Julius Rivera was born in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, Philippine Islands on April 12, 1905. His parents were Marcos Rivera and Vera Acedo. He was a slimer at a salmon cannery at Snug Harbor
Throughout the early twentieth century, Filipino cannery workers replaced Chinese workers excluded from working in the United States. Filipino migrants spoke English, therefore, it made it easier for them to communicate and interact with other cannery workers. Because canneries like Snug Harbor were smaller than most Alaska canneries, lines of separation were more subtle, so much so that people on either side of the line rarely considered the social significance of their actions. It was “just the way things were done,” explained cannery worker Barbara Kistler. “There was about thirty Filipinos, and they had their own mess.” She also added “they had the best doughnuts.”
At the time of his death on June 28, 1942, Julius was single and had no family in Alaska but several relatives in Washington. The cause of his death was a gunshot wound that killed him before he could see a doctor.