{"STATUS":"SUCCESS","ID":"393","LATITUDE":"49.2224025251027","LONGITUDE":"-122.72321268929","TYPE":"locations-mark","NAME":"From Bombs to Blueberries","CONTENT":"Today we all know blueberries are synonymnous with Pitt Meadows, but not many of us know that before blueberries there was peat. It was the farmed off peat bogs that made for the great blueberry growing soil that Pitt Meadows is known for. But how did the peat get farmed off? Pioneer Peat operated off of Ford Road at McTavish Road. It was established in 1919 and was considered to be the first “industry” in Pitt Meadows. The early part of the Great Depression took its toll on the company and it closed in late 1930 but had a short reprieve in 1933 when it reopened as Premier Peat for a three month period. In 1934 Alouette Peat took on the business and continued to run it till 1940 when a fire took out most of the buildings on the site.The company rebuilt and by 1942 was shipping the peat from the site to Las Vegas to be used “in the war effort” for the production of bombs. This continued until a new source was found by the weapon manufacturer and peat sales slowed until the end of the war. While production increased after the war areas of the bog were harvested off and of no use to the factory. Gradually J. Austring, who had been with the plant since 1934, purchased this land to grow blueberries. Eventually Blueboy Blueberries was established and the land went from peat to fruit.","SEO_LINK":"from-bombs-to-blueberries","VIDEO_LINK":"","SOUNDCLOUD_LINK":"","IMG1":"","IMG2":"","IMG3":"","IMG4":"","IMG5":"","IMG6":"","IMG7":"","IMG1_THUMB":"","IMG2_THUMB":"","IMG3_THUMB":"","IMG4_THUMB":"","IMG5_THUMB":"","IMG6_THUMB":"","IMG7_THUMB":""}X

From Bombs to Blueberries

Today we all know blueberries are synonymnous with Pitt Meadows, but not many of us know that before blueberries there was peat. It was the farmed off peat bogs that made for the great blueberry growing soil that Pitt Meadows is known for. But how did the peat get farmed off? Pioneer Peat operated off of Ford Road at McTavish Road. It was established in 1919 and was considered to be the first “industry” in Pitt Meadows. The early part of the Great Depression took its toll on the company and it closed in late 1930 but had a short reprieve in 1933 when it reopened as Premier Peat for a three month period. In 1934 Alouette Peat took on the business and continued to run it till 1940 when a fire took out most of the buildings on the site.The company rebuilt and by 1942 was shipping the peat from the site to Las Vegas to be used “in the war effort” for the production of bombs. This continued until a new source was found by the weapon manufacturer and peat sales slowed until the end of the war. While production increased after the war areas of the bog were harvested off and of no use to the factory. Gradually J. Austring, who had been with the plant since 1934, purchased this land to grow blueberries. Eventually Blueboy Blueberries was established and the land went from peat to fruit.

Details:

Latitude: 49.2224025251027

Longitude: -122.72321268929

Direct Link: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/locations/from-bombs-to-blueberries