Regional History Project Oral Histories

Luke P. Cikuth was born in Yugoslavia in 1873 and came to the United States in 1890. After spending several years at various odd jobs, he started an apple packing and shipping business which soon became one of Watsonville's largest packing companies. Cikuth describes his business operations and the apple industry as a whole, covering not only the packing and shipping of apples, but also the problems and techniques involved in growing apples, and the role of the various auxiliary apple industries such as the cider works, vinegar works, apple dryers, and cold storage facilities. He also discusses other agricultural crops that are, or have been, important in the Pajaro Valley and the ethnic groups that have been associated with some of these crops. In the concluding chapter of the manuscript Mr. Cikuth describes the town of Watsonville as it appeared to him in the 1890s.