San Jose, California, 1902

Drying prunes in the sun. San Jose, silicon valley; once upon a time called Blossom Valley, and at one time the primary source of prunes for the world. San Jose is my home.

There's an accent on the e in San José, because without it, in Spanish the emphasis would be on the Jo instead of the sé. In American English we pronounce it Hoe-zay' as our attempt to honor the original name of the town. But only the local government offices bother with the accent.

The photograph originally appeared as part of an article entitled "The Olive and the Prune" in the January 1902 issue of FOUR-TRACK NEWS, a publicity magazine for the New York Central Railroad which a few years later morphed into TRAVEL MAGAZINE.