The story of the Shoreline Fruit cooperative began in the late 1960s, during casual gatherings at Michigan State University’s FarmHouse Fraternity. It was here that two sets of brothers—Bob and Don Gregory and Dean, Gene, and Norm Veliquette—planted the seeds of what would become the largest tart cherry operation in North America.

A few leased acres has grown into an expansive cooperative of growers, and today, the Williamsburg-based cooperative’s 6,000 acres of orchards typically harvest around 50 million pounds of Montmorency tart cherries. The Gregory family manages Cherry Bay Orchards and Gregory Brothers Farms, while the Veliquette family businesses are Cherry Ke and Cherries R Us. Among the first in northern Michigan to earn USDA Good Agricultural Practices certification, Shoreline Fruit growers also set a high standard for sustainable farming.

As hundreds of thousands of visitors descend on Traverse City this week for the National Cherry Festival, read more about the country's largest tart cherry operation in our own backyard in this week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker. The Northern Express is available to read online, or pick up a free copy on newsstands at nearly 700 spots in 14 counties across northern Michigan.