surls: in the early 1900s, th central produce market developed. this had to be close to the train, of course, so that farmers could come to one central place where they could sell their produce and easily ship it to market. alderson: my grandfather had this old model "a" flatbed truck, and they would load up boxes on that model "a" truck, and my dad would drive it up telegraph boulevard into downtown l.a. to the wholesale produce market. woman: most people don't even know the wholesale produce market exists. they've been living in los angeles their whole entire life and they've never come down here. and it's a huge, huge business. it's a huge part of l.a., it's a big part of their history, and it is the largest in north america. nothing compares to the los angeles produce market. morris: my name is morris shandler. my uncle haskill gilmam was a partner in what was then known as h. gilman produce. i started working in the wholesale produce market in december of 1933. the first 3 years that i was there, i learned how to work on the floor, i drove a