Campbell, California Since 1999
The Good Old Days
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Young people earned money cutting 'cots,
picking prunes
(By Bobbi Sheets) In the 1940s and 1950s, young people in Santa Clara Valley were given the chance to work in the fruit industry to earn money to help buy school clothes and supplies and to have extra spending money. Our families had gone through a very difficult time financially during the Depression, and the children of the family assumed responsibility by helping to earn their own money. The first six weeks of summer vacation, I cut apricots for drying at the shed on Union Avenue for the Stojanovich family. The 'cots were cut in half, the pit removed, and each half was placed on a drying tray, where we stood until the tray was finished. I had worked out a system of rolling the cot as it was cut and could then master cutting faster than most everyone in the drying shed. The full trays were then taken to the sulfur house, where they would remain for many hours before being placed in the sun to dry. When I enjoy dried apricots today, it brings back memories and appreciation of all the work we put into each day at that drying shed. The traffic up and down Union Avenue made the day pass more quickly as we talked about the busy daily Campbell activities that passed by. We had girls and women of all ages whose friendship we enjoyed through the many summers we worked together. When summer seemed the hottest, in July and August, I picked prunes at the Tock orchards, which were across from the area we call the Pruneyard today. My mother had me wear my oldest T-shirts and jeans. On my jeans she sewed kneepads because prunes were picked off the ground. I would toss the prunes into a large metal bucket, and when the bucket was filled, I would walk to the nearest roadway, where 40-pound lug boxes were stacked. I would empty my bucket into the box, initial the box handle for credit and return to the tree to continue picking. As I picked, I crawled over the ground, sometimes kneeling on a prune, which squished all over my jeans, making my clothes sticky. I sometimes knelt on a huge dirt clod, and my kneepads weren't padded enough to protect my knees. That was never a pleasant situation. When I first began picking prunes at age 10, I earned 1 cent per box, usually picking from 6 to 10 boxes a day. I did this for six summers, each year earning more money. The price earned for picking each box increased considerably each year, until, in the last year, I was earning 54 cents for each box and could pick 18 to 20 boxes each day. We lived on Apricot Avenue just two blocks away, so my sister and I would have the advantage of a lunch mother had prepared before we went back for an afternoon of work. The Tock family took two hours for lunch and a rest, so we had that two-hour break also. When we finished the hot day of work and returned home, my mother had my sister and me take off our dirty, sticky clothes in the back porch room, where she had the old washtub filled with warm, sudsy water for us to bathe in. She had our clean clothes ready to put on after the bath and we stepped into our kitchen for a wonderful dinner. Mother was a grand cook. She worked nights at the prune dehydrator in Campbell at this time but later became the cafeteria food supervisor for the Cambrian School District, where children enjoyed the wonderful menus she put together with her workers. She first only had Cambrian School to plan for, but at retirement serviced nine schools for the district. How lucky those children were to have her expertise. My most favorite memory of that period was the day I bought my first bicycle, after working and saving up money for several years. It was a 26-inch-wheel Huffy bike from Montgomery Ward in downtown San Jose. My dad took me to town to buy the bike, but he would not let me put the bike in the trunk because he thought it would scratch his brand-new car. I rode the bike all the way home from First Street in San Jose, which took me several hours. It was almost dark before I reached home. I was so proud of that bike, and I had a grand feeling of accomplishment. It cost $38 plus tax. My earnings each year helped me to buy my school clothes and shoes, a new binder and school supplies to start school in September. The cost of both clothing and school supplies, of course, has changed considerably over these many years. It did not seem like I was earning much with my work in the fruit industry, but the price of items I purchased I could afford in that time period. The work in the fruit industry was such a part of our lives. It helped me develop responsibility and build respect for my parents. They both worked to support the family during those difficult years. Dad was a pressman at the Rosicrucian Press in San Jose. Mother's work in the prune industry and in the Cambrian School District also gave her children the opportunity to take piano lessons and for her two daughters, ballet. We appreciated the sacrifices our parents made to make our lives special and give us many advantages. I'm glad I had the chance to help earn my own money. Today's boys and girls do not have the wonderful opportunity to work as we did, but each of them can show respect for their families by assuming responsibilities around the home. Growing up in Santa Clara Valley has left me with many special memories. Hard work and dedication to our jobs helped to build character and self-esteem. It was a good life well-earned. Bobbi Sheets is a longtime Campbell resident. She is active with the Campbell Woman's Club and with Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY). |
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