SANTA PAULA, Calif. (KABC) -- In what's billed as a first in the nation, a monument will soon go up in the Ventura County community of Santa Paula to honor the farm worker.

When resident Albino Pineda first came to California, he said he thought he was in heaven. The magic didn't last.

"When I first came to California, I went to pick lemons. I lasted for three days," Pineda explained.

Pineda, now 86 years old, can't forget those first days of hard labor in the harsh sun and among barbed branches.

From his experiences came the seed of an idea and a way to honor the harvesters. In the foundry of artist Hilario Galeana, Pineda developed his idea for a monument. He got some help from renowned sculptor, Brian Arthur.

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