150th Anniversary of Reid's Orchard

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I would like to recognize a beloved family business, native to Kentucky, that celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Reid's Orchard started in a similar fashion to most entrepreneurial success stories in this country: an immigrant who journeyed to America in search of a better life for himself and his family. Allan Reid left his little village in Scotland in 1873, setting up shop in New York City with his two brothers in the tobacco industry. Allan started out bookkeeping, but the young and ambitious Scot quickly realized that it wasn't bookkeeping or tobacco that interested him, it was peaches, which he found wildly outpaced the quality of fruit available back in Europe.

Allan soon left New York City to set up a peach and apple orchard in Daviess County, KY--where the business is still run today. His orchard quickly became a well-run enterprise and a leader in agricultural production and technology. In admirable fashion, Allan gave back to his community in more ways than just his delicious fruit. This peach pioneer would go on to serve two terms as a Kentucky State Representative and play an instrumental role in the construction and expansion of roads throughout this region of the Commonwealth. Allan's sons, Robert Reid, Jr., and John, would later join the family business with this same sense of community until Allan's great-grandson, Billy, would enter the business and form Reid's Orchard, as it is known today.

Since taking the helm, Billy has brought the orchard to new heights, expanding his family's business into a successful year-round operation, a popular community-gathering point, and a local staple of Owensboro. Today, Reid's Orchard caters to Kentuckians across the Commonwealth, offering a wide array of delicious produce and seasonal favorites that include apples, cider, strawberries, flowers, pies, pumpkins, and my personal favorite, peaches. My staff will tell you, amusingly, that peach-picking season is a highly anticipated event for me. Every August, I look forward to sampling Billy's peaches.

To the delight of many, the orchard's success has allowed the family to expand beyond its farm business. Each year, the orchard puts on an annual summer festival, hosting some of country music's biggest names-- an impressive feat for a family-run business in Western Kentucky and a further testament to Reid's widespread popularity. For 37 years straight, the orchard would also host its popular Apple Festival. In fact, this festival is so popular locally that the Owensboro community plans to carry on the tradition each fall.

When it is not hosting popular community events, Reid's Orchard regularly welcomes families who have traveled far and wide to pick produce in the orchard, learn about farm life, and let their kids roam free across its 250 acres.

Billy's impressive stewardship of the family business and commitment to his local community have earned him the admiration of Owensboro locals, as well as Kentuckians across the Commonwealth. I am proud to call Billy a long-time friend, a friendship that extends beyond his delicious peach deliveries and spans over 20 years.

From Allan Reid's early love for peaches to Billy's thoughtful expansion of his great-grandfather's legacy, the story of Reid's Orchard has been defined by hard work and ingenuity. It is an American story, a story that renews our gratitude for this Nation, its opportunity, and its promise.

On behalf of the Senate, I would like to recognize the Reid family for their countless contributions to the Bluegrass, and congratulate Reid's Orchard for 150 years in operation of the American Dream.

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