The Bedford area said goodbye to one of its outstanding citizens last week. Walter Gross, who ran A. J. Gross and Sons died at the age of 89. That’s Gross’ Orchard and Walter was one of the sons. The A. J. Gross was his father, Austin Gross. Walter ran the operation with his son, Ronnie.
Walter’s obituary stated, “He was eager to greet people as they visited the Orchard store” This is a fact. Anybody who ever visited the store knows how happy he was to greet visitors. He was really a people person and he personified customer service. We will all greatly miss that man, who is surely now walking with Jesus in God’s glory.
His family have been orchardists for generations. Their original homeplace was up on the Peaks where the campground is to today. There may still be a few big old apple trees there that were planted by Walter’s grandfather.
He grew up with fruit trees and he really knew what he was doing. Back a few years ago when a warm winter fooled the peach trees into premature bloom, a frost then killed the blossom. Gross’ peach orchard was a sad sight with row after row of peach trees covered with brown, dead blossoms.
Walter wasn’t the least bit worried and he took a reporter to the orchard to show him why. Walter picked an apparently dead blossom and cut it open. There was a live peach growing in the blossom. The blossoms had set their fruit before the frost froze the flower portion and Walter knew that. He had an abundant peach crop that summer, and he knew that would happen. Walter Gross really knew his fruit trees.
He also cared about his community. When a little country Presbyterian church across the road from his orchard closed, Walter bought it to keep it from being torn down for development. He made it available for a pastor, looking for a church building for his small congregation, to use it.
Another time, when a gleaning group came to the orchard to glean apples, Walter and Ronnie sent them to a section of orchard where they were allowed to pick apples from the trees. The gleaners noted that that was unusual. Ronnie told them that those apples were not marketable, but the gleaners questioned that after noticing the quality of the apples they were picking. It appeared that Walter and Ronnie donated apples, to feed the hungry, that they could have sold.
Now, Walter has left us, but the orchard is in good hands. It’s still in the Gross family and they are good people.
