Series of films showing apricot drying at the Arata family orchards circa 1955, produced as part of the Rapid-Cleave Corporation's promotion of their automated apricot-pitting machinery. Before it was "Silicon Valley," the Santa Clara Valley was the "Prune Bowl" of the nation, the largest fruit producing and canning center in the world by the time of the Second World War. The experiments and innovations in food processing and canning as it became more industrialized, documented in films like this one, are part of the historical record of the local area, the businesses operating here, and the larger agricultural history of California. The Arata family came from Italy and settled in the Santa Clara Valley, developing their orchard business into D. S. Arata & Sons, Inc., wine wholesalers and fruit dryers. The Arata dehydrator was located in Cupertino.
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