Florida Citrus Archives facts for kids
The Florida Citrus Archives are like a special treasure chest filled with everything about citrus in Florida! They are officially recognized by Florida law as the main place to keep all this important history.
Discovering the Florida Citrus Archives
This special collection became official in 2001. Imagine a huge library just for oranges, grapefruits, and all things citrus! Florida Southern College in Lakeland has gathered tons of items about citrus over many years. This amazing collection is called The Florida Citrus Archives. It's dedicated to a very important person named Thomas B. Mack, who helped make it a success.
A group called Florida Citrus Mutual, which represents citrus growers all over Florida, says that these archives are the biggest of their kind. They act as the unofficial main citrus archives for the entire state!
Meet Professor Thomas B. Mack
Professor Thomas B. Mack loved collecting information about citrus. He wrote hundreds of articles about it! As he wrote, more and more people shared their citrus stories and facts with him.
In 1988, Florida Southern College set aside a special room. This room, in the Jack Berry Citrus Building, was just for Professor Mack's collection. They even hired an archivist to help manage it. His big idea was to create a place where anyone in the citrus industry could easily find information.
In 1997, Professor Mack was honored. He was added to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. They called him "an integral member of Florida's Citrus community for over half a century." Professor Mack also wrote a fun column called "Citrifacts." It was full of interesting citrus trivia! This column earned him the nickname "Mr. Citrifacts." Later, his columns were put together into two books: "Citrifacts I" and "Citrifacts II." The money from selling these books helped Florida Southern College.
