(cont'd)

Laborers worked with this type of unloading facility until the latter half of the 20th century. The only major change was the addition of specialized cargo truck bays along the parallel conveyors. Because of the increased use of truck rather than rail transportation, this minor change was necessary.

Bananas are fragile fruit, so care had to be taken in handling the banana stalks. Each banana stalk weighed between 30 and 125 pounds, and laborers often wore aprons or shoulder padding as protection against the heavy stalks. In the early 1960s, the banana suppliers switched from banana stalk handling to storing bananas in 40-pound cardboard boxes. The boxes protected the sensitive fruit and minimized fruit damage. Workers at the terminal found the boxes easier to carry and maneuver than the banana stalks. By the late 1960s, the system became more automated when the Port converted to refrigerated containers.