Name/Title
Oral History of Dortha Formway HaskettEntry/Object ID
2002.031.001TScope and Content
Born in Los Altos, Dortha briefly moved to Mountain View with her family until she was five years old, then moving back to Los Altos where her father opened the Formway Machine Shop in 1921. While she was attending Mountain View High School in the early 1930s, her father built a walnut huller, which he would later go on to develop and patent in 1939. Dortha provides insight on the process leading to the development of his walnut huller, how it operates, and her childhood in Los Altos.
Dortha begins by describing how the Formway Machine Shop came into fruition, revealing its modest beginnings in her grandfather’s barn before he and her father built the shop. In that shop, her father provided a variety of services for the community ranging from Model T repairs to lawn mower sharpening, and most notably creating and selling the Wizard Walnut Huller. Originally created for his own personal use, Dortha describes how her father became inspired to sell them when he saw a large demand for them in the 1930s. Further developments resulted in his 1939 patent for his huller and widespread sale. Outside of agricultural manufacturing and the machine shop, Dortha also details summers spent working in the orchards and enjoying the unlimited supply of fresh fruits her family produced to sell.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of the interview is Dortha’s knowledge of not only how the walnut huller was developed, but also how the machine itself functioned. She demonstrates extensive knowledge about agricultural manufacturing, including how the huller operates, how her father’s shop built brushes, and her and her brother’s experience dipping prunes during prune season. Dortha proves to be an important source of information on the history of agricultural manufacturing and production in early Los Altos.Collection
Oral History CollectionOral History Details
Interviewee
Dortha Formway HaskettInterviewer
Robert GrimmInterview Date
May 7, 1994