The cover of a dinner menu from the “Great White Fleet,” 1935….

The cover of a dinner menu from the “Great White Fleet,” 1935. The fleet belonged to the United Fruit Company, the largest producer of bananas in Central America. The company was known as el pulpo – the octopus –  because of its influence and control of land in the region. Painted white to keep the bananas cooler, the ships at first shipped only fruit, but later expanded to accommodate passengers as well. This was one of the first cruise lines in the region.

{WHF} {HTE} {Medium}