Theodore Hildt first planted about one-fourth acre of berries in 1910. These berries were called "native". This kind of berry was so soft that they had to be picked right into the bottles to keep them from becoming mashed and juicy. They couldn't be shipped at all, so Mrs. Hildt would bottle them and sell them ready bottled.
In about 1924, these berries were dug up and replaced with a better kind of berry named the "Cuthbert" or sometimes called the "Shipper"/ Mr. Hildt then planted one-half acre more.
Then in 1935, Lavoy Hildt, the oldest son, became manager. He wanted to get better berries so he planted many different kinds besides ten acres of cuthbert. Lavoy had an experiment patch on the side. Here he tried all the new kinds of berries he heard about. At one time there were as many as eight or ten different kinds of raspberries being tried.
Also at this time Lavoy became interested in strawberries. As far as he knew strawberries had never been raised in Bear Lake Valley. After testing, he found that several kinds of strawberries did very well. At one time there were as many as fifteen or twenty different kinds of strawberries being tried. Now they have ten acres of strawberries.
Ivan Hildt, Lavoy's brother, and Arlo Price, Lavoy's son-in law, are all working together on this fruit farm. They are still testing every new berry that comes on the market. They want only the best. The families come by the hundreds from Wyoming, Idaho, and from the lower valleys of Utah for their luscious berries grown in this cool mountain area.
from "Rich Memories" published in 1962
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