cannery

The shipbuilding pretty much came to an end, and the commercial fishing trade of some thousand vessels that once kept canneries working in high gear has moved elsewhere.

I have fond memories of walking with my dad on Saturday mornings to a nearby cannery, where we could buy big tin cans of freshly squeezed OJ still warm from being pasteurized.

Dock workers unload frozen skipjack and yellowfin tuna from a ship in Bangkok, bound for the Thai Union cannery, one of the world’s largest tuna processors.

Upon arrival he launched a tuna fish cannery, sold canned produce, opened a chain of laundries in the Coalinga area, and even spent some time wildcatting for oil.

Tim Yamamoto’s grandfather leased one of the buildings — a grocery store that fed the fishermen and cannery workers responsible for stocking places such as StarKist Tuna and Van Camp Seafood.