Cutting & Drying 'Cots - 1955 

I was cutting apricots at the old age of 13 for Ms.Tamanali on Almaden Ave. my older sister worked scraping apricot trays after they were dried ...drying yards were your own backyards ,This when all the teenagers worked on summer jobs where you were well off or poor you worked...

I cut n dried cotts from 8-13 in Morgan Hill for Borello farms, & then from 13-16 in East San Jose for Zoria Farms. Good for a youngster learning work ethic.

Summer of 1959. I lived on the "Samica" ranch in the Berryessa district and picked cots. Not as good a picker as others though, but what to expect from a 14 year old. Before the cots it was the Bing cherries for the fruit stand on Capitol Ave. Grandpa "Samica" taught me a lot. "Not sure how his name is spelled". One day I was digging in the ground behind the house we were living in, I think he originally built and lived in it during the early 1900's. I uncovered a gold wedding ring, I gave it to him because I thought it may have been his wife's who by that time had passed away. Those were the good old days for sure. The small houses where the sulfur was used o dry some of the cots. The dehydrater they had on the property. Loved eating the hot dried prunes from that dehydrator! out walking through their orchard and enjoying the fine various fruits they grew, Not just for sale but for family food to, apples, oranges, figs, etc.

I was there then. I didn't work cutting cots; my oldest brother did. He told me later that he couldn't stand apricots after that! We had two apricot trees in my yard on Hicks Avenue, and I still remember the taste of a cot up in the tree. Plums, too. And what was probably the last of the Bing cherry orchards at Hicks and Pine.

I grew up in South East San Jose, California off South White Road between Aborn & Quimby from 1968 to 1989. John Di'Amico's family owned the Apricot Orchard and as a young boy, the kids in the neighborhood were paid .75 per large tray of Apricots to Dry. The Di'Amico Grandparents Home is still located S. White Rd, across from the McDonalds. Great Times playing in the Apricot & Walnut Orchards up until 1982.

What an amazing time. how could those beautiful folks from San Jose, have not been pleasant? Hi-tech has helped, but it also destroyed this “once upon a time” ambience. 😪

The Lyter family did this on their Farm as well.

Great video showing all the work for drying apricots! Where was their drying yard?

back in the 1978 i worked on Sam Sorcies cot farm on Quimby rd in the evergreen district San Jose cal. you want to teach kids about the value of a dollar? have them work in such a field and they will never bitch about house hold chores again.

And in Los Altos then, too. On Almond Ave, well everywhere. Until the Gucci Loafer crowd showed up.... 🍊💵💰