Today, Washington State is home to some of the finest potato country in the world, thanks to a foundation built by committed forerunners. A recently released documentary will highlight how potatoes came to be one of Washington’s most important crops thanks to the efforts of these early pioneers. Viewers can watch the documentary titled The Gamble on Sunday, May 28 at 3 p.m. on KSPS, PBS’s affiliate in Spokane, Wash. A repeat viewing of the documentary will air on Saturday, June 3 at 6 a.m. on KSPS.
The Gamble is a 60-minute piece that explores the personal stories of farm families and their heritage. Through their personal stories, viewers will learn firsthand what it took to grow potatoes in the state’s early days and how today’s growers carry on the spirit of the early farm families. The documentary tells the story of how and where potatoes were first grown in Washington and some of the interesting events that helped shape their future. The Gamble is narrated by award-winning actor and narrator Peter Coyote.
The history of potatoes in Washington dates back to the late 1700s. During the settlement of Washington, farmers jeopardized their families’ livelihood one crop at a time, in the hope of hitting it big each year. The Gamble explores these efforts by detailing how farmers settling into western Washington gambled that below the water of the bogs the soil would provide the perfect offering for potatoes. In contrast, the documentary also tells the story of how farmers in central Washington’s Columbia Basin risked everything they had on the chance that water would come from miles away to irrigate their potato crops.
The Washington State Potato Commission sponsored the project to capture the history of Washington’s potato growers and how the crop would go on to shape the state’s history, culture and economy.