Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Old apple box label from the grandfather's apple orchard. Before WWII, they would ship these lady apples, individually wrapped in paper, to Japan.


 

9 comments:

  1. We still use a number of the old wooden boxes the fruit was shipped in here in Ohio. They have the most beautiful labels for the produce that was in them when they were put on the train in California 60 years ago.

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  2. Many of the old sawmills up into the '60s were called 'box factories'. All they did was cut the boards for the fruit producers in California.

    The upper mill in Foresthill, CA was referred to as 'Stockton Box' even after it closed while the main, big sawmill in Foresthill was still operating into the early '90s.

    They were special times of full employment in the Sierra Nevada timber industry. If you were a 19-year-old kid and wanted a good paying job you could get it, so long as you had a good work ethic.

    Those were the days.

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  3. A very powerful remnant from better times.

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  4. Wow! Now that is a piece of American history. You need to write a book for posterity sake. Even if it isn't a "best seller" at least you could get it into the local historical society archives.

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  5. My father worked for a company that shipped it's equipment overseas in big heavy wood boxes. A friend of his told him that he watched the customers workers opening the box on the other end. Carefully pulling and straightening every nail and avoiding damage to every board. Wood was expensive and hard to get there.
    He wished that they treated the shipped equipment with as much care.

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    Replies
    1. Much of the lumber back then was clear (no knots). It was mostly pretty primo stuff, even what they used to make crates and pallets.

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  6. Handsome graphic artwork, thanks for sharing.

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  7. Such great memories. I lived in Twain Harte a number of years.

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