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Rights Holder and Contact
Upland Public Library Local History Collection For more information on the copyright or about this image, please contact the Upland Public Library at (909) 931-4205 or ci.upland.ca.us/#Local_History
Description
This document is a continuation of an interview with John H. Nicholson. The interview took place on May 19th, 1979 in the Upland Library. John H. Nicholson who was born in 1915, and recalled times he spent near Catalina Island. He then recalled his experience in World War II. He also discussed the various places he lived across the Southern California region. Nicholson discussed how he became involved with Sunkist. He described how he became an engineer in the company, what challenges he faced, and reflected generally on the ins and outs of the company. He also discussed the processing of the citrus fruits. Nicholson chronicled how in 1952 the California Fruit Growers Exchange became the Sunkist Growers, Incorporated. He described how Sunkist had both a research and field division in Ontario that focused on improvements on products and designing new products. He discusses aspartame, a new pharmaceutical product that addressed capillary fragility. Nicholson also discusses how some of the citrus pulp was used as cattle feed. The production of the cattle feed led him to recall a silo fire in the late 1960s after which he helped to design a new silo that would prevent fires. The company had maintenance and engineering departments which worked nearly all season as the down-season for production began to diminish. Nicholson discussed the extensive refrigeration system, the cans for the products, as well as the mechanized processes of production of various citrus products. He also discussed the various problems that the engineering department faced as the freezer was just built. Nicholson was the chief engineer and reported to the manager (or director) of the division. Nicholson also discussed a system of trains and rail cars that existed in the area until the late 1940s. These railcars were brought to the packing houses each night and filled with citrus. The interview went into details about Nicholson’s family life. Toward the end of the interview, Nicholson reflected on the future of Upland and he worries about the use of water that contains salt and its effect on the land. He also presumed that the region will have many homes and fewer green spaces like citrus groves.
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