Florida Conference of Historians - Guest blog post!

Hey Citrus Fans,

A couple of weekends ago, I attended the Florida Conference of Historians with Emily Smith.  The Florida Conference of Historians began in 1962 with the concept of an organization covering all historical fields that would give historians an opportunity to share their scholarship and develop a sense of collegiality among faculty teaching history in Florida's colleges and universities. My supervisor at the McKay Archives had asked us if we wanted to present at the poster session. When she asked back in November, I had something else scheduled, but my friend Emily Smith volunteered. I am a Citrus Hall of Fame fellow, but Emily isn’t. She chose a topic with my fellow Hall of Fame colleague Emma Morton. They looked at how the archives use of social media has been able to engage people in the topic of Florida citrus. At the last minute Emma couldn’t attend the meeting, so I volunteered to attend with Emily, and it was an enriching experience. I was able to enhance my public speaking abilities, as well as my networking skills. I was able to walk around and view the other posters that were there, so I was able to learn about new things. I was also able to meet other people that were interested in the topic that we presented on, which was digital media and how it engages the public.

Emily and I found that people our age enjoy our posts about the Orange Bird and the weekly “where is the Orange Bird now?” posts while the older population enjoys the Florida Citrus Label posts more. There was a fair amount of interest in our poster and it received positive regard. We received suggestions on how we can track and expand our social media presence from the more established historians and introduced the archives to our fellow undergraduate and graduate history students. This experience was satisfying because we were able to share what we have been working on and have our hard work not only recognized, but enjoyed by others.

If you haven’t seen our Instagram posts, please look for Citrusarchives…. Or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ – Florida Citrus Hall of Fame – we post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Written by Meredith Kaffee

Guest Blogger at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

Exciting News!

Hello Citrus Fans!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break and enjoyed lots of time with their friends and family.

I have some exciting news to kick off 2016! On our Instagram page (citrusarchives) we will begin posting a photo of the beloved Orange Bird in different places all over Florida Southern College’s beautiful campus. The Orange Bird is an iconic image that holds a special place in my heart. Created by Disney in 1970 for the Florida Citrus Commission, he has brought smiles to thousands of faces. Uniquely, The Orange Bird does not speak, or even sing! As a result, he only communicates with orange thought bubbles and is teased mercilessly by the other birds. Through it all, he keeps spreading sunshine and smiles to everyone he meets.

Every Friday The Orange Bird will be seen throughout Florida Southern College. This interactive addition to our Instagram page will be fun for everyone and will showcase the lovely Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture that makes up the campus.

I hope you’re all as excited for this as I am. You never know where the Orange Bird’s next adventure will be, so be sure to follow us on Instagram to be sure that you never miss his next stop. If you have any recommendations for where you think The Orange Bird should fly to next, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

So don’t forget to keep an eye out this Friday! You won’t wanna miss it!

“With his beautiful orange feathers, and beautiful leafy wings,

He’s a fluffy little puffy sight to see.

He can turn your frown around, when you see him looking down,

The Orange Bird up in the Sunshine Tree.”

Written by Emma Morton

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

Newest Citrus Fellow!

Hello Citrus Fans,

My name is Emma Morton and I’ll be taking over for Selys Rivera. I am a BFA Theatre Performance major with a minor in English here at Florida Southern College. I hope to eventually work on Broadway. I lived in a suburb of Chicago for most of my life, but recently my family moved to Dallas, Texas. Living out of state is hard since I do not get to spend as much time with my family and off campus friends as the in-state students get to, but it’s a really great experience that is completely worth it.

As far as extracurricular activities, I am a member of the Campus Cat Feeding Club and the Vagabonds. I am also a sister and officer of Alpha Omicron Pi’s Kappa Gamma Chapter. I am the newest, and youngest, Citrus Fellow here at the McKay Archives and I’m so excited to be taking over this blog.

Since I’ve been employed here, I’ve helped work on a number of projects. I have helped digitize files, organize photos, and photocopy priceless documents. Although, my favorite part about the job is posting photos to our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. I really enjoy looking at the citrus labels that we have dedicated our Instagram account too. I’m also looking forward to researching different topics for posts on this blog.

I sincerely hope that after my good friend Selys leaves, I will be able to continue this blog with the same amount of creativity and elegance that she did. I hope to post regularly and to find unique topics such as citrus pests, today’s citrus industry, and interesting people who work with citrus (both of the past and present).

With all of the holidays coming up, I sincerely wish you all the best and hope you enjoy your time off.

Happy Holidays!

Written by Emma Morton

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

See You Later, Citrus

            A year and a half have passed since I first started with the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame here at the Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center. Though I can hardly believe it, with graduation arriving soon, my time here is coming to an end. Thankfully, I will be leaving with many experiences to look back on, as well as newly acquired skills on which I can now rely.

            Looking back, I’m amazed at the many projects and collections I have worked on since starting here. I have researched and written articles and blog posts on several topics, such as the inductees, special events, and crate labels. I have also scanned, inventoried, and archived many historical photographs and documents on the Florida Citrus Industry from different collections, like the Jerry Chicone Crate Label Collection and Anthony Whiting Crate Label Collection. In addition, I had the opportunity to present my paper on the Florida Citrus Queens/Miss Florida Citrus at the Florida Conference of Historians. Oh, and I can’t forget the chance I got every day to share on social media the many interesting facts, articles, and photographs I found related to the citrus industry for others to see and be informed.

            As a plus, I had the chance to attend quite a few exciting events too, such as the Florida Citrus Queen/Miss Florida Citrus reunion at Bok Tower Gardens and the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Inductee Ceremony here at Florida Southern College, both of which gave me the opportunity to meet many interesting people in the Florida Citrus Industry. 

            Lately, I’ve had the opportunity to research, work with, and create digital and physical exhibits for the archives on varying topics with my fellow citrus coworkers. These topics include citrus workers, citrus memorabilia, the Orange Bird, the Florida Citrus Queens/Miss Florida Citrus, citrus crate labels, citrus postcards, the Waverly collection, packinghouses, and the Thomas B. Mack Citrus Archives Collection. These exhibits will hopefully be up in time for next semester. 

            My time here has been one long learning experience. I will never forget the history I have become so fond of, the people I have met, and the memories I have made during my time here. I am so grateful to all of the people who have been involved with my job as well. The friendships I have made here and the research, communication, organizational, and writing skills I have acquired here will stay with me as I continue on to whatever career path is in store for me. 

            However, though I am saying goodbye to my job, I am not saying goodbye to citrus. Like I said in my very first blog post when I started working here, each time I even drink my orange juice, “I’ll be thinking about the history behind it and all of the people involved.”

So see you later, citrus. I will never see you the same way again.

Written by Selys Rivera

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

New Digital Exhibit – Remembering the Citrus Workers

            Last summer, I did a missionary internship on the Yakama Reservation in the state of Washington. Even though it wasn’t the main reason for going, I saw the faces of the people involved with producing the food I eat each and every day. I even got to do some of the work myself – shoveling, digging, planting, watering, weeding, picking – I experienced and learned what it takes to bring the food I take for granted to the supermarket shelves.  As a result, my eyes were opened to the very real world that exists behind the scenes in the food industry.

            This is why, when my supervisor gave me the opportunity to create a digital exhibit for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame at Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center, I knew exactly what my topic would be – Remembering the Citrus Workers. I wanted to bring a very intentional spotlight to the many citrus workers that were never recognized for their dedication to the citrus industry. Whether they were men or women, African-American, Hispanic or Caucasian, young or old, they are part of the unique history involved in producing one of the most cherished products on the market. They deserve to be thanked for their contribution because, as I now know, I’m sure it was not easy.

            So, at last, please join me in Remembering the Citrus Workers. 

Written by Selys Rivera

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

New Collection at the Archives!

            It is so exciting to have a new collection donated here at the archives: the Anthony Whiting Collection of Florida Fruit Labels. There are forty-seven labels from all parts of Florida included and while most are duplicates of items we already have, these are in better condition. In addition, there are a few labels that are unique to this collection. Several of these new labels have already been scanned for inclusion in the digital Fruit and Vegetable Crate Label Collection. An example would be this Prairie Flower label:

            Overall, I have enjoyed processing the collection and going through the diligent artwork that went into making these crate labels. It’s a part of the Florida Citrus Industry history that should never be forgotten.

Written by Selys Rivera

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center