James and Dot Pitzer McDonald and their fruit empire in Martinsburg
James “Jim” McDonald, born in 1898, grew up on a farm on the road from Darkesville to Arden. He was the first of three boys, all born around the turn of the century — a very small family for that time.
Many decades later, his name would become synonymous with peaches and apples in Martinsburg.
Jim was about 6 years old when he helped his father plant their first orchard, according to theglencoemcdonaldclan.com, a website that appears to have expired. Him went on to graduate from West Virginia University with a degree in horticulture. Later he “developed a very successful large orchard operation at Arden,” the family website said.
At age 26, in the summer of 1924, he married 22-year-old Dorothy "Dot" Pitzer, a fellow Martinsburg High School graduate, who had attended Hood College and Shepherd College.
Jim and Dot McDonald on their wedding day and later in life
Ten months later they welcomed their …
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