“There are different schools. You could come across a real large school to fish and they might bite this way all day long, from sunrise to sunset. I think the largest amount of fish ever caught was 125 tons in one day, fishing one fish at a time like that, just individually.
My biggest day was about 80 tons. There was blood coming out of my armpits, my hands and my head where my pad was, everything was completely red and raw from chafe. You get the salt water on you and you keep working.” …Leonard Ingrande [interviewed 1988]
SDHS Photo 84-14821-11.
“CHOPPING THE HEADS OFF THE SARDINES…”
“You know, the canneries in those days [1930s], the sardine canneries, they used to blow the whistle no matter what hour they came in during the night and the early morning hours and the women, a lot of women, would get up and, regardless of the time, even at two a.m. in the morning would go and work at the cannery chopping the heads off the sardines getting them ready to pack. …Katie Asaro [interviewed 1990]
SDHS Photo 13721-10.
Order a print of this or any other photograph in this exhibit, in the size of your choice.
More photos An article in the Journal of San Diego History (Summer 2000) includes several more of the photographs from this exhibit.
