherries (And Children) Across the Plain

By: Deborah Hopkinson and Nancy Carpenter

Apples to Oregon is a TALL tale about how Delicious and her family moved a rolling nursery from Iowa to Oregon. Through rivers and up mountains, through a hailstorm and unforgiving, drying heat of the sun, the family marched onward with the sole purpose of keeping the little plants healthy enough to be transplanted into Oregon soil. They made it! Just in time for the gold rush, but they had already found their fortune.

Don't forget to read the Author's Note in the back. Apples To Oregon, although a tall tale, was based on a real family. A pioneer named Henderson Luelling, his wife Elizabeth and his eight children left Salem, Iowa in 1847 with 700 plants and young fruit trees. The family did make it to Oregon and settled in Milwaukie which is about 6 miles away from Portland. The Luelling-Meek Nursery has been called the 'mother of Oregon nurseries'.