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Eva Sulkusky (8-8-72)

There used to be a great many huckleberry
patches around Eckley. This was before the
state watched the land so much. The people
of Eckley would set fire to the woods & this
would burn off all the extra foliage which
crowds out & kills the huckleberry plants.
Today when "they" see a fire, a plane is sent
out & the fire put out. So there is no
chance for the underbrush to be burned away.
When Eva was a child, 1910-1915 era, the
children would be sent to the woods to pick
huckleberries 6 days per week. The children
were sent once or twice per day, & would
pick about 10 to 12 quarts per day. If the
child wished, he or she could go & pick berries
again, this time for himself. The berries were
sold to a man who came to town to buy
the berries. The price for the berries would
fluctuate from 3 cents to 10 cents per quart, depending
upon the scarcity or demand for them. The
children could sell the berries they picked
on their own time & thus have money for
candy, soda, ice cream, etc. The mother would
sell the berries, which the children had
picked, & this money was used to augment
the family income. The mother would also
go out for huckleberries, if she didn't
have babies to care for, so that extra
money could be made. During strikes &
other suspensions of work the men
would also go out for huckleberries, because
they could make a little money to
help tide the family over until work once
again began. A certain portion of the
huckleberries were kept & made into