Selling cherries with a smile for 53 years

It takes a lot to become an institution in a small town.

And yet, after 53 years of selling cherries in Bigfork and Lakeside, that’s just what Clarice Bush and her husband Bill have become.

As the owners of Jubilee Orchard in Bigfork, the northernmost cherry orchard on Flathead Lake, the Bushes have no intention of stopping their fruit business anytime soon.

“It’s still fun,” Clarice said. “The people at the stands are always so nice.”

Raised in Missoula, the 85-year old is such a familiar sight at her cherry stands along the highway that whole families come to her for their annual cherry fix.

“That’s why I like this stand so much,” she said. “Some people come back year after year. They adopt a stand as their own and they become like family.”

Coming down into Lakeside from either hill, their stand is easily visible, and flats of bing and Rainier cherries make a tantalizing display. Repeat customers tell her about marriages, births and deaths in their families.

“These are some gorgeous fruit,” she said to a groups of Missoula residents loading up on fresh cherries of the Flathead before heading south.

These new customers who see her stand and decide to make a stop keep Jubilee Orchard in business.

Even celebrities can’t resist the succulent fruit.

“These three English guys came and bought cherries all at once,” Bush said. “I thought, wow there sure are a lot of English people in the area today. They were polite and left pretty quickly.”

It was only later, when chatting with a local barista, did Bush realize who she sold cherries to on Aug. 7. Sir Paul McCartney, on his way north from Missoula, made a stop to buy cherries from the unsuspecting Bush.

“I’m the wrong generation for that sort of thing,” she admits. “I would have recognized him as a Beatle, but he wasn’t in his mop-top haircut.”

Now, written on her Lakeside stand, is a proud proclamation that Paul McCartney bought cherries from her.

The other stand is located on Montana 35 near the Bigfork IGA grocery store, and she splits her time between the two spots. She enjoys the cherries fresh, but does dry a good portion of them. She also sells jams, honeys and vinegars alongside the fresh cherries.

This year’s crop has been a healthy one, and although recent rains may have ended the season a tad prematurely, Bush said sales have been good.

Last season was a different matter altogether.

“We were totally wiped out last year,” she said. “Rain hit us two days before we were going to pick.”

As the northernmost orchard, the Bushes said their cherries ripen last, which can let them corner the market late in the season.

Five years ago the trees were heavy with fruit. It was the best crop she remembers.

The Bushes bought their acreage in 1961, and have been selling the cherries ever since. Bill, a 33-year U.S. Air Force veteran, moved the family up from Missoula for good in 1977.

While he was attending the University of Montana to get a forestry degree, he met Clarice.

“She was the cutest girl I’d ever seen,” he said. “I was in college and she was in high school.”

She laughs and brushes off her husband’s compliments.

“He’s been saying that for 65 years,” she said.

They have two children: Julia Swanson, who makes the vinegars the Bushes sell at their stand, and Daniel Bush. Multiple grandchildren help pick the fruit on 1,000 trees spread over five acres.

“We’ve got four generations in the cherry business,” Clarice said. “And they’ll take over when the time comes. But not yet; I’m still having too much fun.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.