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I just read the article about the sad saga of the apple trees of the Pajaro Valley as Martinelli’s stops buying local apples. In my lifetime I have seen the trees slowly removed. Now as I recently drove past the removal of them on Freedom Boulevard and saw them lying on their sides with the roots that have been in the ground all my life, I realized the sad story of their removal had come true.
For many years in the springtime, the colors and smell filled the air, pink and white, making the valley look like a patchwork quilt. My first job was picking apples for Buak farms on Green Valley Road. I was only 14, but I thought it was a neat way to make some money. Needless to say, I lasted only one day!
People don’t remember, but Green Valley was all apple trees, so as I drove by them every day going to and coming home, East Lake Avenue was all apple trees. Now there are houses, business, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District headquarters.
Everything has changed in this valley. We have plastic everywhere. The loss of the apple trees will probably be remembered only by the older generation of people who have lived in this valley. It’s sad to see the era taken away from this area. To the families who have given this valley the wonderful blessing of the golden era of apple farming, I say thank you for generations of your love of your land.
As a person who loves our ranch like you love your land, I understand. You want to keep and cherish your land and preserve it for generations to come. Let’s just hope the land will not be covered with houses and that it becomes forever forgotten that at one time the sweet smell of blossoms filled the air in springtime.
Loretta Estrada
Foothills of Mount Madonna
