Pamet Cranberry Company

Pamet Cranberry Company. . , The wetland before you was once a thriving 11-acre commercial cranberry bog of the Pamet Cranberry Company, operating here from 1892 to 1949. Every fall workers came from across the region to harvest the berries. Local residents were then invited to pick the remaining berries., After the harvest, the pump sputtered into action, flooding the bog with water from the Pamet River to protect the vines through the winter. In spring, weeding was done by hand with stocking sewn over gloves to protect hands from poison ivy. Every few years the bogs were sanded to stimulate the vines and reflect sunlight onto the leaves., One year a record high of 166 barrels were loaded onto carts bound for the Truro Railroad Depot. Today, without the constant toil of workers to stop them, a silent army of shrubs and trees is reclaiming the bog. In time, the bog house will be the only visible reminder of this once bustling commercial bog., ( photo captions ) , , "Harvesting Cranberries on Cape Cod" , Families, including children, labored in the bogs, with immigrant groups such as Cape Verdeans becoming an important source of labor. Though backbreaking work, some preferred cranberry harvesting to the sweatshop-like conditions in factories. Workers were paid by the box rather than the hour, and challenged themselves to pick as many boxes as possible. The work was outdoors and offered a chance to socialize., , "On the cranberry bogs there was storytelling at night, playing the guitar, music, singing, dancing, parties. We had a square dance they would call the dances in Crioulo [Cape Verde Portuguese]. Contra-dances we call it." , Lucillia Lima, cranberry worker, , The bog house served as a processing facility for berries downstairs and a dormitory for workers upstairs.