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A life in the cherry business
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She will be honored during the Cherry Fair Parade that begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. “They’ve tried to get me to do if for years, so I said fine I will get it over with,” Alexander said humbly. She has lived in Cove all of her life. Raised on a 50-acre fruit farm on Love Lane, the family grew cherries, prunes, apples and pears. Currently, Alexander works in the cherry shed, the main transport hub for all of Cove’s cherries. During harvest she does the bookkeeping, handles transport information and makes sure the cherry operation runs smoothly. She’s been involved in shipping cherries most of her life. “My family shipped cherries and prunes with the Cove Cherry Growers Cooperative,’’ Alexander said during a recent interview at the cherry shed. “My family also shipped loads by railroad car containing apples and pears either on their own or with one other grower — the Towle family.” Cove growers truck their cherries to the cherry shed where they are loaded on flats and put in the cooler. Lastly, semi trucks back into the shed and load up for a trip to Portland where distribution begins. Working at the cherry shed is an Alexander family dedication. “My father worked part-time at the cherry shed and my mother sorted and packed cherries when they were processed in Cove,” Alexander said. “As teenagers, my family picked our cherries and my brother and I picked cherries for a couple of neighbors. In 1975, the Cove cherry growers talked me into helping at the shed.” She has been helping out there ever since. From that time, Alexander has been essential in keeping the process thriving. She remembers her duties over the years. “I counted bins, sampled, graded, marked bins, made out growers’ receipts, filled out green fruit manifest and bill of loading for the trucks. I kept track of growers’ shipments and figured out the payout to the growers,” she said. Currently, there are about six main cherry growers in Cove. They ship several kinds of cherries including Royal Annes, Rainers, Vans, Bings, Lamberts, Lapins, Skeena and Black Republicans. Alexander was married 45 years before her husband passed away. They have one child, David, who lives in Cove and works with the wind turbines across the country. Alexander has a history of involvement in the Cove community. She is a member of the Cove Community Association, the head of the Cherry Fair Committee, secretary of the Cove Sportsman Club, secretary of the History Committee of the Cove Library and secretary of the school reunion committee. Her favorite hobby is collecting old pictures and the history of Cove, mostly about the schools and old cherry fair. She has a booth at the Cherry Fair displaying historical information about Cove. Alexander worked at a lumber company in Union for 13 years. When David was born she stayed home with him for a few years. Alexander worked as Cove city recorder and treasurer for 21 years. During her tenure, the city finished sewer systems and built the first water system in Cove. The hydro plant and state highway improvements through Cove also occurred during her tenure — all of this while keeping her hands in the cherry business. On the Net: www.coveoregon.org |
