CHASSELL -- It’s the 64th Annual Strawberry Festival in Chassell but before all of those strawberries end up at the festival they’re picked from local farms in the area.
The Crane Berry Farm is run by Dan Crane and he is one main strawberry suppliers for the festival.
“I was about 12-years-old and I started working for my neighbor and picking strawberries and then I ran the fields when I was younger. After he retired I wanted to keep the business going so I’m actually farming on his and my property still,” said Crane.
Crane says he still enjoys working on his farm.
"I think once you start farming and you get that dirt under your fingernails it's hard to get it out and you just like to keep it going and it's a family thing for us," Crane said.
This year volunteers had to pick the strawberries a week early and because of that early picking, the berries had to be frozen.
“It was so warm in March. It started our season way too soon. We have about 55 Lions Club members and the evening of the berry cleaning we had 80 volunteers. We cleaned 1,200 quarts of berries," said Lions Club President Pam Hiltunen.
In the meantime the berries are stored in green and white containers and then volunteers start preparing the tasty shortcake.
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