Video
Stop 5 - ASL - Mourning Cypress Tree: Ranch Labor
Transcript
This is Stop number 5 Maintaining the 2600-acre ranch required a lot of work. With the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1870’s, help was available in the form of displaced Chinese railroad workers. Here in Northern California, they didn’t have to look too far for work. The planting, growing, pruning, and harvesting of fruit required many ranch hands. Behind the mansion stood the “China House”, a segregated dormitory for the men working in the orchards. Chinese workers were accustomed to hard work and long hours, but if the pay wasn’t good enough, they would leave for better prospects at other fruit ranches. Muir, like all ranchers, struggled with the cost of labor cutting into his profit margins. Failure to maintain the balance could lead to his fruit rotting on the trees. By 1890, Chinese workers in this orchard and others would have been taking care of all aspects of fruit and nut production. It began with the planting, grafting, pruning, and spraying of trees, then on to the harvesting, boxing and delivering of fruits and nuts to buyers. It would have been impossible to have had a successful orchard business without the experienced help of the Chinese laborers. Muir himself described the running of the ranch as “an eternal fountain of work”.
Descriptive Transcript
A young man is standing in a plan room, and is using American Sign Language. Full details of the ASL dialogue are in the transcript.
Description
Welcome to the ASL (American Sign Language) version of the main park grounds tour. There are 12 videos, each of which corresponds to the cell phone tour stop signs throughout the park. This first "Stop" begins behind the visitor center. Visually, these small signs contain a stop number and a cell phone number. Please select the correct video from the web page, as you move from stop to stop. Feel free to reach out to our staff, if you have any questions. There is also a transcript for each stop.
Duration
2 minutes
Credit
NPS/Luther Bailey and Cory Stellmack
Date Created
08/24/2023
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