Andy Mariani Photo: David Eddy( 6)
Andy ' s Orchard ' s Andy Mariani
Andy Mariani and Andy’ s Orchard Strawberry plant breeders, growers, and scientists are continually striving to improve hybrid versions and agricultural practices. Andy ' s Orchard in Morgan Hill maintains a test plot of heirloom strawberry varieties. Mariani has scheduled orchard tasting and tours this summer. Make sure to visit his small strawberry plot if you are able to attend. Andy likes to experiment with fruit varieties that have been deemed too difficult to grow or cannot handle the rigors of retail distribution. His strawberry patch includes Marshall, Fairfax, Sparkle and Marie des Bois plants that yield fruit with incredible flavor, yet produce a relatively small harvest within a short season.
Dr. Harold Thomas and Earl Goldsmith Why mention strawberries at Andy ' s Orchard when his cherries, apricots, and peaches are the stars of the show during the
Dr. Harold Thomas( Left) summertime? Because not far from Andy ' s Orchard, at the base of Anderson Dam, was The Rhodes Ranch— the home of the Strawberry Institute of California.( 2) Dr. Harold Thomas had resigned from the University of California in 1945 with his longtime associate Earl Goldsmith. The two researchers were unable to move forward with the introduction of new varieties during World War II, their farmers had mostly been Japanese, and they were in internment camps, and the University was contemplating wrapping up their research program. With the encouragement of Ned Driscoll, the two strawberry experts relocated to Morgan Hill and introduced five new strawberry varieties. The California hybrids revolutionized the strawberry industry— size, taste, shipping
Earl V. Goldsmith
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Kiyoshi and Manabi Hirasaki They say the rest is history. But there is one aspect of the story that is often overlooked. Kiyoshi Hirasaki, known to his friends as Jimmy, became known as the " Garlic King " of Gilroy just before World War II, when he became the country ' s biggest garlic grower at his properties off of Pacheco Pass Highway and Frazier Lake Road. In 1932, Jimmy borrowed money to purchase a 400-acre ranch in Gilroy. Struggling to develop the land initially, his ranch grew through to 1,600 acres before the war, growing a variety of crops and seeds. But he became best known for garlic, which grew well in the relatively dry climate of Gilroy.( 3),( 4),( 5)
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jimmy Hirasaki was arrested by the FBI and sent first to the nearby Sharp Park internment camp, then to Fort Lincoln in Bismarck,
ND. During this time Kiyoshi " Jimmy " Hirasaki his family, which by
now included eight children, resettled " voluntarily " in Grand Junction, Colorado. Hirasaki was released in Sept. 1942 and rejoined his family in Grand Junction. After the war, he and his family moved back to their Gilroy ranch, A family friend was able to protect the Hirasaki farms during the war, and when the family returned home in 1945 they were quickly able to reestablish their livelihood.( 4)
Jimmy ' s oldest son, Manabi Hirasaki, had volunteered to serve in the U. S. Army in 1943. The Army had recognized that the second-generation Japanese, the Nisei, were unlikely to be a security threat. The 552nd Artillery Battalion was created with Japanese and Filipino soldiers deployed to Italy and Germany. Their military experiences were scarring- especially when the Dachau concentration camp was liberated. Manabi Hirasaki, Lawson Sakai and George Uesugi were local
Manabi Hirasaki men who served our country with distinction during World War II.( 4)
Honorably discharged in 1946, Manabi returned to the 1,200- acre family farm in Gilroy. Shortly thereafter, he married Sumi Iwata, a Nisei from Mountain View, in January 1947. They would have two children, Mark and Marcia.( 5)
Exponential Growth of the Strawberry Industry Hirasaki Farms, Inc. ended operations in 1950, enabling Manabi to finally strike it out on his own. Working as a manager for a San José-based produce shipper for a few years, he began to grow strawberries with a partner, Robert K. Byers, in Gilroy in 1955. Gilroy Berry Farms soon became the largest independent strawberry grower in Gilroy, attracting the attention of Driscoll Strawberry Associates( DSA),( Continued...)
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