Come on in to Sumner and have a slice of rhubarb pie at Sully’s Alder Street Café, or try some rhubarb preserves at Berryland Café. Want to remember that visit to downtown Sumner? Buy some rhubarb-scented kitchen cleaner from Simple Kitchen.
These are just a few examples of Sumner’s newest promotional endeavor to sell the uniqueness of the small town, said Communications Director Carmen Palmer. Sumner was once dubbed the ‘Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World,’ and now city officials want that to stick in visitors’ minds.
“We’re finding that when you think about how to promote a city for others to visit, you need to highlight what’s unique,” she said. “Yes, we’re a very cute small town, but so is Gig Harbor, La Connor, Lynden. With these gas prices, why would someone, say in Everett, drive down to Sumner for the day? Again, we need to highlight why this is unique and different from an experience in another small town.”
The origins of the rhubarb distinction have been lost with time, Palmer said. But that reputation is alive and well outside of town — she was able to find Sumner noted as the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World on 33 international Web sites.
Some of the original settlers in the valley grew rhubarb, including grower Ron Leslie’s grandfather, John Brown. Brown, who emigrated from Scotland in 1918 with plans to start a rhubarb farm, was one of the original founders of the Sumner-based Washington Rhubarb Growers Association, still in existence today.
In 1919, Brown started what is now Leslie and Son Farm. Today, Leslie and his son Nik grow hothouse and field rhubarb, pumpkins and corn on a few hundred acres of land. Rhubarb is their main crop; it grows well in the Pacific Northwest and especially well in valley soil.
“Rhubarb likes a cool, wet climate,” Leslie said.
Field rhubarb season runs from April through the beginning of August, while hothouse rhubarb is a winter crop that growers plant inside a dark greenhouse-like structure, he said. Hothouse was developed so that fresh rhubarb could be available during the winter.
Leslie, his son and other workers pick a semi-load of rhubarb every weekday, and the growers association sells the crop. Though the vegetable is tart in its raw state, it can be made into rhubarb pie, jam and even a delectable dessert Leslie’s mother used to make called rhubarb crunch.
Despite the acidic taste of the raw rhubarb — which seems to resemble celery, except it’s red — Leslie chews away on the stalk while Nik crinkles his nose in disgust. Maybe it’s the decades that Leslie has spent up to his nose in rhubarb, his pride in his family’s heritage shows.
This is the heritage that Sumner officials want to utilize in their marketing efforts for the city, Palmer said.
“Wouldn’t it be fantastic to not only take a road trip to Mount Rainier but also stop in at Sumner for a slice of famous rhubarb pie and then continue on your way?” she said. “These are the kind of experiences today’s travelers are wanting. I believe in bringing back something old and unique.”
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WASHINGTON RHUBARB GROWERS ASSOCIATION
> The Washington Rhubarb Growers Association was founded 1937 in Sumner.
> Active members who still grow rhubarb: 11
> Cost of rhubarb: Varies each season. Last winter, hothouse rhubarb was $38 for a 15-pound box. This summer, a 20-pound box of field rhubarb is $30.
> Address: 1706 Puyallup St. in Sumner
Source: Washington Rhubarb Growers Association
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