❖ The Old Cannery Dock (Revisted) ❖

Original photo by Levy Smith, undated.
From the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society©

The below text taken from the handwritten, unsigned inscription on reverse of the fish photo by Levy Smith.
Friday 26 July 1940;
"Arrived at San Juan Salmon Cannery at 7 AM where we stopped several hours to load 10,000 cases of canned salmon. Workmen were Filipino; we were able to follow the complete operation from the unloading by chain belt from the fishing boats outside to the loading of cases on the boat for Seattle where the labels are put on. The fish are flushed with a hose out of the hold of the fishing boat on to chain belt which carries them up to large bins on either side of an elevated runway in the cannery. As they come in, a man separates the different types of salmon directing them on the another belt to the proper bins. From these bins they are again flushed into the chutes leading to the worktable where they are laid in correct position to pass through the beheading and gutting machines, after which the inside is again scraped and cleaned by workmen and conveyed to the cutting and canning machines after which they pass inspection, where doubtful ones are weighed and additional pieces added where necessary. The cans are then topped by machines, air withdrawn and sealed, placed in metal racks in pressure retorts for about 1 1/2 hours. The cans are then cooled and packed for shipping."