A. Duda and Sons Mule Train
Slavia (Fla.)
Agriculture--Florida
Celery
Celery industry
Farms--Florida
Farming
Labor--Florida
Laborers--United States
Employees--United States
A Mule Train on the A. Duda and Sons farm in Slavia, Florida, sometime between 1940 and 1945. Mule Trian was the name of the motorized factory that Duda farm workers used to harvest celery from the 1940s through the 1970s. It was named after a popular song in the 1950s. <br /><br />Andrew Duda, Sr. immigrated from Slovakia to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1909, later settling in Central Florida to try his hand at farming. Initially successful growing Irish potatoes, the market value of the crop could not cover shipping costs and the Duda family struggled financially to survive. Soon after they returned to Cleveland, where Duda and his sons worked in a factory to support the family. By 1926, the Duda family had saved enough money to return to Slavia. This time, their crops prospered and they formed A. Duda and Sons. The family owned company remains in existence today and is an international brand with locations across the globe.
Original 4 x 6 inch black and white photographs: Private Collection of Ida Boston.
Boston, Ida
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Still Image
A. Duda and Sons Celery Farm, Slavia, Florida
Letter from C. H. Miller to Randall Chase (May 8, 1963)
Zellwood (Fla.)
Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)
Equipment and supplies
An original letter of correspondence between Maintenance Department Manager C. H. Miller and Randall Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include enclosed photographs taken of the delivery of a mule train by Duda from Glades Farm to Hooper Farm in Zellwood, Florida, on May 6, 1963. Chase & Company was established in 1884 by brothers Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century. Randall Chase joined in the family business soon after his brother, Sydney Chase, Jr., did in 1922. Randall became the president of Chase & Company from 1948-1965.
Original letter from C. H. Miller to Randall Chase, May 8, 1963: box 215, <a href="http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm" target="_blank">Chase Collection (MS 14)</a>, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
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eng
Text
Chase & Company Office, Sanford, Florida
Hooper Farm, Zellwood, Florida
Chase & Company Mule Train
Zellwood (Fla.)
Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)
Equipment and supplies
A Chase & Company mule train being moved by a Duda transport from Glades Farm to Hooper Farm in Zellwood, Florida, on May 6, 1963. Chase & Company was established in 1884 by brothers Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century. Randall Chase joined in the family business soon after his brother, Sydney Chase, Jr., did in 1922. Randall became the president of Chase & Company from 1948-1965.
Original black and white photographs, May 7, 1963: box 215, <a href="http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm" target="_blank">Chase Collection (MS 14)</a>, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
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eng
Still Image
Hooper Farm, Zellwood, Florida