Council Mulls the Cherry as District's Official Fruit

New York has the apple, Florida has the orange and soon the District of Columbia could have the cherry as its official fruit.

With the nation's capital lacking a designated fruit, a group of students from Bowen Elementary School in Southwest Washington made their pitch at a D.C. Council hearing Wednesday.

"For the past generations the district has gone fruitless, at least in an official sense," said City Administrator Robert Bobb.

The students said the cherry was the obvious and unanimous choice, as it has links to Washington.

"We have a cherry blossom festival every year and it was a cherry tree that George Washington chopped down in a famous story from his youth," said Marcus Parker, 11, a fifth grader at Bowen. The kids said there was no second choice.

Council Chair Linda Cropp (D-At Large) said she never really thought about an official fruit until she got the children's letter. As for the choice of the cherry, she thinks the kids are probably right.

"It does fit right in to the theme for Washington," Cropp said. "From the mouth of babes we have a good idea."

Cropp, Bobb and the children's teacher, Terry Bunton, noted how the fruit resolution was a civics lesson for the students.

"Today, your voices are being heard," Bobb told them. "I hope our students realize that their involvement can make a big difference in a process that is usually reserved for adults."

Bunton agreed and hopes the Council will act.

"You have the unique opportunity to demonstrate to them that they can affect change in their lives and their surroundings. That if they want to reach out to their community and their government that there will be a hand reaching back to them to make sure that they are heard and taken seriously," Bunton said.

The children said they were inspired to pursue the fruit designation by a group of children in Florida who last year got the orange named the official fruit of that state.

Twenty-six states have an official fruit. The apple is the most common, with five states designating it their state fruit.

The City Council must still vote on the fruit resolution measure.