C. L. Dick Dried Fruit

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Summary
Business

Dried Fruit Packer
Main Location

San Jose, CA
Active

1930-1950's
Predecessors

W. T. Jenks Company

'C. L. Dick Dried Fruit was a dried fruit packer in the San Jose area from the 1930's through the 1950's. There's evidence of the company existing in the late 1930's through the 1950's, but few signs of the company before then. The company was a California corporation, and sold 2,300 tons of prunes in 1939, valued at $197,000[1].

The namesake, Charles Lewis Dick, was born in Oregon in 1871, and was manager of the Salem Fruit Union packing house in 1909[2]. C.L. Dick probably started around 1930; in 1930, Charles listed himself as a "prune packer with own plant" in 1930; he'd been in Oregon in 1920. He was in San Jose managing the W. T. Jenks Company packing plant by 1929[3]. Dick died in San Jose Hospital in December, 1938[4]. By 1940, the manager was James Lively according to the "Sunsweet Story".

The company shows up in various city directories, but also appeared in the 1940 lawsuit against multiple packing houses over exclusive representation by a union of the packing house's choice[5].

C.L. Dick occupied the former J. W. Chilton Fruit Packing dried fruit packing house on First Street north of the railroad tracks. That plant had been occupied by Porter Brothers before 1903.

Locations

Location Years Address Details
San Jose 1936 170 Bassett Street at San Pedro Street
San Jose 1940, 1950 405 North First Street Former Chilton warehouse, used by Sunsweet in 1936.
San Jose 1950 810 Sunol Street south of Home

On 1950 Sanborn map. Building still exists -- office for gravel plant?

References

  1. Abinante and Nola et. al. vs Warehousemen's Union,Orders of the National Labor Relations Board Volume 26. Case C-1456 and R-1530 Decided August 24, 1940.
  2. Coast News Items: June 19, 1909 California Fruit News.
  3. 1929 San Jose City Directory
  4. Obituary: Charles Lewis Dick: December 31, 1938 San Jose Evening News. Death was on December 29, 1938.
  5. Abinante and Nola et. al. vs Warehousemen's Union,Orders of the National Labor Relations Board Volume 26. Case C-1456 and R-1530 Decided August 24, 1940.