Monte Vista Packing Company

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Summary
Business

Cannery
Main Location

Monta Vista (Cupertino), California
Active

1921-1923
Successors

Woelffel Cannery

Monta Vista Packing Company was a Cupertino-based canner and dried fruit packer in the early 1920's. W. Allen was the superintendent. William W Brelte, a structural engineer in San Francisco[1], was the secretary of the corporation. The company appeared and quickly disappeared during the disastrous 1922 year.

The company's plant was put out to bid in April 1922, with engineer W. W. Breite of the Clunie Building of San Francisco specifying a one story cannery made of frame and corrugated iron with an estimated budget of $45,000[2]. The company started packing that year, with the intention of packing cherries and apricots but also willing to pack other fruits and jam as well, and planned to employ 250 people[3][4]. In its first season, it was canning apricots with a crew of 200 women and 75 men[5]. Warmington Duff of Chicago, Toledo, and San Francisco acted as distributor[6].

The company also hosted at least one University of California extension talk on dried fruit[7].

The company declared bankruptcy on February 24, 1923[8]. It's secretary, W. W. Brelte, declared its creditors as Anderson Barngrover Manufacturing Company, Borgfeldt Brothers of San Francisco, W. W. Brelte, and the Sunset Lumber Company of San Jose. The plant was sold to Richard Woelffel in 1927 and reopened as the Woelffel Cannery[9].

The company also appears as a possible asbestos exposure site in asbestos lawsuit solicitations.

Locations

Location Years Address Details
Monte Vista 1922 Imperial Ave. Western Canner and Packer.
San Francisco 1921 519 California Street 601 Thomas Clunie Building (as Monta Vista Dehydrating Company)

References

  1. Brelte, W. W. 519 California, San Francisco. In Polk's San Francisco 1916 city directory.
  2. Industrial Works: Proposed Work: April 20, 1922 Engineering News Record
  3. California Canneries: May 1922 Western Canner and Packer
  4. New Canning Company to Open June 1: San Jose Evening News May 3, 1922
  5. "Monta Vista To Become Big Canning Center": July 12, 1922 San Jose Evening News Also hints that another cannery may soon be built in Cupertino.
  6. Northern California Canneries: November 1922 Western Canner and Packer.
  7. Prof. Cruess of U.C. Explains Dehydration to Growers: February 1922 The Dryer
  8. February 24, 1923 San Francisco Chronicle. p 18.
  9. "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."