The Snapshots in Time Collection

Crawler Crane Loading Sugar Cane onto Narrow-Gauge Rail Cars, Hawaii Plantation, c. 1940s

Crawler Crane Loading Sugar Cane onto Narrow-Gauge Rail Cars, Hawaii Plantation, c. 1940s

A crawler crane fitted with a clamshell grab loads freshly cut sugar cane onto narrow-gauge rail cars on a Hawaiian plantation, circa the early 1940s. Sugar production was a cornerstone of the territorial economy and continued throughout the Second World War, with plantation labor forming an essential part of the home-front effort in the islands. Project: 218628