Manatee History Matters: Florida citrus is a Christmas tradition

Christmas stockings have been a traditional part of Christmas for centuries, with many a child finding an orange at the very bottom of their stocking in addition to the nuts, fruit, candy and small toys that accompanied them.

The most popular legend for the stocking and oranges involves Saint Nicholas.

One day, Saint Nicholas was passing through a small village and overheard the townspeople talking about a father having a tough time making ends meet. He was worried about his daughters' futures because he was not able to afford their dowries.

That night, as the daughters' stockings were drying by the fire, Saint Nicholas slipped in and dropped a bag of gold in each of their stockings for a dowry. The next morning, the girls woke up and were delighted to find this money which meant they were now eligible to marry.

So how did oranges end up in stockings? Understandably, solid gold balls were difficult to replicate, so an acceptable look-alike was a golden citrus fruit. And fresh fruit was hard to find in the middle of winter, so having an orange in one's stocking was a huge treat.

How did people get their beloved citrus in the cold winter months? It came from groves all over California and Florida, including many local groves in Manatee County. In 1894, Florida's citrus industry produced 5 million box

es of fruit a year. Most of these were shipped to northern markets via railroad and other transportation means.

As the industry continued to grow larger, operations began to develop and form packinghouses and citrus cooperatives in the 1920s. Many smaller producers began to come up with new ways to attract business as they couldn't compete with the larger operations.

Roadside stands began to dot Florida highways. Through the early 1900s, tourists began to flock to the subtropical climate and were intent on having some of Florida's most advertised commodity. Many stands used their delicious citrus juice blends to attract tourists, but their real money maker was gift fruit shipping.

According to the Florida Gift Fruit Shipper's organization, which was incorporated in 1946, the gift fruit shipping industry developed by happenstance. Sarasota grove owner K.B. Albritton is quoted by the FGFS, "People would come by the grove, admire the fruit and want some of it" as simple as that. As tourists came to Florida, they wanted some of the iconic fruit for themselves and to send back to friends and relatives.

Several citrus growers in Manatee County were very successful in this enterprise, including Midway Grove, which was on the Sarasota/Manatee County line north of the airport. It was a family-run operation that began in the 1920s by the Skinner family. They became very involved in the Gift Fruit Shipping Association along with other local groves, such as Mixon Fruit Farms and Albritton Fruit Company in Sarasota.

Citrus from Florida a treat

Lynn Steward began working at Midway Grove in the 1970s to pay for college book money. Mr. Skinner became his mentor and taught him all about the citrus industry, which he continues to work in today in Arcadia. As a child growing up in Michigan, Steward remembers receiving Florida citrus boxes from his grandmother in the 1950s. On his first day at the grove, Steward was taken to the packing house and a familiar smell and sight greeted him. The smell of the boxes and green shipping paper were the same ones that arrived on his childhood doorstep by his grandmother straight from the grove.

Citrus gift shipping began to drop off in the 1990s as Florida groves began to close and the land was sold to create new housing developments. A huge factor in grove closings were two diseases that continue to impact the citrus industry, greening and canker. However, the tradition does still live on with the many winter tourists who continue to visit our groves today. Mixon Fruit Farm in Bradenton and Albritton Fruit Company in Sarasota still ship fruit.

I will be looking forward to receiving a traditional orange in my stocking when I go home for Christmas this year.

Melissa Dagenais, curator for the Manatee County Agricultural Museum, is a Florida citrus devotee. Contact her at Melissa.Dagenais@manateeclerk.com or 941-721-2034.

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 11:48 PM with the headline "Manatee History Matters: Florida citrus is a Christmas tradition ."