Charles Olson has been caring for the apricot trees at Sunnyvale’s Orchard Heritage Park for close to half a century. At first, he leased what was surplus land from the city of Sunnyvale for his fruit business. Then, at the turn of the 21st century, when the once-vast orchards of the Santa Clara Valley had just about vanished, citizens asked that the 10 acres he was farming be preserved as a heritage orchard. After that, Olson cared for the trees for the people of Sunnyvale and the Santa Clara Valley. If you needed local Blenheim apricots to recall the taste of summers past, you could find them for sale at the heritage orchard barn at the Sunnyvale civic center.
Now, at age 91, Olson has given notice he will retire.
“We are so grateful that Charlie has given us, quite literally, the fruits of his labor for almost 50 years,” said Tim Kirby, Sunnyvale city manager. “We thank him for his incredible dedication and wish him well in his retirement.”
The city has commissioned a study on the orchard’s future. In the interim, Elisabeth Maurer, who has worked with Olson and his orchard operation for 34 years, is expected to manage the treasured property. Olson will keep an office at the heritage orchard barn. He’s the third generation of his family to raise fruit in the Santa Clara Valley. In the late 19th century Carl Johan Olson came to California from Sweden and planted his first apricot and cherry trees in the land that became Sunnyvale. In 1899, Olson’s father, R.C. Olson, was born and as an adult worked the property until his death in 1980.
“One day he gave me three or four orders,” says Olson. “And the next morning he was gone.”
Charles Olson has decided to plan his exit. “Time for me to have a rest,” he said.
The Sunnyvale heritage orchard is one of three public orchard preserves remaining in the Santa Clara Valley, once home to hundreds and thousands of acres of fruit trees – the largest orchard business the world had ever seen. The Los Altos Heritage Orchard, a remnant of an orchard planted in the early 20th century by J. Gilbert Smith which now surrounds the Los Altos Civic Center, became the first local heritage orchard when it was designated a City Historic Landmark in 1981. In 1984, Saratoga set aside 13.9 acres of the last remaining orchard in that city as its Central Park Orchard. In the early 21st century, Sunnyvale’s Orchard Heritage Park was preserved, and thanks to the work of Charles Olson it has been maintained to perfection.
The fourth generation continues the family tradition. Olson’s daughter, Deborah, operates C.J. Olson’s Cherries, which sells both dried and fresh orchard products online and in specialty stores around the region. She works with the help of her father’s longtime friend Andy Mariani, the proprietor of Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill, who said recently about Charles Olson: “He is a local icon and a symbol of resilience as he continued to grow his beloved apricots and cherries despite the challenges of farming in an increasingly urbanized Silicon Valley.” Mariani, age 80, added: “He has inspired me to continue farming as long as I am able.”
If he needed a reminder that it was time to retire, Olson got it recently when he took a spill in the orchard and cracked a couple of ribs. It was a minor setback for the 6’4” man who once played professional football in the Canadian Football League. “I would love the chance to go skiing again,” he says. I don’t know if that’s a good idea or not. But I do know Charles J. Olson has certainly earned his vacation.
Robin Chapman is a longtime journalist, a Los Altos native and the author of three books about California, including “California Apricots: The Lost Orchards of Silicon Valley,” published by The History Press.