When I was a kid (I grew up in the bay area), there was not much more than "fruit and nuts" in Santa Clara County. Orchards that is.

Like Glen, I now live in central Texas. Most of the civil Firework displays were canceled because of the weather (although it didn't rain all day). That didn't stop everyone else from firing off what must of been 100's of tons of the low class stuff.

 

We had several 'loud' almost perfectly timed explosions, almost as if someone was firing a 12 GA 'street sweeper'. By 10:30, it was quiet. New Years is the same thing - gun fire. If you know the right people, Chinatown in San Francisco is the place to get fireworks, and good food too.
After the Gold Rush of the 1850's, many people settled in this area and grew fruit; cherries, apricots, plums, etc. I 'cut 'cots' (apricots) as a kid in the 1950's, still have my 'cot knife'. There area few orchards left, around of all places - Apple Computer in Cupertino.
When Ford relocated the Richmond Assembly Plant (the origin of the code 'R' in the VIN - they built tanks in WWII) to Milpitas, CA (it never was in San Jose), they chose an empty grass-filled field withrailroad tracks going by it. The building is now a shopping mall.
Jim