Jump Right In! The Citrus Is Fine!

Have you ever just sat down and thought about how important citrus is?

            Yeah, me neither.

            At least, not until I started working for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame at Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center.

            When I first got this job a couple of weeks ago I honestly had no idea what I was getting into. I just thought to myself, “An archive center? It must be like working at a library. It’ll probably be boring and simple. I bet anyone could do this job. Oh well, at least I’ll get paid.”

            Well, I was wrong.

            I was overwhelmed with all I had to do (I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say it involves a little bit of everything). There was just so much information, both historical and new. My mind didn’t know how to process everything at first and I didn’t know how to proceed.

            That is, until something happened. I became absolutely…

Fascinated.

Now, I’ve always been a reader from a very young age, so I always enjoy finding out about a new story. Imagine my surprise when I found that working in the archives was like reading one gigantic story (pictures included!).

Beautiful, Southern belles in gorgeous evening dresses fiercely competed for the glorious title of Florida Citrus Queen/Miss Florida Citrus…

Devoted citrus growers and their families suffered as they watched the life being strangled out of their beloved crops during severe freezes…

Intelligent citrus scientists rattled their brains as they studied these fruits that enthralled and puzzled them…

Colorful citrus labels called out for attention, bragging about the delicious citrus products they represented…

And adorable, silly citrus cartoons and mascots brought laughter to citrus lovers everywhere.

The stories go on and on.

I can honestly say that I have never seen citrus in this light before. I really never thought much of citrus other than a glass of orange juice I might have had with breakfast. Suddenly, though, working for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame at Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center has opened my eyes. Now the next time I drink my orange juice, I’ll be thinking about the history behind it and all of the people involved.

I just know I will never see citrus the same way again.

Written by Selys Rivera

Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Summer Intern

McKay Archives Center, Florida Southern College