A
group of nine active from the Cornell Chapter traveled to Massachusetts on Friday October 28th where they teamed up with a group of alumni and
other members of the public to harvest cranberries at Spring Rain Farm. Actives Lauren Fessler ‘17, George Stack ‘19,
Carter Collins ‘19, Justin Dye’19, Emily Green ‘18, Stephanie Bishop ‘19, Katie
Bower ‘19, and Hannah Maloney ‘19 were present along with alumni John Orlowski
‘10, Connie Potter ‘16, Caroline Salisbury ‘13, and William ’10 and Veronica
McCaffrey ‘10. Spring Rain Farm is a
located in East Taunton, Massachusetts and produces cranberries, strawberries,
beef, pork, hay and firewood. The farm
is owned and operated by the McCaffrey family including AZ alumni William and
Veronica McCaffrey.
The harvest started around 9 the following morning, with
members donning waders and emerging themselves in the cranberry bog. While harvesting members learned how to use
cranberry rakes to push the berries off the bushes without damaging the berries
and preserving the integrity of the bush for the future, along with how to navigate
the bog and how to wield the booms which catch the floating berries and pull
them to the sight of the pump to be pumped with water up a wide house to be
sorted and deposited into a truck for transport. By noon, most of the berries were ready for
transport and by one o’clock everything was picked up. The McCaffrey’s, the visiting volunteers, and
AZ actives enjoyed a group lunch of pizza before a quick departure on the long
road back to Cornell.
Stephanie Bishop '19