WHEREAS, It is the tradition of the Washington State Senate to honor the great entrepreneurs and family businesses that have uniquely shaped the Northwest; and
     WHEREAS, Gebbers Farms is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year; and
     WHEREAS, Dan Gamble planted his first apple orchard in Brewster, Washington in 1910; and
     WHEREAS, Dan Gamble built his first apple packing shed in 1918; and
     WHEREAS, Martha Gamble was the first baby girl born in the new town of Brewster; and
     WHEREAS, In 1927, John Gebbers and Martha Gamble married and established a home in Brewster where John ran the family orchards and cattle ranch while Martha operated the apple packing shed and saw mill; and
     WHEREAS, During the depression, Martha Gebbers issued her own scrip to pay her employees and vendors and continued to grow her operations while selling apples on the streets of Los Angeles and continued moving winter apple supplies throughout southern California, Las Vegas, and Phoenix until the late 1950s; and
     WHEREAS, In 1941, Martha Gebbers was one of the first businesses to recruit a work force through a guest worker program allowing the company to build and operate a new apple warehouse in Brewster, as well as help run the cattle ranch and saw mill during the war years; and
     WHEREAS, In 1968, the family planted some of Washington's first Granny Smith apple trees and is now one of the leading sources of that variety, as well as Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious apples; and
     WHEREAS, With over 5,000 acres of orchard, the Gebbers Family now farms one of the largest contiguous apple orchards in the world; and
     WHEREAS, Gebbers Farms is one of the major suppliers of late season sweet cherries; and
     WHEREAS, Gebbers Farms is one hundred percent family owned and managed;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate does hereby acknowledge and honor Gebbers Farms in celebration of its 100th year in operation; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Gebbers Family Farm.