18
1940,sDecember 1941, the prevalent sentiment became remarkably anti - Japanese. There had been this air of caution surrounding the Germans as well, but the Japanese, being a visible minority, received the most attention. Although this sentiment cannot be generalized to an entire country's people, it took less than a month for the Canadian government to declare that all persons of Japanese origin should be moved out of coastal areas "for their own safety" and relocated to internment camps. Most of Mission's Japanese were sent to the Prairies, where many settled into sugar beet farming.
In 1944, the PCU paid out $894,000 to its growers. War was definitely good for business.
The Great Flood of 1948 interrupted the post-war excitement over berries. Dykes collapsed on May 27. At the end of June, some farms started to re-appear from the murky water, though tidal effects caused the waters to periodically rise and fall for the next few weeks. When the water finally receded, a landscape of thick black mud and rotting plant life stretched out in the hot summer sun.
In May 1949, Mr. Lucas said of the dying berry market: "One thing is certain now. We must convert to other products. The problem now is to find an agricultural activity for a small operator on high-priced land… We must develop diversification."
19
1950,s1955 crop - 54 berry pickers arrived in the valley from the Prairies, but only 15 were sent to Mission City. This in itself was a significant mark of change, as it was a far cry from the busy 1920s when local berry farms hired thousands of berry pickers each year.
 |
 |
 |
 |