Cherry pie (as well as chicken bones) is a common oilfield practice considered as bad luck. Anything with chicken bones, cherry pie and all other cherry concoctions are taboo.
As to where and how this superstition started, it's unclear.
When out on location, crews swear that within minutes things start to go very wrong. Variations of fried chicken or cherries seem to summon bad omens industry-wide. Having either on location is believed to bring major bad luck.
You can find more oilfield superstitions here.
Of interest, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt despised Friday the thirteenth. As a matter of fact, he would never start an important trip on a Friday if he could help it.
Learn more of these superstitions facts from National Geographic.