2010 Double Trouble Cranberry Harvest

[bogger]

Was out geocaching the other day and stopped at Double Trouble. Sign on the park information building says the tentative dates for this years harvest is October 8 until October 11, subject to change based on leaseholder's schedule.

County has posted no parking signs all around the park entrance on Pinewald Keswick and Double Trouble Roads. Guess there were some problems last year with all the people.


The Double Trouble website has been updated recently and has more on the harvest. From http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/double.html:

Cranberry Harvest at Double Trouble State Park:
Several cranberry bogs in the Double Trouble Village section of the park are leased and maintained by local farmers. The leaseholder is on site daily; please use caution on the service roads around the bogs and reservoirs.

Unlike the days when the village's population of migrant workers would dry harvest the cranberries by hand over the course of several months, the leaseholder utilizes the modern wet harvesting technique of flooding the cranberry bogs and using machines to knock the berries off the vine. The cranberries then float to the surface of the water where they are corralled and removed from the bogs for processing. This wet harvest requires fewer people and is faster; it now takes less than two dozen people under a week to harvest the cranberry bogs at Double Trouble Village.

The harvest is open to the public to observe and usually occurs in mid-October. The public is not allowed to pick the cranberries or go into the bogs. Cranberries harvested at Double Trouble Village are taken to a central receiving station in Chatsworth and are not for sale at the park.

The Double Trouble Village cranberry bogs are located between a quarter mile and a mile walk along dirt service roads from the parking area; no vehicles are allowed in the village. As this is a weather dependent livelihood for the leaseholder, there is never an exact start or end date; the berries are harvested once they are ready to be harvested. An approximate start date as provided by the leaseholder is posted on the Double Trouble interpretive center bulletin board and voicemail (732) 341-4098 after Labor Day. Please note that this is only an approximate date that can easily change at any time dependent on the leaseholder’s schedule.

Once the harvest has started, the voicemail message will be updated. The Double Trouble Village harvest takes approximately 4 days and the leaseholder usually starts working by 9 a.m. and works through mid-afternoon, usually reaching a breaking off point sometime between 2 and 4 p.m. The cranberry harvest is not a demonstration or a festival – it is an actual harvest by the farmers who have been maintaining the bogs in the Double Trouble Historic District.

Watching the harvest is self guided; there are no harvest tours and reservations are not required. Signs at the interpretive center in the park information building will direct visitors to the cranberry bogs. Various stages of the harvest may be observed, from the flooding of the bogs to the knocking of the berries, forming the famous cranberry “raft” as the floating berries are corralled to one side of the bog, and removal of the berries for shipment to the receiving station in Chatsworth. (See Historic District Trails and Cranberry Bogs Map, for village bog locations.)

On harvest days that the Double Trouble interpretive center is open there will be scheduled tours of the early 20th century cranberry packing house that was used during the dry harvest era at Double Trouble village; there will also be a video of the dry harvest filmed at Double Trouble Village in the mid-20th century playing throughout the day in the interpretive center.

 

[46er]

The recording on the park phone now states the harvest is scheduled to begin Saturday, 10/9, and continue thru Columbus Day, depending on the conditions the leaseholder finds when they arrive.

 

[46er]

Well, so much for the state knowing whats happening on the property they manage. The harvest began today although the phone recording says the start would be the 9th.

 

[bogger]

The cranberry bogs at Double Trouble State Park are leased to the Jeffrey's Branch Cranberry Company. Jeffrey's harvests other bogs before they get to Double Trouble. They originally thought they were going to start on Friday morning. They got slowed down at their other bogs, so they told the rangers that they would start knocking berries Saturday morning. Jeffrey's must have caught back up a bit because they showed up and started knocking half the Gowdy bog Friday afternoon. I called the information center Friday afternoon and the message was already updated to say that the harvest had started. I'm sure if it was left to say that the harvest was starting Friday the way 46er is suggesting, people would have shown up first thing in the morning and then complain about having to wait until after lunchtime to see something.

The sign on the information center said harvest dates could change based on leaseholder schedule, which it did. Not as bad as a few years ago when Jeffreys's estimated start date was off by almost a week. The ranger at Double Trouble was kind enough to explain all this to me during a tour of the old cranberry packing house. As he said, if you want to be guaranteed to see a harvest, Whitesbog offers paid tours. For my money though Double Trouble has the best access for watching a cranberry harvest. The only downside is the harvest date is based on the leaseholder's schedule, and that schedule often changes. Since the state doesn't pay anything to maintain these bogs, I can live with that.

I don't visit these pine barrens forums too often - usually once a year when I see the harvest schedule at the information center. The reason I started posting it here is because four years ago, there was no easy way to find out when the Double Trouble harvest was scheduled. The only phone number Double Trouble had was for the maintenance shop. Then the state put a new ranger at Double Trouble and next thing you know, there's a big poster with the approximate harvest dates in the bulletin board, a new phone number with a recorded message, the Double Trouble website is updated with maps and harvest information, and there's even a movie of the harvest playing in the information center for those that missed it. I figure posting the harvest dates here is the least I can do to help out. That's why I find it hard to believe that 46er is complaining about the ranger putting on the phone message the most up to date information given to him by the cranberry bog leaseholders. If 46er had taken a few minutes to talk to the ranger this weekend the way I had, maybe he'd be thanking the ranger instead.

 

[46er]

The cranberry bogs at Double Trouble State Park are leased to the Jeffrey's Branch Cranberry Company. Jeffrey's harvests other bogs before they get to Double Trouble. They originally thought they were going to start on Friday morning. They got slowed down at their other bogs, so they told the rangers that they would start knocking berries Saturday morning. Jeffrey's must have caught back up a bit because they showed up and started knocking half the Gowdy bog Friday afternoon. I called the information center Friday afternoon and the message was already updated to say that the harvest had started. I'm sure if it was left to say that the harvest was starting Friday the way 46er is suggesting, people would have shown up first thing in the morning and then complain about having to wait until after lunchtime to see something.

The sign on the information center said harvest dates could change based on leaseholder schedule, which it did. Not as bad as a few years ago when Jeffreys's estimated start date was off by almost a week. The ranger at Double Trouble was kind enough to explain all this to me during a tour of the old cranberry packing house. As he said, if you want to be guaranteed to see a harvest, Whitesbog offers paid tours. For my money though Double Trouble has the best access for watching a cranberry harvest. The only downside is the harvest date is based on the leaseholder's schedule, and that schedule often changes. Since the state doesn't pay anything to maintain these bogs, I can live with that.

I don't visit these pine barrens forums too often - usually once a year when I see the harvest schedule at the information center. The reason I started posting it here is because four years ago, there was no easy way to find out when the Double Trouble harvest was scheduled. The only phone number Double Trouble had was for the maintenance shop. Then the state put a new ranger at Double Trouble and next thing you know, there's a big poster with the approximate harvest dates in the bulletin board, a new phone number with a recorded message, the Double Trouble website is updated with maps and harvest information, and there's even a movie of the harvest playing in the information center for those that missed it. I figure posting the harvest dates here is the least I can do to help out. That's why I find it hard to believe that 46er is complaining about the ranger putting on the phone message the most up to date information given to him by the cranberry bog leaseholders. If 46er had taken a few minutes to talk to the ranger this weekend the way I had, maybe he'd be thanking the ranger instead.

If you knew the park super as I do and the 'ranger' as you refer to him, you'd be commenting as well. It takes less than 5 minutes to update the phone message, I'm sure the 'ranger' was aware of the change if he were on the job. If they can't provide accurate information it would be better to provide none at all. Several groups had planned on attending Friday and cancelled because of the phone message change. BTW, there are no longer any 'rangers' in our park system. Andrew's job title is 'Interpretive Specialist-Historic Resources'. It's all simply a matter of a very brief phone message, nothing complicated about it.

Have a great day.

 

[bogger]

If you knew the park super as I do and the 'ranger' as you refer to him, you'd be commenting as well. It takes less than 5 minutes to update the phone message, I'm sure the 'ranger' was aware of the change if he were on the job. If they can't provide accurate information it would be better to provide none at all. Several groups had planned on attending Friday and cancelled because of the phone message change. BTW, there are no longer any 'rangers' in our park system. Andrew's job title is 'Interpretive Specialist-Historic Resources'. It's all simply a matter of a very brief phone message, nothing complicated about it.

Have a great day.

I’m not trying to flame or start an argument however I find this comment a little unfair. I called Double Trouble about 1:30 Friday afternoon and the message said that the harvest had started and would continue through Columbus Day.

Before I responded I wanted to check all the facts to see if I was missing something – especially as you know a lot more than I do about the park system and their job titles and all. My interest in Double Trouble is mostly Geocaching and walking Barney. I’ve only met Andrew a few times and I’ve never gone over to the other building to meet the super, so maybe I am missing something. I started posting the anticipated harvest dates on this forum following your inspiration from a similar post back in 2008. Anyway, Barney and I stopped by the information center however it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Like I said before, I learned a little bit about the harvest during my cranberry packing house tour on Saturday. As I understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong, the cranberry bogs at Double Trouble village are leased out to the Jeffrey’s Branch Cranberry Company. They maintain the bogs and then harvest them in the fall. Jeffrey’s gives Double Trouble an anticipated harvest date. This date is put on the answering machine, bulletin board and website, with the disclaimer that this is an approximate date subject to change based on the leaseholder’s schedule. This year Jeffrey’s said that they thought they would start on Friday and work through Columbus Day. At some point before Friday they got slowed down at their other cranberry bogs and started falling behind, so they told Double Trouble they would not start harvesting until Saturday. The answering machine and bulletin board were changed to reflect this updated information. Then on Friday afternoon, Jeffrey’s showed up and started knocking half the Gowdy Bog. When I called about 1:30 Friday afternoon, the answering machine message was already changed to say that the harvest had started.

I can understand the frustration of people who were hoping to see a cranberry harvest on Friday, only to be told a few days before that the new expected start date is on Saturday and then have the harvest actually start on Friday afternoon. It’s one of the frustrations with the harvest at Double Trouble the past few years – Jeffrey’s doesn’t know when exactly they are going to be starting. I’m sure it is equally frustrating to the people at Double Trouble. A lot has been done over the past few years to let people know the anticipated harvest dates. This year there were new signs and maps to help park virgins find the cranberry bogs. I imagine it is frustrating for them when Jeffrey’s keeps giving them different start dates.

Since the information center was closed, I did a google search to see what information was out there.

The state parks website for Double Trouble had this notice:

Tentative cranberry harvest date at Double Trouble Village is October 8 through October 11, 2010. Dates are subject to change based on leaseholder schedule. Please call the park interpretive center at (732) 341-4098 to confirm before visiting park to watch the harvest.

I’m guessing it takes a while to get the state website changed so they have people call the answering machine at Double Trouble for any updates.

I also found this program on last Friday:

http://newjersey.sierraclub.org/outings.asp
Oct 8 (Fri):
Hike at Double Trouble State Park (Ocean Co). 10am. 4-5 miles, easy pace. October is Pinelands Month and cranberry harvesting season. Join us for a guided walk with Andrew Anderson, Resource Interpretive Specialist. Meet at Double Trouble Park, Pinewald- Keswick and Double Trouble Rds. Leashed dogs are welcome! Bring lunch and beverage. Great Park for Geocachers! Leona and George F: 609-259-3734 or Leona@pineypaddlers.com. (W)

I wish I had known about this – Barney would have loved it. And I see what you were saying – “Resource Interpretive Specialist,” whatever that is. Maybe this explains why the answering machine message was not updated as quickly as you would have hoped. Maybe Andrew was in the middle of this Sierra Club program when Jeffrey’s called to say they would be starting Double Trouble that afternoon, if they even bothered to call. I’m guessing that the answering machine message was updated either as soon as Jeffrey’s showed up, or as soon as this program was over. I don’t know how much time passed between Jeffrey’s starting to harvest and the answering machine getting changed, but it couldn’t have been more than 90 minutes.

Unless I am totally missing something, I find your comment a little unfair. Yes it is extremely frustrating that Jeffrey’s said they might start harvesting on Friday, then changed it to Saturday, and then showed up Friday afternoon instead. However everything that Double Trouble has put out there advertising the harvest dates says that the dates are approximate and can change based on leaseholder’s schedule. It’s not like this is a harvest festival that people pay money to see.

I don’t see what the alternative is for those who would like to see Double Trouble’s harvest. If the message had been left that Jeffrey’s was starting on Friday, people would show up at nine and complain that the harvest didn’t start until after lunchtime. Or, if Jeffrey’s hadn’t gotten caught back up, people would have complained that they showed up on Friday and the harvest didn’t start until Saturday.

The system right now appears to be that Jeffrey’s gives an approximate date, it may get changed, but you can’t be certain until you call and the answering machine says that the harvest has started. A lot of this seems to be out of the hands of the park people. It’s a risk people take when making plans to see the harvest at Double Trouble instead of paying for a tour at Whitesbog.

If I may ask, what are your expectations? What would you have preferred to have happened? You know a lot more about the structure of the state parks than I do, so how do you think this can be resolved for next year?