San Joaquin Historian

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THE San Joaquin Historian Quarterly Journal ofthe San Joaquin County Historical Society Volume XII' Number 4 WINTER 1999 Editor Daryl Morrison Writing, Design & Production Jamie K. Hartshorn Published by THE SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. Micke Grove Regional Park P.O. Box 30, Lodi, CA 95241-0030 (209) 331-2055 (209) 953-3460 Helen Tretheway President VICE PRESIDENTS Craig Rasmussen Immediate Past President Mel Wingett Finance Christopher Engh Publications Elise Austin Forbes Secretary Robert F. McMaster Treasurer Michael W Bennett Director San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum About This Issue For newcomers such as myse?f(arrived in Stockton in 1985), it seems as ffdiamolld ofcal~fomia has always had a major plant.(licility in Sail Joaquin County. Yet, the compa/ly developed with the walnut industry ill Southern CalUcmlia al1d did not open its Stocktoll plam ullti/1956. nvall1ut growing was active in Sail Joaquin Coullty ill the 1900s but did not challenge the south until the 1940s.) Freelallce writer!editor Jamie K. Hartshorn, under the directioll (?fdiarnojl(i C?f Cal~t(mlia's director C?fpublic affairs, Sandra kicbride, developed this articlefrom writing to final priming. Based 011 a more exte1lsive work by Alln Foley Scheurillg, Eightv I Years of Excellence, a Historv of Diamond \Valnut j Growers (Stockton: Diamond ofcaiifimlia 1998), this article demollstrates how Diamo1ld (~fcal!t(mlia developed all illtematiollal market through its illllovations and aggressive marketing. vve C1re glad to brillg this interesting description C?fDimnond (~fcal~f()r Ilia alld the walnut indusl1y to readers. We also greatly appreciate Diarnond C?f Califon lias contribution as a Corporate Spollsorj()r this issue. Daryl Morrison EDITOR The Society, a nonprofit corporation, meets the fourth indudes subscriptions to the 5,11/ Joaquin Historial1 and the Museum. June, September, and ~ovember. Membership Additional copies may be purchased at the The Society operates the San Joaquin County Historical '\luseum at i>licke Grove Regional Park in partnership with San Joaquin Count\'. The Society maintains an office at the Museum. Manuscripts relating to the history of San Joaquin County or the Delta will always be considered. The editor reserves the right to edit and shorten material based on local interest and space considerations. Inquiry should be made through the Museum office. 1999 San Joaquin Historical Society Inc.

By Jamie K. Hartshorn he largest and most modern walnut facility in the world, Stockton's Diamond of California has played an integral role in the San Joaquin County economy for decades. Massive white Butler bins, a stateof-the-art processing and packaging plant, and attrac- group of,-isionary walnut growers determined to take matters into their o\\'n hands by founding the state's first and only grower-owned walnut cooperative. The cooperative has evolved over the past 88 years into Diamond of California, the world's leading supplier ofall types of culinary and inshell nuts. Today, Diamond's annual sales surpass S220 million, and its membership embraces more than 2,000 family grower-owners. Butler storage silos at the Stockton facility hold 7,500 tons of walnuts apiece. tive brick administrative offices impart a sense ofpermanence and stability to the 75-acre grounds, located near Highway 99 off Charter Way.!vlore than 400 employees work full-time for the company, and during the six-week fall walnut harvest, the plant bustles "'ith a steady stream oftrucks delivering some 8 million tons of nuts each day, seven days a week. You needn't travel far to find the source ofall this activity-thousands ofacres oflush walnut orchards extending from San Joaquin County, at the very heart, to Bakersfield in the south and Red Bluff in the north. They, too, seem forever to have been part of the landscape. But it wasn't always this way. Diamond's roots actually stretch back to Southern California, to rather modest beginnings. Buffeted by marketplace uncertainties and treated unfairly by unscrupulous handlers, a small An Industry Takes Root While Los seems an unlikely center for agrifor llhmy vears it was home to the California walnut industry and to Diamond's predecessor organization, the Calitornia Walnut Growers Association. of course, has long been a mainstay ofsan Joaquin County, but in the 19th century it was agriculture ofa different sort. Grain was the major crop and by the 1870s growers here had sown more than 130,000 golden acres of wheat, barley, and oats. In the meantime, a fledgling walnut industry was growing in the valleys of the southern coast. Experts believe California's first walnut trees were planted in the 1700s by the Spanish missionaries, perhaps more tor their shade and ornamental value than for nuts. In the late 18605, Santa Barbara nurseryman Joseph Sexton, known today as the father of Calitornia's walnut industry, planted his first orchard of a thousand English walnut seedlings. Through selective breeding and mentation, he focused on promising "soft-shelled" varieties. Word of his developments spread, and soon other growers were planting Sexton's superior seedlings. At about the same time, Nevada City nurseryman Felix Gillet began introducing walnut varieties from France. Throughout the booming 18805, walnut orchards 1

sprang up in the Southland, which until 1920 produced a whopping 95 percent of the state's commercial crop. To provide a centralized location for processing their nuts, growers began forming dozens oflocal cooperative marketing associations. In 1896 the executive committee of the Walnut Growers ofsouthern California was formed as a central association tt)r these locals. J\lore than a decade later, the association evolved into a powerful central body with complete authority to sell walnuts and set grade and quality standards. Industry pioneer Charles C. Teague was elected first president of this California \Valnut Growers Association (CWGA) and provided strong leadership for the next decades. Carlyle Thorpe, another industry notable, was named general manager. The association was incorporated in 1912 and adopted as its brand"diamond;' symbolized by a red diamond logo. Improving and Marketing the Product By the end ofthe First World War, California walnuts fetched top prices and the state commanded a 50 percent share of U.S. walnut consumption. (France was the major foreign competitor.) CWGA launched its ilrst national advertising campaign. General Manager Thorpe's plan was to increase walnut consumption yearround through ads in major magazines, trade publications, and urban newspapers. As postwar production increased, the association stepped up its adyertising and Horsepower was used to transport early-day walnuts. public relations efforts. By the dav.,rn of the 19205, Diamond walnuts commanded a substantial premium over competitors' as the association continued to raise the quality bar, denying lesser grades the coveted Diamond brand. What to do with the "culls," or rejects-walnuts with perfectly meats but damaged shells-was a question that long puzzled the association. The shelled walnuts prized by today's consumers actually started out as an atto turn low-value culls into a marketable product. built its first cracking plant in 1915 to shell the culls, and soon found they could be sold as Diamond Brand Walnut I\leats for a good price. But while a can could be labeled and its contents controlled, nuts sold in the shell still needed some sort of mark to identify them as the genuine article. The association offered S 1 0,000 in cash for the development ofa "branding" machine tor inshell nuts, a prize awarded in 1919 to A.S. Wysong, a Los inventor. Wysong's "practicable branding machine'\~'as tested and further modified, and from the 1925 r crop to present day, Diamond inshell walnuts have been stamped with the distinctive logo. In 1921, the board of directors authorized Thorpe to visit the walnut -producregions of Europe and Asia-quite an adventure in those days. In his privately published A Journey Through the \Valllut SectiollS o.feurope and Asia, he described harvesting and often-unsanitary shelling methods, but ofgreatest use to California growers were his observations on varieties and cultural practices. These helped influence the industry in the direction ofharvesting and dryillg walnuts earlier, rather than letting nature take its course. Cp to this point, growers sun-dried their harvested walnuts, and mold was a continuing problem. Cniversity ofcalifornia researchers, in concert with the CWGA, experimented with artificial drying to remove moisture from nuts before they were shipped to the packinghouse. By 1927, half the crop was artificially dried. By decade's end, the CWGA controlled 85 percent of the crop and occupied a modern, seven-story building in Los Angeles which housed offices, a main cracking plant, and packing and warehousing areas. 2

The Depression and War Years and efforts. One recom- The nation's economic boom came to an mendation was to centralize abrupt end with the stock market crash packing and shelling operaof October 1929, but its reverberations tions, and land was purwere not felt by the walnut industry until chased in Los Angeles for a a few years later. Huge crops in 1931 and new plant. But growers in the again in '32 threatened to inundate the northern counties, aware of industry. At the same time, imports from their growing numbers and France, Italy, and Czechoslovakia re Diamond's first headquarters, located in Los clout, protested the location. mained a source of concern. Tariffs ad Angeles. The Stanford Research Institute vocated by Teague and Thorpe did help California growers compete against the was called in to study alternatives. lower-priced foreign competition. CWGA borrowed $1.5 million to distribute to troubled growers and employees, and for Thorpe to make his first foray abroad in search of buyers. He managed to sell 115,000 bags ofwalnuts to buyers in Europe, which took some of the pressure offand marked the beginning of the association's thriving export business. Recognizing the need for some form of market regulation, a Walnut Control Board, or commodity marketing ment, was tormed under the Roosevelt administration's Agricultural Adjustment Act. Among the duties of this board, which evolved into today's Walnut Marketing Board, were setting fair minimum market prices and identifying how surpluses might be disposed of CWGA, which by this time handled 90 percent ofall California walnuts and marketed 45 different packs, took steps toward centralization. Planning began for a new central warehouse and cracking plant in Vernon, a Los Angeles suburb. The outbreak ofconflict in Europe caused export markets to dry up, and by the time the United States declared war in late 1941, walnut sales were on the decline. This trend was reversed, however, by the government's Lend-Lease program and the American housewife, who began stocking up on walnuts as a protein-rich substitute for scarce meat supplies. An agreement with Mexico helped ease the wartime manpower shortage in the orchards. Still, oversupply continued to darken the picture and a management consulting firm was brought in to review the situation. Its report launched CWGA on an era of modernization, cost-cutting, and restructured marketing The Steady March North In 1927, the first year the state compiled detailed acreage statistics, walnut acreage was estimated at approximately 10 1,000 acres, more than 70 percent still in the southern counties. But even though the industry was to remain centered there for many years to come, walnut culture was rapidly taking root in the central valleys, a trend attributed in part to the development of new, earlier-harvesting varieties such as Hartley, Payne, and Eureka, that thrived here. North-central counties such as San Joaquin had much to offer: cheaper land, abundant water supplies, and lower taxes. As early as 1919, a new Linden \Valnut Growers Association was organized and affiliated with the CWGA. One of its incorporators was WCAnderson ofsan Jose's Anderson BarngrO\"cr Company, a leading manufacturer of canning equipment, who constructed a packing plant at his ranch at Linden to handle the local association's output. Anderson also held a patent on a walnut 3

Earll'branding"machine. bleaching process and mented with artifici2.l drying, successfully adapting a prune dryer design to walnuts. San Joaquin County's walnut industry was represented at this time by a mere 200 acres and annual production of65 tons, just a hint ofwhat was to come. In 1928, the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau pushed to organize a 10 cal association t(j[ the county and build a packinghouse for the 300 members in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. 0.1eanwhile, orchards in Southern California were aging...and giving way to a burgeoning population, which swelled tc)llowing the Second World War. The acreage balance quickly reversed itself, with 70 percent of the postwar walnut acreage north ofthe Tehachapis. By the late 1940$. San Joaquin County was neck-and-neck with the then number-one producer Ventura County. The April 1947 meeting of the CWGA board ofdirectors, the first ever held outside Los Angeles, was an historic one. The San Joaquin Walnut Growers A550c1a From the first commercial harvests of the late 18005 and into the 19205, these culminations of the year's cultural labors were Poles and mallets were used to harvest the first commercialorchards. truly communal events-and ac compished by hand. Schools closed for a month or so to permit even the youngest members ofthe community to join in.ln the early days, it was thought a single pass through the orchard would do the trick, but research identified the value offrequent pickings to preserve qual- San Joaquin County inventor and grower Robert Paul Barton with his cable shaker. ity.ln Europe,Carlyle Thorpe had watched workers use poles to knock nuts from trees and hasten the harvest. The California industry quickly adopted this method of harvest and used poles in combination with rubber mallets throughout the 1930s. As the state's walnut plantings matured and trees grew to heights of 50 feet and more, shaking towers that boosted pickers hig hinto the trees came into general use for the first and subsequent pickings. San Joaquin County figures prominently in the development of mechanical harvesters, made necessary by manpower shortages during World War II. Escalonarea grower Robert Paul Barton was apioneer in the effort to mechanize the walnut harvest. His Barton Cable Shaker and oth ers of this type employed atrac tor and cable, one end of which was attached by ahook to asling placed around a tree limb.the tractor was backed up to tighten the cable, which was then jerked by the "eccentric" (shaker attachment) to shake the limb vigorously. Use ofthe revolutionary cable shakers quickly spread from the Valley to the Central Coast and beyond, and by the mid 1940s, more than 150 of various design were in use statewide. Many growers cobbled their own shaking equipment together from bits and pieces of discarded machinery. Mechanical shakers were continually improved and refined. Lightweight, rubber-padded aluminum hooks replaced heavy steel ones, cables took the place of booms, air conditioning was added to cabs. The mechanization of the harvest was essentially complete as the 1950s drew to aclose, and the industry enjoyed better-quality product and increased efficiency. Today, walnuts are harvested mechanically. 4

tion, in fact, hosted the meeting in Linden, and attendees enjoyed a luncheon at the nearby Anderson- Barngrover Ranch. Nevertheless, the south still dominated the CWGA board and despite opposition swayed a vote in 1952 to purchase 33 acres in the greater Los Angeles area for a new headquarters and shelling facility. Construction was already under way when a group ofvocal northern grmvers insisted on an impartial, third-party study. Construction was put on hold and the prestigious Stanford Research Institute (SRI) was brought in to analyze the situation. The pia llt was ded icated by the "largest crowd in walnut history:' according to the September 1956 issue of the Nell'S. "1\1an)' were the expressions ofsurprise and pleasure on the size and construction ofthe 13-acre building and the modern equipment, especially the automatic machines for making and filling cellophane bags, and the electronic machines for sorting walnut kernels for color.,.. A new name.,.<1 new address...and a new plant combining all operations on one site, the newest in Stockton: The Heart of Walnut Country SRI determined the geographical center ofthe in dustry, based on local plant tonnages, was a tri angle with Stockton, Tracy, and Ivlodesto as its points; the choices for the location ofthe new fa cility were narrowed to these three cities. Head quartering the association in Stockton made per- sense: "Three transcontinental railroads a deep-water ship channel are at hand, and the engineering, street, and utilities services rendered by the city government and Chamber of Commerce...excellent:' reported the Diamond W'alnut News, the official membership publication ofthe CWGA. The area also offered an ample pool ofpotential employees. In 1954, CWGA acquired the so-called Santa Fe Mormon Yard, located along Mormon Slough, from the Utah Construction Company. New plans were drawn up incorporating increased automation, called for by Northern growers. Construction ofthe S4.25 million project lasted nearly two years. Twenty-eight new I Iayssen torm-and-fill machines, the most modern technology available, were installed, together with several of the older two years. Hayes cracking machines brought up from Los Angeles. The design also included an oil mill to salvage otherwise unusable kernel particles by crushing them under 20,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. The leftoytt shell was burned for fuel. The association officially adopted Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc., as its name, linking it more closely to its famous brand. The so-called Santa Fe Mormon Yard offcharter Way was purchased in 1954. Construction ofthe new, state-of-the-art facility took nearly labor-saving equipment, all augur well for greatly improved eftlciency that will be reflected in profitable returns to Grower-iv1embers:' Secretary ofagriculture Ezra laft Benson addressed the luncheon crowd following tours of the new plant and commended the association for bringing stability to markets and prices. "In the food field, one cannot stand still And rou have mowd forware!;' he extolled the growers and elected offkials assembled there. ")'ou have improwd your grading, your packaging, your pricing, and your merchandising pra(tices,... You haw kept up \\'ith the changing desires of the (()l1sumer:' In its first year of operation, Production Manager Albert L Buffington estimated that the new machinery and oil mill had reduced direct operating costs more than S 1.1 million annually. Than ks to the nearly COI11 5

plete changeover to automation, the work of2,700 could be done by 600. For the first several years, as capacity surpassed CWGA's immediate needs, the plant was put to use processing or storing other crops as well, including rice, fruit, and safflower oil. New articles of incorporation and bylaws were adopted in 1964, making Diamond a centralized rather than federated cooperative, with growers becoming direct members and owners. Diamond purchased some ofthe locals' strategically located processing facilities and liquidated others. Tonnage and yields continued to climb. At the same time, selection criteria became more selective and View ofamodern-day processing line. membership shrank from a high of more than 11,000 growers in 1951 to 3,310 in 1974. Preference was given to growers of more desirable varieties, such as Hartley, Eureka, and Payne, rather than the older, harder-to-process Franquette and Mayette. Diamond implemented strict quality control through its demanding grading standards and emphasized leading-edge cultural and production methods through grower education and cooperation with the University ofcalifornia's agricultural research program, both of which continue today. Diamond's cogeneration plant was dedicated by then-chairman Gerald L Barton in 1980. Plant Modernization In the nearly 45 years since the plant's construction, it was expanded and updated several times to its present size of550,000 square feet under one roof (about 13 acres). It has no equal in terms ofsize and efficiency. Crackers process 1.1 million pounds per day, while computerized processors eliminate shell and sort kernels by color. Laser-beam technology targets minute shell fragments. Diamond's in-plant laboratory conducts extensive regular sampling and microbiological testing. Soaring energy costs in the 19705 prompted Diamond to build a cogeneration facility at Stockton to use walnut shells, a waste product, as a fuel source. Burning shells at very high heat produces gases to generate electricity for plant needs and to sell to PG&E. Working closely with UC-Davis, the design for a steam-powered turbine was finally refined and the plant was constructed during 1979 to 1980. The facility produces some 32 million kilowatt-hours ofelectricity per year for use by the plant, with excess sold to Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Substantial new capacity was added to the Stockton plant between 1970 and 1974, including 10 huge Butler storage bins, each capable of holding 1,500 tons, and new unloading, cracking, and packing facilities. A new $4.5 million cleaning plant to supply a larger 6

volume ofinshell nuts to world kept pace with Diamond's technological breakmarkets went online with the 1982 harvest.lnshell nuts were pro throughs, and the cooperative recorded a number of"firsts:' It was the tlrst to introduce shelled walcessed previously at satellite nuts in a new Saran package to maintain freshplants in Modesto, Linden, Live Oak, and Visalia prior to ship ment to Stockton for packing and shipping. The 27,000 desserts. Sales to large ingredient userssquare-foot building combined cereal, bakery, and other food manufacturinnovative equipment and proven ness. The cooperative's home economists cre ated a wide range of recipes incorporating walnuts into main courses, salads, and ers-began in the late 1960s and today design concepts. Diamond was first in the industry to lock form a core part of Diamond's business. Plant technology was further in freshness with Saran packaging. Diamond worked with industry giants such enhanced under Ripon-area as Sara Lee, Pillsbury, and General Foods to grower Gerald L. Barton, who served as both Chairman (1976-81) and President (1986-90) of Diamond, and continued u llder the guidance ofwilliam C. Hosie of Linden (Chairman from 1981-96) and John J. ("Jack") Gilbert ( 1996-present) of \\tneatland, in the Sacramento Valley. It was Barton who in 1988 visited Belgium to view electronic laser sorting equipment, which had never before been used on walnuts. He arranged for a trial lease ofa single machine, and the results were so impressive the board approved a $3.5 million capital project that included the installation offive laser sorters to handle the 1989 crop. The equipment, which has been further upgraded, permitted Diamond to supply product that is virtually shell-ti'ee to demanding domestic and international ingredient customers. Diamond's ability to produce"zero-shell;' high-spec product allowed it to break ground in the Japanese ingredient market in the 1990s, dramatically expanding consumption of Diamond walnuts by the large baking chains. Today these products represent half ofall walnut purchases by the Japanese market and make up the area ofgreatest growth. A $2 million project undertaken in 1998 included upgrades throughout the plant to reduce "scuffing" and position Diamond to take advantage ofthe premium walnut halves market. Innovations continued into the new century for improvements to the chopping and consumer product packaging lines. A premium on sanitation and safety has long assured that Diamond meets the highest quality standards ofthe C.S. Department ofagriculture, the Dried Fruit Association (an independent quality-assurance organization), and kosher standards. Expanding Horizons Through the decades, marketing and sales innovations develop new food products using walnuts. Advertising budgets as marketing turned into a year-round proposition encompassing everything from magazines and other printed materials to trade shows and educational films. Diamond set its sights worldwide, particularly in Europe and the Far East, building relationships with brokers in Germany and Scandinavia and attending an International Food Show in Tokyo in 1965. By 1980, nearly a third ofthe crop was sold overseas; by 1999, exports had risen to 40 percent. The early 19805, however, saw years ofabove-average harvests and a strengthened C.S. dollar, with negative ef- Many well-known food manufacturers make Diamond walnuts partof their own products. fects on foreign demand. The nation became embroiled in a bitter trade dispute-the infamous "pasta war" -in which the European Community retaliated against U.S. imposed on pasta with its own 30 percent tariff on California \\'alnuts. Fortunately, a resolution to the con 7

flict, coupled witb CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD a weakened dollar 1912-1999 and short crop, bad brightened Charles C.Teague 7972 tbe outlook con H.CSharp 7942 siderably by 1986. Paul Dobson 1955 Federal and state Frank L. Lang 7965 programs such as Gerald L. Barton 7976 tbe Targeted Ex William C.Hosie 7987 port Assistance John J. (Jack) Gilbert 7996 program further belped blaze trails for California CHIEF EXECUTIVES walnuts world 1913-1999 wide, while Diamond's devel Carlyle Thorpe 1913 opment ofeffec William T. Webber 1948 tive techniques to William CTesche 1951 combat codling James H. Bryce 1955 moth, a major Albert L. Buffington 7959 pest, opened the William K. Dabney 1979 Japanese market Frank R.Ught 7980 to inshell walnuts. William EAliewelt, Jr. (interim) 7985 In 1998, un Gerald L. Barton 1986 der the leadership William Cuff 1990 ofchairman Michael J. Mendes 7997 Gilbert and new President/CEO Michael ~1el1des, Diamond entered into an innovative preferred trust financing program to fuel the introduction of new products and permit the cooperative to phase out gmwer retains, moneys which in the past had been withheld from grower payments to operate the cooperative. Tbis prm'ed a major benefit to grower-owners, who had a significant amount of money tied up in the company which could now be returned to them. As Diamond expanded into new markets and began to make its mark on the overall culinary nut category and formulate a highly aggressive strategic business direction, it moved away from the Sun-Diamond organization, a transition that will be completed in 2000. Fuel ing thi s growth was a new "pegboard" business (so named for the pegs from which the small packets hang in the supermarket), which represented a major change in the company's yiew ofitself, and redirection from a supplier ofwalnuts to a full-line culinary nut supplier. Cobranded products with companies such as the Keebler Company, and introduction of branded products such as Diamond Eight -Grain Walnut Bread and Diamond Walnut Shortbread Cookies, further moved the brand into new markets. Diamond also continued to capitalize on the grmving body of scientific evidence supporting nuts' healthfulness. Nineteen ninety-nine saw horizons expand even more with the tormation of the Diamond Nut Company, which signaled the cooperative's emergence as the fullline supplier to the inshell market. Diamond-affiliated processing and packing facilities in Illinois and Alabama enabled it to spread the brand to other types of inshell nuts, and as a result, volume and profits reached record levels. Challenges and Changes Even greater changes lay ahead. The 19705 had witnessed a trend toward consolidation in the food industrv. Diamond combined with Sunsweet Growers, the leading prune cooperative, to f(mn DiamondiSunsweet Inc.,a marketing partnership. The formation ofsun-diamond Growers of California in 1980 brought Sun-i\laid Growers, the raisin cooperative, into tbe fold, with two smaller co-ops joining soon afterward. Exports have grown to represent nearly 40 percent of Diamond~ sale5. 8

The same year, Diamond formed Diamond of Europe GmbH, based in Cologne, Germany, to facilitate a full-service distribution function for key Diamond customers in Germany and other European markets. By the late 1990s, the international segment accounted ttx 40 percent ofthe company's total sales, up from 22 percent just a decade earlier. Despite the Asian economic situation, shipments to Japan continued to climb, with that country currently distinguished as Diamond's largest export market h)r ingredient shelled products. Diamond goes nearly everywhere in the world, throughout countries in Europe,Africa, Scandinavia,Asia, Australia/New Zealand and South America. The global business embraces all segments ofthe trade-inshe/l, consumer shelled, and ingredient. From its humble beginnings in Joseph Sexton's orchard, a brand-new industry, embodied by the California Walnut Growers Association, grew and flourished despite economic vagaries, two world wars, and the Great Depression. The next millennium will bring additional challenges, as yield and plantings of shelling Yarieties, such as Chandler, increase and the industry faces ever-larger crops of the future. But thanks to innovation, tenacity, old-fashioned hard work, and the leading brand as its flagship, the world is truly Diamond's marketplace. SELECTED SOURCES Listed Alphabetically Annual Report. Diamond of California, Stockton, 1998. SUIl-Dimnolld Growe}; \Vinter 1987; '1\ Diamond for Diamond;' pp. 14-17. Davis, Olive. Stockton, Sunrise Port on the Sail Joaquin. Sun Valley, Calif.: American Historical Press,1998. -, Fall 1997, "Diamond Walnut Growers at 85;' and "Diamond Walnut Growers: History in a Nutshell;' pp.40-43 Diamond Brand News and Diamond WalJlut News, 1917-1979. -,Fall1995,"Shaking Up an Industry;' pp.29-32. A special debt (!fgratitude to: Scheuring, Ann Foler Eighty Years ofexcellence, (/ HistOl)' (!fdiamond Hhlllut Growers. Stockton: Diamond of California, 1998. Photos are from the archives ofdiamond ofcalifornia 9

SATURDAY & SUNDAY it MAY 20-21,2000 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. AT THE SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM MICKE GROVE PARK, LODI ADMISSION: $5.00 Adults $1.00 Children under 8 Forfurther information and to obtain tickets, contact the San Joaquin County Historical Museum, 11793 Micke Grove Rd., Lodi, CA 95240, or call (209) 331-2055 or 953-3460 Permit No.48 Lodi, CA 95241 P.O. Box 30 Lodi, CA 95241-0030 Address Service Requested