Picked warm from a tree, a California apricot opens into halves as easily as if it came with a dotted line down its center. The seed infuses the core with a hint of almond; the fruit carries the scent of citrus and jasmine; and it tastes, some say, like manna from heaven. In these pages, Robin Chapman recalls the season when the Santa Clara Valley was the largest apricot producer in the world and recounts the stories of Silicon Valley's now lost orchards. From the Spaniards in the eighteenth century who first planted apricots in the Mission Santa Clara gardens to the post-World War II families who built their homes among subdivided orchards, relive the long summer days ripe with bumper crops of this much-anticipated delicacy.
A native and current resident of Los Altos in Santa Clara County, California, Robin Chapman's career as a television reporter and news anchor spanned affiliates in San Francisco, as well as Oregon, Florida, and Washington, D.C. Chapman is a member of the Los Altos History Museum and Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society.