Difference between revisions of "Woelffel Cannery"

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Richard Woelffel lived at 322 E. San Salvador in San Jose in 1902, with his son who was in law school.
 
Richard Woelffel lived at 322 E. San Salvador in San Jose in 1902, with his son who was in law school.
  
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The cannery was bought by [[Stapleton-Spence]] in the 1970's for the machinery<ref>About Stapleton-Spence: [http://www.stapleton-spence.com/about-stapleton.php stapleton-spence.com].  "Stapleton-Spence purchased Woelfell Canning in Cupertino and soon consolidated operations. With equipment from the Woelfell plant, Gangi Brothers and Safeway, Stapleton-Spence built a prune juice plant."</ref>.  The land was later sold to Measurex, a company using radiation to do high-speed measurements of paper thickness in paper plants<ref>Bancroft Library, [http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/roho/ucb/text/bossen_dave.pdf EARLY BAY AREA VENTURE CAPITALISTS: SHAPING THE ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS LANDSCAPE].  Oral history interview. "Anyway, she located the space, and it belonged to a nice little old lady, who I suppose has passed away now, by the name of Blanche B. Woelffel. She owned thirty-five acres in Cupertino, and she had a factory there that produced tomato paste. She had an evaporator and one big building, and she was growing tomatoes and plums on this property… Well, she had inherited it from her husband who had just died. She sold it to us, and we paid an exorbitant amount, I thought—$50,000 an acre for the first— I think we had thirteen acres originally." </ref>.    The Richard Woelffel company was incorporated in California in 1961; it has been dissolved.  Blanche Woelffel died in 2003.
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The cannery was bought by [[Stapleton-Spence]] in the 1970's for the machinery<ref>About Stapleton-Spence: [http://www.stapleton-spence.com/about-stapleton.php stapleton-spence.com].  "Stapleton-Spence purchased Woelfell Canning in Cupertino and soon consolidated operations. With equipment from the Woelfell plant, Gagni Brothers and Safeway, Stapleton-Spence built a prune juice plant."</ref>.  The land was later sold to Measurex, a company using radiation to do high-speed measurements of paper thickness in paper plants<ref>Bancroft Library, [http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/roho/ucb/text/bossen_dave.pdf EARLY BAY AREA VENTURE CAPITALISTS: SHAPING THE ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS LANDSCAPE].  Oral history interview. "Anyway, she located the space, and it belonged to a nice little old lady, who I suppose has passed away now, by the name of Blanche B. Woelffel. She owned thirty-five acres in Cupertino, and she had a factory there that produced tomato paste. She had an evaporator and one big building, and she was growing tomatoes and plums on this property… Well, she had inherited it from her husband who had just died. She sold it to us, and we paid an exorbitant amount, I thought—$50,000 an acre for the first— I think we had thirteen acres originally." </ref>.    The Richard Woelffel company was incorporated in California in 1961; it has been dissolved.  Blanche Woelffel died in 2003.
  
 
Photos and plans of the Monta Vista plant are in the Library of Congress's Historic Architecture and Building Survey<ref>"Woelffel Cannery: [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhphoto&amp;amp;fileName=ca/ca0900/ca0936/photos/browse.db&amp;amp;action=browse&amp;amp;recNum=0&amp;amp;title2=Woelffel%20Cannery,%2010120%20Imperial%20Avenue,%20Monta%20Vista%20vicinity,%20Santa%20Clara%20County,%20CA&amp;amp;displayType=1&amp;amp;itemLink=S?pp/hh:@field(TITLE+@od1(Woelffel+Cannery,+10120+Imperial+Avenue,+Monta+Vista+vicinity,+Santa+Clara+County,+CA)) Historic Architecture and Building Survey, Library of Congress]</ref>.
 
Photos and plans of the Monta Vista plant are in the Library of Congress's Historic Architecture and Building Survey<ref>"Woelffel Cannery: [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhphoto&amp;amp;fileName=ca/ca0900/ca0936/photos/browse.db&amp;amp;action=browse&amp;amp;recNum=0&amp;amp;title2=Woelffel%20Cannery,%2010120%20Imperial%20Avenue,%20Monta%20Vista%20vicinity,%20Santa%20Clara%20County,%20CA&amp;amp;displayType=1&amp;amp;itemLink=S?pp/hh:@field(TITLE+@od1(Woelffel+Cannery,+10120+Imperial+Avenue,+Monta+Vista+vicinity,+Santa+Clara+County,+CA)) Historic Architecture and Building Survey, Library of Congress]</ref>.

Revision as of 06:29, 1 August 2018

Summary
Business

Cannery
Main Location

Cupertino, CA

The Woelffel Cannery was a cannery in Monta Vista (Cupertino) on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley. The cannery had formerly been the Monte Vista Packing Company. Richard Woelffel bought the plant in 1927[1]. Woelffel cannery was in operation from the 1920's through 1978[2] The plant was along the railroad tracks just south of Stevens Creek Road. Woelffel supposedly produced tomato paste[3].

Richard Woelffel lived at 322 E. San Salvador in San Jose in 1902, with his son who was in law school.

The cannery was bought by Stapleton-Spence in the 1970's for the machinery[4]. The land was later sold to Measurex, a company using radiation to do high-speed measurements of paper thickness in paper plants[5]. The Richard Woelffel company was incorporated in California in 1961; it has been dissolved. Blanche Woelffel died in 2003.

Photos and plans of the Monta Vista plant are in the Library of Congress's Historic Architecture and Building Survey[6].

Tee Hirata, a Japanese-American, was bookkeeper at Woelffel for 24 years[7]. Hector Picchetti was superintendent for many years[8][9].


Locations

Location Years Address Details
Cupertino -1970s 10120 Imperial Avenue

Photos

Woelffel Cannery from Imperial Ave.

Cannery, 10120 Imperial Avenue, Monta Vista vicinity, Santa Clara, CA&displayType=1 Woelffel Cannery Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

References

  1. ↑ "Celery to be Canned at Monta Vista Plant: 12, 1927 San Jose Evening News: "...recently purchased by R. Woelffel, manager of the California Canneries Co. at Campbell."
  2. ↑ Steve Hill, 1970 to Present: St. Joseph of Cupertino monthly flyer, September 2011.
  3. ↑ Bancroft Library, EARLY BAY AREA VENTURE CAPITALISTS: SHAPING THE ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS LANDSCAPE.
  4. ↑ About Stapleton-Spence: stapleton-spence.com. "Stapleton-Spence purchased Woelfell Canning in Cupertino and soon consolidated operations. With equipment from the Woelfell plant, Gagni Brothers and Safeway, Stapleton-Spence built a prune juice plant."
  5. ↑ Bancroft Library, EARLY BAY AREA VENTURE CAPITALISTS: SHAPING THE ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS LANDSCAPE. Oral history interview. "Anyway, she located the space, and it belonged to a nice little old lady, who I suppose has passed away now, by the name of Blanche B. Woelffel. She owned thirty-five acres in Cupertino, and she had a factory there that produced tomato paste. She had an evaporator and one big building, and she was growing tomatoes and plums on this property… Well, she had inherited it from her husband who had just died. She sold it to us, and we paid an exorbitant amount, I thought—$50,000 an acre for the first— I think we had thirteen acres originally."
  6. ↑ "Woelffel Cannery: Historic Architecture and Building Survey, Library of Congress
  7. ↑ Mary Lou Lyon Early Cupertino. Arcadia Publishing.
  8. ↑ Rotary Club of Cupertino: A Special Gift in Memory of a Cupertino Pioneer, Hector Picchetti.
  9. ↑ Hector Picchetti obituary, San Jose Mercury News obituary, December 3, 2014.
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