Applebox Belles

Women have been the backbone of this community’s apple packing houses for over a century.

The applebox belles who worked in Lake Country’s packinghouses from the early years to the 1950s bring you to the heart of the role of women in the early fruit industry. The orchard industry and packinghouses are an integral part of Lake Country’s history, from the plantings of the first seedlings in 1907 to the present day. These determined women quickly became the workforce of the packinghouses, sorting, wrapping, packing, and stamping, and they transformed a routine job into a highly skilled profession for half a century until technological changes altered their roles.

Applebox Belles presents the stories of the pioneers, the Summer Girls, and the champion Apple Wrapper Flappers through vintage photographs, interviews, and personal recollections. Meet the belles and discover their legacy in this compelling exhibition by the Lake Country Museum and Archives.

Staff of the Okanagan Valley Land Company packinghouse, Okanagan Centre, October 15th, 1948