Florida's Female Citrus Angels

            It’s no secret that the majority of the inductees in the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame are male. That’s why I was so intrigued to find a few women within the sea of citrus industry loving men. There are four women who shine just as brightly as the rest of their male colleagues. So far, Anita Bryant, Lena Hughes, Thelma C. Raley, and Nancy Gurnett Hardy are the only four female inductees in the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, and they made some amazing contributions to Florida’s citrus industry.

In 1988, Anita Bryant was the first female to be inducted to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. She was the longest spokesperson for the Florida citrus industry, serving for twelve years. With numerous appearances on television commercials, print advertisements, and the use of her song, “Come to the Florida Sunshine Tree” as the theme for Florida Citrus, it is no surprise that Bryant earned the nickname, “The Sunshine-Tree Girl.” Florida orange juice sales increased significantly thanks to her work and dedication to the citrus industry.¹

Bryant wasn’t the only woman with firsts when it came to the citrus industry, though.

Lena Hughes, inducted in 1993, had several firsts in the citrus industry world to be proud of. She was the first woman to serve on the Orange Citrus Extension Advisory Committee, as well as the Growers Administrative Committee, and even the only woman on the fund-raising committee for the Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. Hall at the Citrus Research and Education Center. Hughes contributed and “conducted valuable horticultural research to improve breeding strains of Valencia oranges.” Thanks to her donation of time and money, the Hughes Valencia orange budwood strain was able to continue developing, eventually accounting for about a half of Florida Valencia oranges since 1973.²

So, if you’ve enjoyed Valencia oranges, you can thank Hughes.

Then Thelma C. Raley came along, inducted in 1998, and she is recognized as one of the top women citrus growers in all of Florida’s history. She ran her own citrus grove, as well as her late husband’s grove, by herself at a time when the citrus business had no place for women. As a reward to her perseverance, though, Raley eventually owned and ran over 1,000 acres of citrus groves and a booming business. She also served as member of Florida Citrus Mutual and on the Board of Directors of organizations like Dundee Citrus Growers Association. Raley was called a top female grower, largest female grower of tangerines, and one of the only females to be involved at the grower level of running a citrus business.³

Even if Raley wasn’t one of the first women, she was definitely a top one.

Last, but certainly not least, there was Nancy Gurnett Hardy, inducted in 2002. From the age of seven, Hardy was involved in the citrus industry, helping her father, Jack Gurnett, with the Florida Citrus Reporter. After her father’s death, Hardy continued his work, eventually being known as the best citrus reporter. Her work appeared in several newspapers, from the Winter Haven News Chief and Lakeland Ledger, to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She even became the senior writer for the Citrus Industry Magazine. She received many awards for her work, even being named Woman of the Year in Florida Agriculture in 1998. When she was inducted to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, though, she joined her dad and made the first and only father-daughter pair, so far. ⁴

Hardy could sure write about citrus!

            Although there are certainly many respectable men who made extraordinary contributions to the Florida citrus industry in the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, these women definitely stand out. The contributions that Anita Bryant, Lena Hughes, Thelma C. Raley, and Nancy Gurnett Hardy made to the citrus industry were completely different from one another, but they were surely important to the history of the Florida citrus industry.

Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last woman to be inducted to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame.

Who knows? Maybe even I will be! (Though I highly doubt it…)

Written by Selys Rivera

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

For more information on the inductees, please visit the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website Inductees section.

Sources:

¹ Rebecca Meyer, “Anita Bryant (1940),” Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, accessed October 10, 2014, http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=629.

² Ashleah Zigmond, “Dr. Lena Smithers Hughes (1905-1987), Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, accessed October 10, 2014, http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=743.

³ Susan Roberts, “Dr. Thelma C. Raley (1912-2006),” Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, accessed October 10, 2014, http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=734.

⁴ Rebecca Meyer, “Dr. Nancy Gurnett Hardy (1932-2003),” Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, accessed October 10, 2014, http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=722.

To Be or Not to Be an Inductee

               To be a Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Inductee is a great honor, one that is not granted to simply anyone. Inductees need to have motivation, dedication, and most importantly, a passion for the betterment of the citrus industry.

               According to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website, when the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame was first established in 1962, seventeen nominees were inducted. Every year since then, between two to four new members have been inducted, making the grand total now 177.

               That’s a lot of citrus leaders!

               The website goes on to explain the committee that chooses these inductees. The committee is made up of representatives of different areas of the citrus industry. Each December, they choose recipients and then the actual induction process happens in March.

               

   So, who were these great inductees?

               They were extraordinary men, and even some women, with an amazing love for the citrus industry. They were distinguished leaders who did whatever they could to make exceptional contributions to the Florida citrus industry.

  What I find fascinating are the different kinds of contributions these men and women made. The contributions one inductee made could be completely different from the next. In 1988 inductee Anita Bryant’s case, that meant serving as a spokesperson for the citrus industry.¹ However, in 1988 inductee William G. Strickland’s case, it meant forming the Florida Fresh Citrus Shippers Association.²

 No inductee’s contribution was respected any less than another’s. They were all outstanding and important for the Florida citrus industry. This is why, after these men and women made their contributions, the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame made sure they received the credit they deserved.

              “The purpose of the Hall of Fame,” explains Thomas B. Mack in his book, Citrifacts II: A Portion of Florida Citrus History, “is to give recognition to the persons, living or dead, who have contributed unselfishly through time and effort to the development of the Florida citrus industry.”

              So, what happened after an inductee was inducted? The Florida Citrus Hall of Fame rewarded these inductees with plaques, pictures, and displays.³ What the inductees chose to do from there was up to them, but you can be sure they weren’t done with the citrus world.

              The inductees in the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame were all extraordinary leaders with a strong sense of responsibility to the citrus industry due to their love of citrus. They all have fascinating stories, which I hope to write more on, that are part of the history of the citrus industry and are worth remembering. The Florida Citrus Hall of Fame works to preserve their stories and help others remember the outstanding contributions these men and women have made.

  No wonder, too. I know I’d want to be remembered if, thanks to my efforts, people can enjoy Florida orange juice with their breakfast.

Written by Selys Rivera

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

For more information on the inductees, please visit the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website Inductees section. 

Sources:

¹ Thomas B. Mack, Citrifacts II: A Portion of Florida Citrus History (United States of America: Associated Publications Corporation, 1998), 215.

² Justin Helm, “William G. ‘Bill’ Strickland (1908-2000),” Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, accessed October 3^rd, 2014, http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=670.

³ Mack, Citrifacts II, 215.

Citrus on the Moon?

           Have you ever heard of the saying, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck?” Well, let’s flip that around and say, “If it doesn’t walk like a duck, or quack like a duck, it’s not a duck.” The same is true for Florida Citrus: If it doesn’t taste like Florida Citrus, or have the healthy benefits of Florida Citrus, it’s not Florida Citrus.

             In April 1972, Commander John Young on the Apollo 16 mission to the moon should have realized this when he had what was supposedly “orange juice” and consequently suffered from severe flatulence, especially since he grew up in Orlando, Fla.

            “I have the farts again,” Young told his partner, Colonel Charles Duke. “I haven’t eaten this much citrus fruits in twenty years! And I’ll tell you one thing, in another twelve…days, I ain’t never eating any more.”¹

            You can imagine the uproar this bad report on citrus had in the Florida Citrus industry. Chaos ensued over the supposed “citrus” these astronauts had up in space. How could anyone give such a negative review on Florida’s Citrus?

            It couldn’t be real citrus, right?

            Well, the general manager of Florida Citrus Mutual at the time, Tom Osborne, shed some light on the topic. He sent a telegram to U.S. Representative James A. Haley, whose 8^th Congressional District included many citrus groves and packers.

            “[I] regret to advise,” said Osborne, “that a synthetic citrus product was carried on Apollo 16 which has drawn attention due to erroneous reference by astronauts as ‘orange juice.’ [The] product in question contains no pure citrus.”²

            There it is! Of course! It had to be synthetic because pure Florida Citrus would never have such a negative effect on someone. It has nothing but healthy benefits!

            So what happened? Were astronauts destined to forever succumb to synthetic citrus to get their nutrition? Surely not!

            “It is our pleasure,” Osborne optimistically announced, “to advise you on behalf of more than 18,000 Florida Citrus growers that an excellent pure orange juice crystal has been developed by the Florida Citrus industry…[We] respectfully urge you to make NASA officials aware of [the] pure product and urge their use…in future space missions.”³

            That’s a relief! Future astronauts would have the advantage that poor Commander Young did not have. They would be able to take their favorite Florida Citrus into space with them.

            Great news to citrus loving astronauts everywhere!

Isn’t that just amazing, though? The healthy benefits of Florida Citrus are so great that they not only reach the world, but reach even to the moon.

Now that’s how you know it’s real Florida Citrus.

Written by Selys Rivera

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

Sources:

¹ “Farting on the Moon – Apollo 16.” Youtube video, 0:40, posted by “Jude Adamson,” April 16, 2010.

² Tom Osborne telegram to Congressman James A. Haley, April 24, 1972, Box 220 in folder entitled “NASA 1972-1974.” James A. Haley Congressional Papers Collection. (McKay Archives, Florida Southern College, Lakeland, FL).

³ Ibid.