Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson (March 30, 1928)

Letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson (March 30, 1928)

Chase Correspondence (March 30, 1928)

Windermere (Fla.)

Chase, Joshua Coffin, 1858-1948

Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)

Citrus fruit industry--Florida

Citrus--Florida

Fruit--Packing

Orange industry--Florida

Oranges--Florida

Labor--Florida

Packing industry

Fruit--Grading--United States

An original letter of correspondence between Joshua Coffin Chase and Isleworth packinghouse superintendent Corbett Hutchinson. Topics discussed in the letter include proper fruit grading at Isleworth Grove, instructions to fire any graders that do not perform adequately, and an enclosed copy of a letter to the Fruit Auction Company.

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, Joshua Coffin

Original letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson, March 30, 1928: box 49, folder 20.91, Chase Collection (MS 14), Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

1928-03-30

Digital reproduction of original letter from Joshua Coffin Chase to Corbett Hutchinson, March 30, 1928.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 49, folder 20.91, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Isleworth Collection, Citrus Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.

image/jpg

148 KB

1-page typewritten letter

eng

Text

Isleworth Grove, Windermere, Florida

Donation

History Teacher

Economics Teacher

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.

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.

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida

Cepero, Laura

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.

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March 20, 1928

Corbett Hutchinson,
Isleworth, Fla.

Dear sir:

Keep right behind your graders to see that the fruit put up under the Isleworth brand is up to the standard in every respect. Don't permit any defective oranges to go into the boxes. Please keep busy with your packers to see that the fruit is wrapped and put into the boxes as it should be. We don't want any slouchy, sloppy work from the packers.

If you find that any of the, are careless and do not regard your instructions, turn them loose.

Keep behind the "nailer up", and see to it that he does not let up on bringing the strap hard down over the center in order to show up the bulge to good advantage. The writer is inclined to think that he does not pull the strap down in all cases the way he should. This is very important: to have the center strap pulled down hard over the pack.

Enclosed find copy of letter that goes to the Fruit Auction Company. You will note that they are requested to wire in event any of the sizes arrive showing slack pack. We don't want to have any auction people to come down here and make the complaint that the auctioneer or the trade can put their hand into an Isleworth box and run it around between the pack and the top.

Yours very truly,

CHASE AND COMPANY.
J.C. Chase.

JCC*J

1-page typewritten letter