This promotional photo for the Bercut-Richards Cannery was taken in 1942. The model is shrouded in one of Sacramento’s most lucrative cash crops – peaches. By the time of the photo, “Orchard and Vineyard” crops were Sacramento County’s third largest agricultural money-maker at $2,119,000, behind field crops at $3,443,000 and live stock at $3,340,000. Bercut-Richards, located at Seventh and Richards, was Sacramento’s highest-profile cannery. It opened in 1928 under the dynamic management of Thomas Richards, and, as War approached, in 1942, the cannery morphed into one of the West Coast's primary military depots. Sacramento’s inland location and access to major rail lines made it safe from air attack and ideal for shipping military goods toward the Pacific Theater. What's more, by the end of the War, nearly 540 prisoners-of-war from Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps were working within the warehouses of the depot and the cannery.
This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.
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