Giuseppe Giumarra, otherwise known as “Papa Joe,” emigrated from Ragusa, Sicily with his father in the early 1900s. His family grew grapes in his native Sicily. By 1910, he was selling produce from a push cart in the Toronto Market. In 1920, he began selling produce in a small Los Angeles stall at the Wholesale Produce Market on 7th Street. In 1922, he was joined by his brothers George and John. Subsequently, Dominick Corsaro married the brothers’ sister, Esther. In 1939, they purchased their first property just north of Bakersfield. This was the birth of Giumarra Vineyards. By the 1950s, the company started making wine. However, they did not give up their wholesale dealings in Los Angeles, which by 1960 was being managed by Dominick’s son, Don Corsaro. Their grape label, GrapeKing, became famous throughout the world for quality table grapes. In fact, the worldwide demand was so great that by 1979, they formed a new company, Giumarra Distributing. They moved their wholesale business into the brand new Los Angeles Wholesale Terminal in 1986. In addition to grapes, the Giumarra Fruit Company grows a variety of fruits in Kern and Tulare Counties, as well as apples in Wenatchee, Washington. They also import grapes, peaches, plums, blueberries, avocados, pears and kiwi from Chile and are one of the largest produce importers in the United States. The company is now run by the third and fourth generations of the Giumarra family. “Papa Joe’s” son Sal is presi-
Cesar Chavez applauds as John Giumarra Jr. holds a copy of the Union Label during a meeting of the United Farm Workers in Delano in 1970.
Californian file photo
Giumarra family
dent of the company and works with brother Al, cousins John, George and Bob, along with fourth-generation family members Joe, David, LeRoy, Todd, Mark, John III, Randy and Jeff to manage their many businesses. John Giumarra Continued on page 84
Bakersfield’s Past Meets the Future
AFTER TRAVELING THROUGHOUT THE WEST, COL. BAKER FINALLY PICKED THE PERFECT SPOT TO SETTLE DOWN. BOTH IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT. With his title earned during service to the Iow Iowan Territorial Militia, Col. Thomas Baker had ha become a distinguished political figure in Iowa. But in the 1850s, seeking new opportunities op out west, he moved across the plains to the Bay Area, then to Stockton, then to Visalia. While there, there he purchased land along the Kern River for development...and a place for his future home. That place became known as “Baker’s Fi Field,” and was widely regarded by travelers as a waypoint at which to enjoy the Colonel’s generous hospitality. A true visionary, Col. Baker also selected
a parcel of land for his own final resting place, writing: “Here at last I have found a resting place to lay my bones.” A slender obelisk marks Baker’s personally-selected gravesite at Union Cemetery, the start of a 140-year Bakersfield tradition.
SECURE YOUR PLACE IN HISTORY Yo and your family can forever have a place in the story of You Bakersfield by owning memorial property at Historic Union B Cemetery. Call us today at (661) 324-9648 to arrange a C personal pe sales tour at this truly remarkable memorial park.
Po t o m a c A v e & K i n g S t , B a k e r s f i e l d , C A 9 3 3 07 P H ( 6 61 ) 3 2 4 - 9 6 4 8 • w w w . u n i o n c e m e t e r y 18 7 2 . c o m
Historiical Photo: Courtesy of Kern Cou C unty y Muse use eum um. m Used m. Us Use s by b perm p missi ssi ss ssion sion on
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