Placentia, Fullerton, Santa Ana, and Olive

 Today's photos are really just one photo with some detail shots cropped out of it. The image shows the Placentia Orange Growers Association packing house (surprisingly located in Fullerton) in 1894. The fruit worked its way down the line largely through gravity, with sorting and culling done as it rolled its way toward the folks actually packing the fruit. Additional power for this set-up was provided "by a man pumping a pair of bicycle pedals."

 So what's the girl thinking in the photo below? "The boss's son has never packed an orange in his life. But once he finds out a photographer's here,..."

Notice squares of tissue paper in which each orange would be wrapped. Notice also that the shipping crates look a bit flimsier than the field boxes (stenciled "Placentia O G" in the back of the photo). The flexibility of the shipping crates allowed them to be stuffed until they bulged a bit, keeping the fruit from knocking around in transit.

 On March 22nd, the Placentia Library District will hold the premier of a new historical documentary DVD, entitled, Placentia: A Pleasant Place, at 7pm, in the Placentia Library Meeting Room, 411 E. Chapman Ave. If you plan to attend, call (714) 528-1906, ext. 200 to RSVP before March 17th.

The Heritage Museum of Orange County (the Kellogg House people) will host "Create A Bit of History: Art & Artifacts," on March 10th, 10am to 5pm, at 3101 W. Harvard St., in Santa Ana. Local artists will sell their work and local historical organizations will have booths out with wares of their own. Plus, you'll also get the chance to see some of the interesting artifacts that have been tucked away in the museum's collection but seldom (if ever) displayed. Admission is free. Tours of the Kellogg House and the museum's collection are $5.

Speaking of events, I hope to see at least some of you at Thursday (tomorrow) night's Orange County Historical Society meeting. I'm looking forward to Daralee's presentation on the Town of Olive.