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Discover the Real New Zealand
One of the major attractions of visiting New Zealand is the possibility of losing yourself in its rugged and wild countryside. The desire to be alone and at one with nature frequently leads New Zealand tourists to buy travel guides in hopes of...
Fun and Frugal
Perfect Family Vacations That Won’t Blow Your Budget
What makes a perfect family vacation? That depends on your family; what they like to do, where they like to go, the ages of your children, even your parenting style. But most families...
Hotels aren't the only place you can stay on vacation!!!
Today, we as travelers have a ton of options to consider. Where to go, how to get there,
where to stay, what to take, how to plan, where to find deals…
You get the point.
Well, this article is to introduce you to options on where to stay other...
Miami is the hub of Florida's culture and nightlife
When one thinks about Miami, Florida, the image that comes to mind is usually filled with hot night spots, sophisticated urban hospitality and warm, sandy beaches. It is all of these things and much more that make Miami one of the hottest vacation...
Zambia, What An Amazing Country!
When you travel abroad, especially far away from home you want to have peace of mind. The same applies if you’re on an African safari. If your desire is to meet friendly, warm people then travel to Africa’s peace haven, Zambia. In...
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The Japanese Started cannery row
No visit to the southwest would really be complete without a
drive along Highway 1.The road offers dramatic views of
California's sensational Pacific coast as it weaves from San
Luis Obispo to Monterey. This is the home of the fish canning
industry, made famous or perhaps infamous by John Steinbeck's
portrayal of life in the area, in his book of the same name.
Today, Cannery Row has been transformed into a tourist Mecca
featuring hotels and wonderful fish restaurants clustered around
the star of the show, the amazingly huge, Monterey Bay Aquarium
. The Aquarium features some of the delights of Pacific
Ocean life such as a giant kelp forest, huge octopuses and an
underwater window that looks out into the Bay and gives the
spectator access to the fish life that is going on around.
Definitely a must visit, and a very far cry from the canneries
that had inhabited the area before.
As long ago as 1902 a Japanese immigrant named Otosaburo Noda
saw that the enormous catches from the fruitful Pacific brought
ashore by the Monterey Bay fisherman had enormous market
potential. If the fish were cooked and canned in the area they
could be sold anywhere in the US or the world for that matter, a
feat quite impossible with fresh fish. So he and business
partner, Harry Malpas opened the Monterey Fishing and Canning
Company in the "street of the sardine" and the tinned fish
industry in
Monterey was born. Others, to, were quick to grasp
the opportunity. Frank Booth the "father of the sardine
industry" muscled in and built a large scale fish packing plant
in the following year, 1903.Unfortunatley the more successful
new arrivals put Noda and Malpas out of business in 1907. It is,
however, interesting to note that by the end of the First World
War that three of the canneries on "Old Ocean Avenue" were
Japanese owned and run.
Women did the work of preparing and packing the tins. The
fishermen landed the catch in the morning; as soon as it was
unloaded it was cooked and then canned. The whole operation had
to be completed in the same day, no matter how long it took. The
work was long, hard and often done in inhuman working
conditions. It was that, which brought the area to Steinbeck's
attention
He set "Cannery Row" in the immediate post depression years of
the 1930s and used a friend, Dr Ed Ricketts as the model for his
fictional character "Doc". The real "Doc" was a marine biologist
whose book "Between Pacific Tides" published in 1939 is still
the standard text for students of marine biology. Is it
surprising then that these squalid canneries have transformed
themselves into a marine biologist's heaven, the Monterey Bay
Aquarium? Interested in this subject? Try this link for more of the same
About the author:
www.southwesttraveller.com
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