COCONUT KING
Adam S. Eterovich
SRESOVICH, LUKE G. Coconut
King-Fruit-Ranch: Luke
George Sresovich was born in Lopud, Dubrovnik, Croatia in 1850.
His father was an architect and ship builder by profession. In 1866 he
bade farewell to home and came to the
new world in search of fortune. He
remained in New York for a short time, and then took passage for California in
the ship Andrew Jackson, arriving in San Francisco in 1867. He
became a student at Santa Clara College. After the completion of his
education he entered a large commission house, that of his uncle, John
Ivancovich, as a shipping clerk. In 1870
he went into the wholesale fruit business on his own account on Sansome street.
Early in the “seventies” heavy consignments of coconuts from Tahiti and other
South Sea Islands were made to the San Francisco market, which was often
overstocked, when the coconuts had to be thrown into the bay. Mr.
Sresovich attempted to save the nuts by a drying process. Today his “Pioneer brand” of desiccated
coconut is claimed to be the best in the world. It has taken the medals and premiums at all
our State Fairs and exhibitions. At the
World’s Exposition, at New Orleans, it was awarded a diploma; it also gained a
medal at the Oregon state fair. His great fruit ranch at Byron is among the
noted ones of the State, and will excel them all in certain varieties. He has also a large packing and drying
establishment at San Jose. He also carries
on a steady export trade with the South Sea Islands and Australia. Eighteen years ago he opened up a market for
our fruit to Australia, Mexico, China and other remote countries. At the present time the yearly shipments to
foreign parts aggregate over 200,000 cases.
This is all the more gratifying from the fact that when the shipping of
fruit to Sydney, Dunedin and Christchurch was first started, eighteen years
ago, a very discouraging letter were received, stating that there was no
market. The Australian fruit trade was
grown to such dimensions that the steamers had to refuse large consignments in
1888 as they could not accommodate more that 16,000 to 20,000 cases by each
boat. Mr. Sresovich is largely interested in the banana trade between the
Hawaiian Islands and San Francisco. He
has made contracts in Honolulu to raise and ship to this port large quantities
of the luscious fruit. Five years ago
the trade was less than one tenth of what it is now. He has also pushed the
sale of fruits raised at Watsonville, San Jose, San Pablo and Soquel, by
establishing packing houses in each town and transporting their products to
other markets. He is connected with the
Masonic fraternity, and is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Austrian
Benevolent Society and the Slavonian-Croatian Illyric Society. Some 15 years
ago he married the daughter of a prominent farmer, who has blessed him with
three children- one daughter, Evelyn, and two sons, George L. and Byron L.,
aged five and one year respectively.
Anon.
“Luke George Sresovich.” In Builders of a
Great City. San Francisco, 1900. Biography. Born in Dubrovnik, Dalmatia and
came to San Francisco in 1867. First to dry and process coconut. Made a
fortune.
Eterovich,
Adam S. “King of Coconuts-Luke Sresovich.” Croatian
American Times, November 2, 1999.