The Martin family had a long association with the Grape Grower’s Association.  Harry Martin became manager of the Association in 1925; Al Martin started at the coop at a young age in 1930 putting labels on box lids, paid at the rate of ten cents per thousand boxes.  The group was shipping about 1,250,000 baskets a year, so there was money to be made, but the work was slow.  During its time the Grape Growers Association served as a model for others.  It was the first large scale successful coop of its kind and interested parties from around the United States, including the California Citrus Growers, came to Council Bluffs to study it.

Mr. Martin was in the hospital for six weeks and came back to find his grape juice starting to ferment.  In an effort to recoup some of their losses the group decided to use the spoiled crop to make vinegar.  A government permit was required, since in the process of manufacturing vinegar one has to create wine, an illegal product during these prohibition years.  Permission was obtained, and the process to vinegar underway when prohibition ended.  As fate would have it the transition of grape juice to vinegar was just at the point it could be quickly turned into wine instead.  Other producers had to gear up, but thanks to a bit of lucky timing the Grape Growers Association of Council Bluffs found itself with a great supply of the most sought after beverage in the nation.

   For reasons unknown American tastes changed during prohibition.  The new trend was sweet wine, not the dry type that local grapes lent themselves to.  The Grape Growers found themselves needing to buy wine from California for blending.  Initially shipments came in barrels, but a few always arrived in Council Bluffs empty.  Presuming some railroad workers along the route were having parties at the coop's expense the group transitioned to using tank cars for the shipments.

   With the wine business remaining strong a new building was erected across the street from the coop's 9th Avenue warehouse in 1940.  Used tanks from an Omaha brewery were brought in and the building constructed around them.  That year no fresh product was shipped at all; the full crop went into wine, grape juice, and a new product— apple wine— added to the offerings.

   Just weeks later Mother Nature changed everything.  The Armistice Day Freeze decimated the grapevines and destroyed 97% of the apples.  The coop was never able to make apple wine again. The devastation was so complete there were no grapes at all in 1941; the only production continued using juice stored in vats from the previous year's successful crop.

   It was feared the remaining plants would never produce again, but 1942 saw grapes on the vines once more.  The increased war time demand and subsequent good prices might well have seen new vines being planted again, but something else was going on.  Council Bluffs was growing.  The skyrocketing price of land tempted many growers to give up on gambling with the weather and sell out to developers instead.  Those who resisted hung on only a few more years.  It seemed the once great grapes of the loess hills weren't so great anymore.  The grapes started getting smaller; the sugar content was low and they tasted bitter.  The value of Council Bluffs grapes plummeted on the fresh produce market and they were sold at low profit to be mixed with other grapes for use in jelly.

   This time the culprit was man-made.  It was discovered a new herbicide gaining wide use by corn farmers was also destroying the grape crops.  Bans on the chemical were started in the late 1960's but the damage was already done.  The few remaining vineyards passed into history and the Grape Growers Association closed its doors.  

   The soil of the loess hills and grapevines are too natural a combination to stay apart for long.  The past twenty years has seen a resurgence in grape growing with a number of wineries now operating in southwest Iowa.

(Story by Richard Warner.  Dr. Warner serves on the board of directors of the Historical and Preservation Society of Pottawattamie County.  Photos of Prairie Crossing Winery by Trudy Beno.  Ms. Beno serves on the board of directors of Preserve Council Bluffs and is on staff with the Historical Society.)