Guide to the Port of Sacramento records, 1916-1991 (1963-1986) MSS 1986/02

Title: Port of Sacramento records

Identifier/Call Number: MSS 1986/02

Contributing Institution: California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives

Language of Material: English

Physical Description: 7.5 Linear feet (6 record cartons)

Date (bulk): Bulk, 1963-1986

Date (inclusive): 1916-1991

Abstract: The collection consists of files documenting the construction projects, legislative issues, convention and financial aspects of the Port of Sacramento. It also includes publications, pamphlets, and other ephemera generated by the Market Department to promote the vision and goals of the port district.

Language of Materials note: English.

creator: Shore, Melvin

[Identification of item including date], [Folder Title], MSS 1986/02, Port of Sacramento records, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, The Library, California State University, Sacramento.

History of the Sacramento-Yolo Port District

Although the efforts to build a deep water ship channel to Sacramento date from the second decade of the twentieth century, the project took three full decades to become a reality. In the spring of 1946, the 79th Congress approved Public Law No. 525 (ch. 595), which authorized the construction of the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel project. On 24 July 1946, President Harry Truman signed the bill into law.

The same day the act became law, Roy G. Deary, president of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, appointed a port district organization committee. The chamber then invited boards of supervisors from Sacramento and Yolo counties to a joint meeting, which resulted in the members approval of holding an election to create a port district. As a special district (i.e. a local government jurisdiction that is neither city, county, nor township), the California Harbors and Navigation Code, sections 6800-6963, provided the authorization for the port district.

On 15 April 1947, voters in Sacramento County and Supervisorial District No. 1 (comprised of West Sacramento, Broderick, and Clarksburg) approved the creation of the Sacramento-Yolo Port District by a four-to-one majority. A month later the California Legislature approved the project and appropriated $750,000 to the port district for the purchase of rights-of-way, easements, and so on.

The Harbors and Navigation Code, sections 6800-6963 (chapter 2) set forth the policy-making powers of the five-member port commission, comprised of two commissioners appointed by the Sacramento Board of Supervisors, two by the Sacramento City Council, and one by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. Each commissioner was appointed to a four-year, staggered term. The commission, in turn, appointed the port director. On 19 May 1947, the first five members of the port commission, to wit, Roy G. Deary (SCC), Walton E. Holmes (SCBS), Frank A. Lawrence (SCC), Ivory J. Rodda (SCBS), and Earl Withycombe (YCBS), took office. They appointed William G. Stone the first port director.

The responsibilities of the Sacramento-Yolo Port District Commission are many. First and foremost, the commission governs the operating policy of the port. The commission also has statutory responsibilities for planning, leasing, and bond sales. In addition, commissioners are the port's spokesmen to the public and to elected officials. Finally, the commissioners assist with domestic and international trade development.

Prior to the opening of the port in 1963, the district actively raised revenue through bond sales. On 4 November 1947, the district authorized the sale of a bond issuance of $3,750,000 to construct necessary port facilities. Voters approved of the bond measure by a six-to-one majority. In 1961 the district authorized the sale of another general obligation bond, totalling $9,850,000, which the voters again approved.

Since the port opened to commercial vessels in June 1963, the Sacramento-Yolo Port District Commission has been involved with many tasks, which include overseeing expansion projects, raising revenue (primarily through bond sales), negotiating contracts with domestic and international companies, and negotiating labor agreements. Two major accomplishments of the commission, in conjunction with the port director, have been the attainment of financial self-sufficiency (i.e. not relying on taxpayer support) since Fiscal Year 1966-67 and for exceeding the 1963 financial projections made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, as necessary to justify the initial investment.

By the end of 1992, the port commission increased from five to seven members in response to demands from the city of West Sacramento, which incorporated in 1987. Appointments are now as follows: The Sacramento City Council and the Sacramento Board of Supervisors appoint two port commissioners each and one jointly; West Sacramento's City Council and Yolo County's Board of Supervisors each appoint one commissioner.

History of the American Association of Port Authorities

In December 1912, a small circle of port managers convened in New York to promote the exchange of port information and to develop uniform methods of administration. The eleven representatives in attendance approved the proposal of one official, Calvin Tomkins, to create a permanent association of U.S. port authorities, thus founding the National Association of Port Authorities. In 1930 the association incorporated.

Early on, the association broadened its scope to include international membership. During the third annual convention at Baltimore (1914), the officers changed the name of the organization to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and revised their constitution to reflect the first inclusion of a foreign port, Montreal. Beginning in 1921, the association has actively pursued the support and membership of Latin American countries. When Sacramento Port Director Melvin Shore chaired the AAPA in 1983, the association represented a total of 189 deep water agencies in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Two of the more important activities of the AAPA are its annual conventions and its committee system. The AAPA annual conventions provide a forum for both the discussion of issues confront port managers and for the development of policy positions to guide the association during the upcoming year. The biggest events at each convention, which is held at a different location each year, are the port inspections, which give managers the opportunity to study different port works and terminal operations.

Through committees the AAPA has been able to advance federal legislation conducive to port management interests. A major success of the AAPA was the passage by Congress of the Foreign Trade Zone Act of 1934, which attracted foreign shippers by exempting manufacturers from duty charges and taxes until their products left the zone for U.S. markets. Beginning with three permanent standing committees in 1918, the number of AAPA committees had grown to over twenty by 1982. In addition to the Committee, the U.S. Legislative Policy Council, and the U.S. Transportation Policy Committee are among the best represented in the Port of Sacramento Collection.

Melvin Shore

Melvin Shore was born in Montreal, Canada in 1924 and raised in New York City. During the Second World War he served in the U.S. Air Force, where he received training as a bombardier, navigator, and a B-29 flight engineer. The catalyst which brought him to California was the engineering program at the University of California at Berkeley, which he graduated from in 1948. After working for the General Electric Company and for the California government, Division of Architectuure, he joined the Port of Sacramento as an "Engineer Aide to the Port Director" in 1949, when the "port" was still an alfalfa field. He remained at the port, during both the construction and operational phases, for a total of 37 years before retiring in June 1986. For the latter 23 years (i.e. from 1963 until 1986), Shore served as the port's director, replacing William G. Stone in October 1963.

Among Shore's accomplishments include helping to create a viable port out of an alfalfa field, switching from general to bulk cargo to compete with U.S. railroad rate reductions, far exceeding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tonnage projections, operating in a reducing (rather than expanding) staff, attaining financial self-sufficiency for the port, and negotiating cargo contracts. California State University, Sacramento honored Shore in 1986 by establishing the Annual Melvin and Audrey Shore Endowed Lecture on International Trade.

Shore has served in a number of other positions besides director of the Sacramento-Yolo Port District. As previously mentioned, Shore was the chairman of the board of the American Association of Port Authorities (1 Oct 1982 to 16 September 1983). He also represented the South Pacific Region on the Steering Committee of the U.S. Port System Advocates. He was president of at least three associations, to wit, the Sacramento section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the California Association of Port Authorities, and the Northern California Ports and Terminals Bureau (later called the Golden Gate Ports Association). In addition, he was also served as a board member of various associations, programs, and businesses, including the Pacific Coast Association of Port Authorities, the California Marine Affairs and Navigation Conference, the Sacramento Valley Bank, and the Port of Sacramento Japanese Language School, the latter which he founded for the benefit of the children of Japanese businessmen assigned to Sacramento.

1821 - Captain Luis Arguello and an expedition of Spanish missionaries sail up the Sacramento River as far as present Colusa, marking the first recorded navigation of the Sacramento.

1837 - Russian Colony at Fort Ross used boats on the Sacramento River to carry trade with inland ports.

1841, August - John Augustus Sutter's 40-ton schooner, the Isabella, sails up the Sacramento River.

1849-1850 - Large numbers of sailing and steam-powered vessels bound for the gold fields of the Sierra Nevada leave from San Francisco and navigate the Sacramento River.

1849, April - Sacramento entrepreneur Sam Brannan constructs waterfront stores for commerce. Other businessmen who seized this trading opportunity include George McDougal, Sam Kyburz, Barton Lee, and Pierre Cornwall. Activity centered around Front Street.

1849, May 7 - The Whiton, a three mastered schooner, was the first known inter-coastal vessel to arrive at Sacramento.

1849, October - The McKim, one of the first large vessels to navigate the Sacramento River by steam power, reaches Sacramento. Other steamships navigating on the Sacramento River in 1849 include the Sitka, the Pioneer, and The Senator.

1857 - By this year, over 1,000 riverboat passengers were arriving in Sacramento every day. At least six steamships (each carrying 300 to 400 tons of cargo) operate on the Sacramento River, along with hundreds of sailing vessels. About a quarter of imports are transshipped to Colusa for delivery to the Sierra mining towns.

1869 - The completion of the first transcontinental railroad offers the first major overland competition to shipping.

1874 - The Army Corps of Engineers is given the job of maintaining deep water ship channels which were previously dredged to provide ocean vessels with access to the ports of Sacramento and Stockton.

1884 - The United States Circuit Court prohibits hydraulic mining. This mining technique threatened the viability of shipping lanes by filling the Sacramento River with runoff silt and gravel.

1900s, early - New highways and railroads minimize the importance of the Sacramento River in transporting commercial goods to markets.

1911 - The California State Legislature authorizes a study of navigation on the Sacramento River to determine the feasibility of bringing deep water shipping to Sacramento. The legislature provides no funds for the study.

1914 - The steamship S.S. Grace Dollar unloads one million board feet of lumber at Knox Lumber Company's yard, Sacramento, demonstrating the economic potential of a deep water ship channel.

1916, Feb. 24 - Major Paul M. Norboe, assistant state engineer, re-activates the 1911 study and collects data. This action leads to the acknowledgement of a deep water port's economic potential by the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce.

1916, October - The Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and the California State Legislature agree to a jointly financed survey. Sacramento Chamber of Commerce secures a $3,500 appropriation from the Sacramento Board of Supervisors to cover half the survey cost; the State matches an equal sum.

1916, Dec. 5 - Governor Hiram W. Johnson initiates the Sacramento ship canal survey.

ca. 1917-1952 - Sacramento is involved in numerous litigation to retain navigation rates at a competitive basis with coastal ports.

1917-1918 - The need for engineers during World War I halts the port project.

1922, Oct. 7 - Paul Norboe submits his Sacramento ship channel report, which he began in 1916. The California State Legislature recommends a deep water channel project. The State takes little action for the next three years.

1924 - William G. Stone, traffic manager for the Thomson-Diggs Company of Sacramento, visits Houston, Texas and sees, firsthand, the benefits of the Port of Houston. After returning to Sacramento, he suggests to the Sacramento City Council and the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce that the Norboe report, to build a Sacramento port, should be revived. Thereafter, the Sacramento City Council creates the Sacramento Deep Water Commission.

1925, Feb. 28 - The San Francisco engineering company of C.E. Grunsky submits a report to the Sacramento Deep Water Commission that advocates an alternative route to that of the 1922 report. The city of Sacramento takes little action for the next eight years.

1933, October - The Sacramento Chamber of Commerce appeals to U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson to reactivate the Sacramento channel project. The U.S. Senate passes Resolution No. 142, which instructs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a study for deep water navigation on the Sacramento River.

1934, March 2 - To demonstrate the Sacramento River's shipping potential, the S.S. Harpoon steams from San Francisco to Sacramento in thirteen hours. It returns to San Francisco two days later in nine hours.

1935 - Assemblyman Roy J. Nielson introduces Assembly Bill 527 during a session of the legislature to provide for an enabling act to create a Sacramento port district. The governor signed the bill on 11 June 1935; however, the act was not used until April 1947.

1937 - The California State Legislature amends the Harbors and Navigation Code to make possible the creation of a bi-county port district.

1942 - The Sacramento Chamber of Commerce raises $100,000 for research and promotional purposes. (Private donations aount to $42,500; city and county governments raise the balance.)

1943, Oct. 12 - The chamber asks the Army Corps of Engineers for a review of the earlier deep water channel project.

1945, Feb. - The Sacramento Chamber of Commerce submits a survey to the Sacramento district engineer which includes the responses of 3,000 shippers and receivers of freight in the Sacramento area. The cost of the survey ($15,000) comes from the funds raised in 1942.

1945, June 1 - The U.S. District Engineer at Sacramento completes the survey and recommends the construction of a 30-foot deep and 200-300 foot wide ship channel from Lake Washington (near Sacramento) to connect with Suisun Bay (near Collinsville), a distance of over 40 miles.

1945, Sep. 10 - The Board of River and Harbors holds a hearing on the project.

1946, July 24 - The 79th Congress, 2nd Session, passes Public Law No. 525 (chapter 595), which authorizes the construction of the Deep Water Channel Project (i.e. the present channel). The act stipulates that the federal government would do the initial channel dredging, construct the harbor and navigation locks, and take care of the future maintenance needs of the channel. In return, local interests are expected to provide rights-of-way and easements, relocate utilities, provide belt railroads, and construct adequate terminal facilities.

1947, Apr. 15 - Popular vote with a four to one majority (27,309 to 7,516)creates the Sacramento-Yolo Port District (SYPD) to govern the port facility. The district consists of all of Sacramento County and includes Supervisorial District No. 1 in Yolo County.

Authorization for the port district is found in an enabling act, Harbors and Navigation Code sections 6800-6963.

1947 - The California State Legislature endorses the project and appropriates $750,000 to the SYPD to defray a portion of the port district's cost to acquire rights-of-way, etc.

1947, May 19 - The first five members of the port commission take office.

1947, Nov. 4 - The port district votes on a bond issuance totalling $3,750,000 in order to construct necessary port facilities. Voters approve the bond measure by a six-to-one margin (48,298 to 7,942 votes).

1948 - Sacramento River barges (towed by tugboats) meet the post-war demand for petroleum products until 1963, when a new pipeline between the Bay Area and Sacramento began carrying oil.

1948, Sep. 21 - The port district proceeds with the purchase of rights-of-way.

1949 - To permit preliminary dredging and allow the construction to proceed immediately, the 80th Congress, 2nd Session appropriates $275,000 to the port district.

1949, Aug. 7 - The U.S. Corps of Engineers, working through contractors, begin the construction of the port facilities (i.e. Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel, harbor, barge canal, William G. Stone navigation lock, and a bridge). July 1953 is the target date for completion.

1949, Sep. 19 - SYPD awarded contract for the construction of a 500,000-bushel capacity grain elevator and leases it for 30 years to Kerr Gifford and Company of California. The elevator begins operation on 1 July 1950.

1950 - Congress appropriates $1,700,000 for channel construction.

1950, May 15 - The SYPD completes the belt railroad and highway pavement.

1950-1955 - The Korean War (and resulting lack of funds) temporarily halts construction.

1953 - The House of Representatives appropriates $10,000 for another feasibility study.

1953, Sep. 1 - The Farmers Rice Growers Cooperative occupy their new million-dollar rice storage and drying facilities at the port.

1954 - Congressman John E. Moss, Third Sacramento District, submits to Congress a new feasibility study made by the Army Corps of Engineers. The new report concludes that the port would return $1.27 for each $1.00 of federal investment.

1954, Sep. 20 - Haslett Warehouse Company occupies its new 80,000 square foot concreate warehouse at the port.

1955, Jan. 21 - The California State Legislature unanimously passes Assembly Joint Resolution No. 11, which requests the president, U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take immediate steps to resume port construction.

1955 - Largely from the efforts of Congressman Moss, Congress approves an appropriation of $550,000 for the channel project.

1956 - Construction resumes following the end of the Korean War.

1958 - The Deleuw-Cather report, which is jointly financed by the California State Division of Highways, the city of Sacramento, and the county of Sacramento, surveys highway needs in the Sacramento area. The report, which provides for a 15-year, $263 million highway program, includes highway facilities to and through the port terminal area.

1961, April - The district endorses a $9,850,000 general obligation bond issue to complete necessary terminal facilities. Voters approve the bond measure by a seven-to-one majority.

1962 - Congress appropriates $4,300,000 for the channel project.

1963 - Congress appropriates $5,900,000 for the channel project.

1963, June 29 - The completed port, at a total cost of $55 million, opens to deep water traffic with the call of the M.V. Taipei Victory.

1963, July 19 - Official dedication and ceremonies commemorate the formal opening of the deep water port.

1963, Aug. 1 - The Sacramento City Council appoints T.H. Richards, Jr. as a port commissioner.

1963, Oct. 1 - The port commission appoints Melvin Shore to replace William G. Stone as port director.

1964, June 30 - By the end of the first fiscal year of operation, 51 vessels, with a cargo volume exceeding 260,000 tons, call at the port.

1964, Dec. - Port Director Shore and Port Commissioner Elorduy make a trade development trip to Europe.

1965, Feb. - The port commission ratifies an agreement with the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), thereby establishing a new Sacramento local.

1965 - The Sacramento City Council appoints G. Wayne O'Brien to replace T.H. Richards as port commissioner.

1965, June 30 - By the end of the 1964-65 fiscal year, the port commission completes two major expansion programs (i.e., the bulk material storage and loading facility and an automated bulk rice facility).

1965, August - Adverse weather leads to the loss of some California agricultural export revenue.

1965, Sep. 2 - Dedication ceremony of the port's Bulk Rice and Loading Terminal.

1966, January - Handling of the first one million tons of cargo.

1966 - The Sacramento Board of Supervisors appoints Richard E. Crow to replace Robinson N. Crowell as port commissioner.

1966, June 30 - By the end of the 1965-66 fiscal year, the Port of Sacramento establishes its first regular berthliner service (i.e., the NKY line) and handles its first military cargo.

1966, Oct. 24 - The port commission adopts Ordinance No. 23, the issuance of $3,100,000 in SYPD 1966 Bulk Facilities Bonds. The district sold the bonds in December 1966 and commenced project operations on 15 September 1967.

1967, June 30 - By the end of the 1966-67 fiscal year, the Port of Sacramento becomes a self-sufficient business, no longer requiring tax support for maintenance and operation costs. Rice becomes the most significant single crop for export (with a volume of 445,899 tons). The port also signs its first long-term (eight year) contract with a Japanese Company, Mitsui and Co., for the handling of wood chips.

1968, July 1 - The SYPD changes its accounting system.

1969, Jan. 13 - SYPD sells $2,550,000 1969 Port Facilities Expansion Bonds, Series A, to enlarge bulk cargo handling capacity.

1970, Jan. - The Port of Sacramento begins its Container Barge Service, providing transport services to and from the container terminals of the San Francisco Bay Area.

1970, June 30 - By the end of the 1969-70 fiscal year, the eighth year of operation, the port's tonnage, operating revenue, and ship calls are nearly double the projected average for a fifty-year port-life. The SYPD undergoes a study to deepen the channel and diversifies its cargo to over 40 varieties.

1971, June 30 - By the end of the 1970-71 fiscal year, the Port of Sacramento implements its Transmodal Distribution Service (a total service concept) and attains full terminal port status from the Trans Pacific Steamship Conference. Other activities during the 1970-71 fiscal year include the port holding its first annual open house during World Trade and National Transportation Week. Also, the Farmers Rice Cooperative moves its headquarters from San Francisco to the Wrold Trade Center, Sacramento, signifying the port's importance as a rice handling center.

1971, July 1 - After failed contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association, ILWU President Harry Bridges begins a West Coast strike that ultimately lasts 134 days. On 6 October, the Taft-Hartley injunction forces a temporary halt in the strike. The ILWU resumed the strike during the second week of January 1972 and continued until reaching an agreement in late February. The Port of Sacramento looses significant revenue due to the strike. The port commissioners sign a two-year contract with the ILWU.

1972, June 30 - By the end of the 1971-72 fiscal year, the Port of Sacramento expands its handling base to include the importation of autos, bicycles, and meats, and the exportation of alfalfa and butter. The port also undertakes initial steps toward its expansion of its bulk facility.

1972, Oct. 24 - The SYPD sells $6,000,000 1972 Bulk Facilities Expansion Bonds, Series A, to finance the expansion of flat bulk storage, loading, and receiving capacity, including wood chip storage and conveyor systems. (The port commission passed and adopted Ordinance No. 28 on 28 Aug. 1972.)

1973, June 30 - By the end of the 1972-73 fiscal year, the cargo lifted from 171 vessels exceeds one-and-a-half million tons, twice the tonnage projected in 1963 by the Sacramento Army Corps of Engineers as necessary to justify the investment. The port commission approves the construction of another bulk expansion of the port facility. The project costs $6 million.

1974, Jan. 21 - The SYPD sells $1,150,000 1972 Bulk Facilities Expansion Bonds, Series B, to finance the expansion of flat bulk storage, loading, and receiving capacity, including wood chip storage and conveyor systems.

1974 - The Sacramento City Council appoints Edward P. Park to replace Mike R. Elorduy as port commissioner.

1974, June 30 - During the 1973-74 fiscal year, the Port of Sacramento does not make a profit.

1974, Sep. 23 - SYPD sells $425,000 1969 Port Facilities Expansion Bonds, Series B, to finance the expansion of the wood chip facilities. (The port commission passed and adopted Ordinance No. 26 on 21 Oct. 1968.)

1975, Feb. - In the midst of the world-wide economic recession, the Port of Sacramento suspends the Container Barge Service.

1976 - The Sacramento Board of Supervisors appoints Thomas G. Campbell to replace Richard E. Crow as port commissioner.

1976, Apr. 20 - The Port of Sacramento sponsors the First International Dry Bulk Cargo Handling Conference at the Sacramento Convention Center.

1976, June - A labor strike brings handling to a standstill for two weeks.

1976, June 29 - A fire burns wood chip storage piles. Port officials estimate the damages exceed $5 million.

1977, June 30 - During the 1976-77 fiscal year, the Collier Carbon and Chemical Company constructs its own wharf at the port. The Nissan Motor Company of Japan locates its major West Coast parts distribution center within the Sacramento area.

1978, May - Union Chemical Company begins operating its private wharf at the Port of Sacramento.

1978, June 30 - By the end of the 1977-78 fiscal year, the Port of Sacramento has made the final payment to bond holders on the $2,975,000 revenue bond sold in 1969 (q.v.). Also during the fiscal year, the Best Pipe Company purchases a site for handling imported steel pipe.

1980, Sep. 10 - The SYPD sells $10 million 1980 Port Revenue Bonds, Series A, to finance the construction of new facilities, consisting of warehouses and conveyor systems. (The port commission passed and adopted Ordinance No. 36 on 11 August 1980.)

1981, June 30 - By the end of the 1980-81 fiscal year, the SYPD withdrew $9.2 million bond issue it intended to sell on 10 June 1981 (1980 Port Revenue Bonds, Series B, Ordinance No. 36) when interest rates failed to drop as expected. Also, the 25th millionth ton of cargo projected by the Sacramento Army Corps of Engineers for the year 2060 moved through the port.

1981, Dec. 15 - The SYPD sells $5 million Sacramento-Yolo Port District Revenue Bonds, Series B, to finance the construction of a new warehouse. (The port commission passed and adopted Ordinance No. 36 on 11 August 1980, as well as Ordinance No. 38 on 23 November 1981.)

1982 - The Sacramento Board of Supervisors appoints Edward L. Lammerding and Willie A. Bell to replace Ivory J. Rodda and Thomas G. Campbell as port commissioners. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors appoints James W. Cameron to replace Curzon Kay as port commissioner.

1982, June 30 - During the 1981-82 fiscal year, the port district completed a $10 million expansion program and began another $5 million addition. Also during the year, the Sacramento Army Corps of Engineers completed a 13-year study on the proposal to deepen the channel (and reported favorably to the Secretary of the Army). The port commission participated in Yolo County studies that led to the preparation of the Southport area for industrial development.

1982, Oct. 1 - The American Association of Port Authorities elected Port Director Melvin Shore chairman of the board for a one-year term (until 16 September 1983) during the association's 71st Annual Convention in New York City.

1982, Dec. 31 - For the calendar year 1982, the Port of Sacramento ranks the second (after Oakland) in tonnage among eight northern California ports.

1983 - The Sacramento City Council appoints Virginia S. Mueller to replace G. Wayne O'Brien as port commissioner.

1983, Jan. 25 - President Ronald Reagan advocates a port modernization bill in his State of the Union address.

1983, circa - The Inland International Trade Association, Inc., a local trade organization, and the Port of Sacramento create the "International Resource Center" to provide access to research materials.

1984 - The Sacramento City Council appoints Alfonso Z. Gonzalez to replace Edward P. Park as port commissioner.

1986, Jan. - The Sacramento Port Commission states it will let five dock superintendents keep working in new assistant operations manager positions that would take them out of their union's jurisdiction. The decision followed weeks of negotiation by port officials and the Engineers and Scientists of California, which claimed that the port was retaliating against the superintendents (by abolishing their positions) for participating in a strike.

1986, April - The Port of Sacramento won initial approval from the California Urban Waterfront Area Restoration Financing Authority for a bond issue. The issue would provide up to $30 million for a channel deepening project to dredge the 47-mile channel an additional five feet (from 30 to 35 feet), thereby opening the port to vessels unable to negotiate the 30-foot draft.

1986, May - Port of Sacramento officials release a long-range plan, dubbed "Seaway Center," that calls for the development of new truck, rail, and water transportation services to generate more general cargo business.

1986, June 30 - Port Director Melvin Shore retires (age 62) when his contract expires after 37 years of service with the Port of Sacramento, 23 of those years as port director.

1986, Oct. - The SYPD appoints Dennis G. Clark as the new port director.

The records were originally collected and maintained by the Sacramento-Yolo Port Authority, before being donated to the Department of Special Collections and University Archives in 1986.

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Library, California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Shortly after receiving the Port of Sacramento donation, a volunteer student intern began processing the collection but ended his internship before completing the project. Ms. White provided a preliminary inventory for patron use, but did not reassign the project until she was certain the next processor would complete the project. The current processor completed this project in the spring of 1996.

The preparer gratefully acknowledges the help of several individuals in the completion of this inventory: Melvin Shore, who proofread the background information and appendices; Robert Watson, who supplied information about the Port of Sacramento; and Rexford Sherman, who supplied information about the AAPA.

The California State University, Sacramento Special Collections and university Archives acquired the Port of Sacramento records in 1986 as a donation from Melvin Shore, who had recently retired from his position as port director. A representative from the Business History Research Center of the University of Wyoming, Laramie, originally contacted Shore about donating the collection there. After C.S.U.S. Archivist Georgiana White and Melvin Shore came to a mutual agreement that the Port of Sacramento files would be most useful to local researchers, Shore donated part of his collection in November. The accessioned collection comprised six cubic feet, not including approximately 3,900 business cards. Shore withheld about four cartons of personal items (relating to his directorship at the port) for a ten-year period; however, he plans to donate this material to the C.S.U.S. Special Collections and University Archives circa June 1996.

The initial accession consists of 9 record cartons and a document box. Another addition was later added, which is known as Port of Sacramento records: additions (MSS 1996/17).

See also the Port of Sacramento Records: Additions, 1916-2003 (MSS 1996/17).

Collection is open for research. Some restrictions may apply.

Port Director Melvin Shore, who donated the items comprising the Port of Sacramento Collection, served as chairman of the board for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) for the period 1 October 1982 until 16 September 1983. Shore donated his records as AAPA chairman, as well as records pertaining to his position as port director.

Because the AAPA is an independent organization, the processor divided the Port of Sacramento Collection into two subgroups (i.e. the Sacramento-Yolo Port District and the AAPA). Therefore, the processor provides both an agency history of the Sacramento-Yolo Port District and an organizational history of the AAPA. For a chronology of major events pertaining to the history of the Port of Sacramento, see Appendix II, beginning on page 36.

In addition, the processor provides a biographical sketch of Melvin Shore, the port director from whom the bulk of the collection derives.

The records of the Port of Sacramento Collection cover the years 1916 to ca. 1991, inclusive, whith the bulk of the collection covering the years 1963 to 1986. The collection is incomplete. Melvin shore donated only part of his collection to the university archives in November 1986. (He plans to donate the remainder ca. June 1996.) The preparer is unaware of the scope of the port district records missing from the present collection.

Documents pertaining to the Sacramento-Yolo Port District before 1963, when the port opened to commercial traffic, are scattered throughout the inventory, depending on which department generated and/or used such information.

Overall, the largest group of files for the period 1963-86 documents the construction projects, legislative issues, conventions, and financial aspects of the Port of Sacramento. The various publications and ephemera generated by the Marketing Department best demonstrate the hopes and goals of the district. The researcher can compare activities, events, and commissioners' names on undated ephemera with the chronology and list of commissioners in appendices II and III, respectively, to determine approximate dates of publications.

The preparer arranged the collection into two subgroups during the processing process to differentiate between files pertaining to the port district and those pertaining to an independent association, which the donator chaired between 1982-83. The two subgroups appearing within this inventory are:

Sacramento Yolo Port District (SYPD) American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)

Because many records generated outside the port district were apparently intermixed within the collection, the preparer did not divide them into separate subgroups. Two examples of agencies headquartered outside the port district are the U.S. Port Systems Advocates, a legislative agency representing national port interests, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who planned and built much of what constitutes the Sacramento River Deep Water Shipping Channel.

Four of the constituent departments of the port district (i.e. Accounting, Engineering, Marketing, and Operations) are subdivisions within the Sacramento-Yolo Port District subgroup. External agencies (i.e. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Port Systems Advocates, and other External Agencies) which generated or used records important in the history and/or operation of the SYPD constitute yet another three subdivisions. The remaining sub-division, Port Director's Office, reflects all documents and artifacts pertaining to the SYPD not included elsewhere.

The American Association of Port Authorities subgroup is subdivided as follows: General, U.S. Legislative Council, and Committees.

Within the subgroups, records are arranged in series by the function of the file (e.g. legislative files) or by subject (e.g. ephemera, reports), in as close to their original order as the preparer can determine. Each series description is followed by a container list.

Both textual and nontextual files comprise the records of the Port of Sacramento Collection. Textual material includes published guides and brochures, as well as many typewritten paper records, but few handwritten notes.

Photographs, blueprints, and other such nontextual files are stored separately for preservation purposes. Notices within folders will direct the researcher to the locations of removed items, when applicable.

If the researcher is unfamiliar with the Port of Sacramento's layout and/or with general technical/statistical information pertaining to the port, consulting the brochures and other items available in box 2, beginning with folder 9, is a good place to begin research. These are the same type of handouts available on tours at the port facility.

The Port of Sacramento records provide an excellent source to document the relationship between local politicians and the communities they represent. Congressman Robert T. Matsui, representing the 5th California District, is one example. In 1981 Matsui introduced the National Defense Port System Act (H.R. 4862) and reintroduced it the following year (H.R. 5897) with one goal of establishing national uniform user fees. Because higher user charges hindered potential barges from calling at the Port of Sacramento, the act was conducive to attract commerce to the port.

Another bill beneficial to the Port of Sacramento's interests was S.B. 865, the Deep-Draft Navigation Act. Matsui introduced this legislation in 1983. Documents pertaining to Matsui's bills, including successive drafts of H.R. 4862, can be found in the U.S. Port Systems Advocates' files in the Port of Sacramento Collection.

Another politician, Congressman John E. Moss of the Third Sacramento District, played a major role in making the Port of Sacramento a reality through federal appropriations exceeding $40 million. The Moss Collection is also kept at the CSUS Special Collections and University Archives, and provides an opportunity from which researchers can take advantage.