Culture & Commemoration 

From the Sacred to the Secular

Whether if it was the blessing of fruit, the choosing of a Blossom Queen or a Grand Floral Parade, the seasonal cycle of fruit growing worked its roots deep into the culture of the Michigan Fruit Belt.

A photo caption from an April 1964 South Bend Tribune reads: "Rev. Adolph W. Nadrach of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Watervliet blesses the blossoms that herald spring in southwest Michigan at the Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm.

Blossom Time is embedded here as far as the residents [who] live here.  Grandma may have been in a queen contest or ridden on a float, so she encourages [her] granddaughter to participate. -  Phyllis Dowsett

oral history archive