Stories: Cheeries For
Sale
By Jill Scott
I spent three summers of my youth living and working up on the Butler
Cherry Ranch. I was fifteen that first summer and thought I was the
luckiest girl on earth to have been invited up for the summer with my
best friend (George & Ella's niece) to live and work on the mountain. It
proved to be all I had expected and much more, and the beginning of a
lifelong friendship with the Butlers. I had many wonderful experiences
in those three summers, many of which still bring a smile or warm my
heart.
George and Ella had a way about them that was so comforting. They were
truly good, kind and very giving people. They were both very hard
workers and even though they didn't have all the modern conveniences in
their home that most take for granted, they never complained. They
seemed to take joy in life and whatever it brought. I hold a great
respect for them to this day.
One of my favorite stories to tell was the summer that Linda and I
decided to make a big banner for the cherry stand. We got a roll of
paper and some colored markers and paint. We spent hours one night
working on this sign and proudly hung it the next morning at the weigh
station for everyone to see as they drove up. The banner read: "CHEERIES
FOR SALE U PICK .35 A POUND", all decorated with cherries and big bold
letters. We were so excited for Ella to see it and we beamed when she
smiled and said it was beautiful. Later that day one of our customers
asked us if we realized that we had misspelled cherries. Ella gently
nodded her head and smiled, she had also seen our error but had not had
the heart to tell us as we were so proud of our sign. She told the
customer it was perfect just the way it was, so we sold cheery cherries
that year with a smile.
I went back every year to pick cherries until the ranch was no more. I
grew up, married and had children and shared the Butler Ranch with them
all. Our family camped, fished, rode horses and had birthday party
adventures amongst the cherry trees. George and Ella touched many lives,
mine is only one. It is a true testimony to their love and generosity
that others are there now to keep their legacy alive through the Butler
Cherry Ranch Project. Maybe my grandchildren can pick cherries from a
tree that was once part of George and Ella's world.
The cherry stained smiles of my children will forever be imprinted in my
heart.
