Stemilt Growers
Wenatchee, WA
In 1893, the Mathison family homesteaded 160 acres on Stemilt Hill overlooking the Columbia River and the peaceful town of Wenatchee, Washington. By 1914, Thomas Cyle Mathison began planting cherry, apple, and pear orchards in the fertile soils of Stemilt Hill where high-elevation microclimates offered superior growing conditions for tree fruits.
In 1947 Chris Mathison, Thomas Cyle's son, died in a tragic accident that occurred as he tried to save an irrigation reservoir from destruction during a winter flood. The Mathison family persevered, continuing the hard work of maintaining the orchards. Chris Mathison's youngest son, Tom Mathison, took a leadership role in the family business after his father's death. In 1960, Tom was the driving force behind the construction of the family's first packinghouse, which was built on Stemilt Hill. In 1964, the family established their first controlled atmosphere storage room.
Expansion continued and by 1975 the Mathisons built a state-of-the-art apple, pear, and cherry packing storage facility at Olds Station in Wenatchee. The family moved the company headquarters from Stemilt Hill to the new location, and Olds Station became the hub of Stemilt Growers' operations.
Today, Tom Mathison is still as dedicated as ever to growing and delivering excellent fruit to the marketplace. In late June of 2005, Tom stepped down from the leadership of the company and became Stemilt's Chairman of the Board. He is still very active today in the company, providing guidance and vision for the future.
Tom's grandson West Mathison stepped into the presidency of the company in June 2005 after several years as the company Executive Vice President. West has taken many steps to make Stemilt an even stronger business entity. New packing plants, storage facilities, orchard operations and marketing partnerships have transformed Stemilt into a major player in the tree fruit industry.
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