The prevalence of nectarines in US supermarkets today is directly related to the company started by two unrelated men who shared a last name, an inventive bent, and a drive to succeed. Moving from Korea to the United States in 1914, Ho 'Charles' Kim founded the Kim Brothers trucking company in California in 1921 with his friend Harry Kim. Much of the freight their trucks carried in the early years were fruit grown in the San Joaquin valley. Kim Brothers soon expanded to include nurseries, orchards, and fruit-packing sheds. Eventually the operation became a major employer, providing year-round jobs for about two hundred people and up to four hundred part-time jobs during harvest season coming after growing season. Kim Brothers succeeded even in the face of the Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s because the company produced and sold the first commercially viable nectarines. The nectarine is a hybrid fruit. It combines peach and plum, with the taste and texture of the former and the smooth skin of the latter. With the help of a staff horticulturist, Kim Brothers developed and patented the 'fuzzless peach' known as the Sun Grand nectarine. Though not the first nectarine-the fruit had existed in China for two millennia; the Sun Grand was unique in being hardy enough to ship great distances. By the 1960s, Kim Brothers included more than five hundred acres of farmland and grossed more than $1 million annually. Charles and Harry Kim were eventually recognized as the first millionaires of Korean descent. They were also known for giving back to their community. Charles was also instrumental in helping to create Los Angeles's Koreatown (home today to more Koreans than any place other than Korea itself).