Tag Archives: Farming

Alligator Pears First Successfully Introduced To USA In Santa Barbara

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Morning dew on an avocado leaf in my small backyard orchard. “. . .the avocado became definitely established [in California] through the introduction of three trees from Mexico in 1871 by Judge R. B. Ord of Santa Barbara. Two of … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Alligator Pear, Avocados, Farming, Food, History, Horticulture | Leave a comment

El Saucito Ranch House, Carrizo Plain (1878)

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Jack Elliott

The El Saucito Ranch house, built of redwood by Chester Rude Brumley in 1878, was occupied until the late 1960s and is the oldest still standing farm house on the Carrizo Plain. “Mr. Brumley has grown grapes, figs, pears, apples … Continue reading →

Posted in San Luis Obispo County | Tagged Carrizo Plain, El Saucito Ranch, Farming, History, Landscapes, Non-fiction, Photos, Pics, Pioneers, Ranches | 12 Comments

Depression Era Portrait of Florence Owens Thompson

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Jack Elliott

“She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields and birds that the children killed.” —Dorothea Lange, photographer working for the U. S. Resettlement Administration The image above, titled Migrant Mother, has been heralded as … Continue reading →

Posted in San Luis Obispo County | Tagged Agriculture, Farming, Florence Owens Thompson, Great Depression, Migrant Workers, Poverty | Leave a comment

Ruminations on a Hart-Parr 18-36H Tractor (1930)

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Jack Elliott

“It is no longer good business to have a lot of money invested in horse-flesh. . .when you can buy a Hart-Parr ‘Little Devil’ Tractor.” —Hart-Parr Company advertisement slogan from the 1910s In 1897, mechanical engineers Charles W. Hart and … Continue reading →