Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson (April 15, 1931)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson (April 15, 1931)
Alternative Title
Chase Correspondence (April 15, 1931)
Subject
Windermere (Fla.)
Chase, Joshua Coffin, 1858-1948
Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)
Citrus fruit industry--Florida
Citrus--Florida
Orange industry--Florida
Oranges--Florida
Packing industry
Fruit--Grading--United States
Description
An original letter of correspondence between Joshua Coffin Chase and Isleworth Packing House Superintendent Corbett Hutchinson. Topics discussed in the letter include how to pack third-grade oranges, what price to charge for said fruit, and instructions for picking operations.
Chase & Company was established by brothers Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase in 1884. 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. By 1886, the Chase brothers purchased several citrus groves to expand their business, including Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida. Isleworth Grove covered a total of 1,300 acres along the Butler Chain of Lakes. Between 1894 and 1895, Central Florida was hit by several freezes and most of the citrus crop was destroyed. Chase & Company did not grow citrus crops again until 1904 when Joshua came back from an extended stay in California. Between 1894 and 1900, different types of pesticide equipment was created, including equipment driven by steam, machines, and horses.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. The Isleworth property stayed in the Chase family until 1984 when Franklin Chase, the son of Sydney Chase, sold the property to famed golfer Arnold Palmer.
Chase & Company was established by brothers Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase in 1884. 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. By 1886, the Chase brothers purchased several citrus groves to expand their business, including Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida. Isleworth Grove covered a total of 1,300 acres along the Butler Chain of Lakes. Between 1894 and 1895, Central Florida was hit by several freezes and most of the citrus crop was destroyed. Chase & Company did not grow citrus crops again until 1904 when Joshua came back from an extended stay in California. Between 1894 and 1900, different types of pesticide equipment was created, including equipment driven by steam, machines, and horses.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. The Isleworth property stayed in the Chase family until 1984 when Franklin Chase, the son of Sydney Chase, sold the property to famed golfer Arnold Palmer.
Creator
Chase, Joshua Coffin
Source
Original letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson, April 15, 1931: box 49, folder 20.91, Chase Collection (MS 14), Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Date Created
1931-04-15
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson, April 15, 1931.
Is Part Of
Chase Collection (MS 14), box 49, folder 20.91, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Chase Collection (MS 14), box 49, folder 20.91, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Is Referenced By
Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
124 KB
Medium
1-page typewritten letter
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Isleworth Grove, Windermere, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase, and the children of Randall Chase.
Rights Holder
The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida
Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
Source Repository
University of Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections
External Reference
Warner, S.C. "Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida." Florida State Horticultural Society vol. 36 (1923): 198-200.
Hopkins, James T. Fifty Years of Citrus, the Florida Citrus Exchange: 1909-1959. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press: 1960.
"Joshua Coffin Chase (1858-1948)." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Copyright 2012. http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=960.
Transcript
April 15, 1931
Mr. Corbett Hutchinson,
Windermere, Florida.
Dear Sir:
Referring to the telephone conversation this morning about packing some of the third grade oranges in plain boxes and including in cars moving to New York.
The writer believes that if you can sell all of this fruit to peddlers at $1.50, or better, it would pay more, net, than taking a chance. However, he is perfectly willing to have you make the experiment, provided you exclude the large sizes, which will run coarse and punk. You will note from reports of sales you are getting that the sizes that are drawing a premium are from 200s to 324s.
The writer will be away from the office Thursday, Friday and Saturday and return to his home Sunday evening. You had better call him there Monday morning. If weather conditions improve, be sure to have picked and in the packing house for Monday morning enough to put out not less than two carloads. We want these two cars to leave on Monday in order to sell in New York on Friday, the 24th. The rain will probably cause a let-up on picking operations and help clean up the market.
Yours truly ,
JCC:GEM
J. C. CHASE
Mr. Corbett Hutchinson,
Windermere, Florida.
Dear Sir:
Referring to the telephone conversation this morning about packing some of the third grade oranges in plain boxes and including in cars moving to New York.
The writer believes that if you can sell all of this fruit to peddlers at $1.50, or better, it would pay more, net, than taking a chance. However, he is perfectly willing to have you make the experiment, provided you exclude the large sizes, which will run coarse and punk. You will note from reports of sales you are getting that the sizes that are drawing a premium are from 200s to 324s.
The writer will be away from the office Thursday, Friday and Saturday and return to his home Sunday evening. You had better call him there Monday morning. If weather conditions improve, be sure to have picked and in the packing house for Monday morning enough to put out not less than two carloads. We want these two cars to leave on Monday in order to sell in New York on Friday, the 24th. The rain will probably cause a let-up on picking operations and help clean up the market.
Yours truly ,
JCC:GEM
J. C. CHASE
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1-page typewritten letter
Collection
Citation
Chase, Joshua Coffin, “Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson (April 15, 1931),” RICHES, accessed April 24, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/2771.