Robert Hatch

Robert Hatch was the owner of Saint Joseph Iron Works in Saint Joseph, Michigan which produced fruit basket making machinery.

These basket machines went all over the country, all over the world as a matter of fact. It was a very successful operation. In the late [19]30s-early [19]40s, things began swinging a little bit away from stapling baskets. Now they don’t use hardly any wood baskets. Most of it’s now plastic, and they can zip those things off in a plastic machine at a great rate.

Oh boy, it breaks my heart when I see what’s happening out in our area here; Berrien County being one of the most fertile areas in the country. Beautiful breezes off the lake and the good soil that is being bought up all over for urban development, and homes going up by the hundreds. It’s been going on since, oh I don’t know, since the early [19]50s, I think, somewhere in there. I’m sorry to see all that land go, too. The little farmer can’t compete. So, if you had forty acres out here, it’s tough to make a living on forty acres of land. Some guy comes along, and he says, “Forty acres, I’ll give you X amount of money for it. You can take the money and retire in Florida or Arizona .” These realtors around the area realized that there was a bonanza to have. So they bought the land, subdivided it and built homes. I don’t see much of a future in this area for farmers as such. Maybe some of the larger ones that grow grapes and have a contract with some of the winemakers and so forth, and jelly makers. But other than that, I don’t see much future for them.