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Blanton Community News


Dec. 14, 1914
The packing house here is a busy place these days as shown by the stream of wagons going to and from with fruit and empty equipment. This house was enlarged the past summer and extensive new equipment installed and is now the best equipped packing house between Ozona on the South and Leesburg on the North. It has a capacity of three cars a day, but owing to lack of mature fruit the house is moving only 2 cars per day at this time.

Dec. 18, 1914
The packing house employees have been enjoying a vacation of a few days, the house having closed for the usual Thanksgiving suspension. Operations were resumed again Monday and the house is now moving fruit rapidly, both fruit and market having much improved.

Jan 1, 1915
Mr. L. W. Lipsey of the Jessamine nurseries is busy shipping trees. Mr. Lipsey says the stock is unusually fine this season and orders are coming freely.  Dr. C.H. Scoville of the beautiful "Wildwood Groves", has a large force of pickers gathering his oranges and grapefruit. The Doctor states that the crop is rather light, but of excellent quality and appearance. The work is in the charge of Mr. Hassler of Eustis, a man of long experience in handling fruit.

Many visitors to Jessamine Groves Nursery are noted from day to day, some to order stock, others to view the groves. One such party of callers occupied four automobiles, and represented many Northern and Western states.

Aug. 13, 1915
Large quantities of lime are being hauled and broadcasted in the Jessamine Groves. In spite of the high prices of fertilizing materials, this fine grove is being kept in a high state of thrift by regular applications of fertilizer, line, etc. Up to date spraying methods are also practiced and as a result of all of which the groves represent a fine appearance.

Mr. Charles Dowling has been shipping many fine melons to Clearwater and other Pinellas County points

Jan. 1919
Mr. Fred O'Berry and family and Mr. Bruce Heacock, from Savannah, Ga., are with Fred's parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. O'Berry. Fred O'Berry and Bruce Heacock are going to cultivate the J.M. O'Berry farm this year.

Jan. 16, 1920
The Blanton Packing house is still running and packing round 7 cars a week. Mr. Jeffords, the owner, has contracted to pick, haul and pack the fruit from Capt. Warner's grove. The fruit is now being moved. Capt. Warner is having it shipped to Springfield, Mass. and some of it goes from there to Boston. Capt. Warner's brother in Boston pronounces it the finest fruit of the season. There will be between 2500 and 3000 boxes.

Feb. 18, 1920
"Will plant everything that grows in Florida" -- such is the ambition of Dr. E.E. Schmidt of Blanton. Dr. Schmidt hs purchased a lot of citrus trees from the Jessamine Groves Nurseries and Mr. John Page and Robert Ansley will set them out this week. These, with the large bearing trees already on his place, will make him quite a nice grove. He also has lately set out all kinds of  tropical fruits, a rose garden and other shrubs, and he says, "I am not going to stop until I get every kind of plant that will grow in Florida on my place.
The Farmers Club held their regular meeting here Friday night and transacted some important business.

Mr. E.S. Blocker has just finished planting several acres of cane, and green beans and will plant more beans this week. His orange trees are full of bloom and the prospects are good for a bumper crop this year.

Frank Blocker with a field of young sugar cane in the background

Unknown date
Shipments of citrus fruit still continue from this place, two cars of grapefruit having been forwarded to Leesburg the past week for packing. The gathering of Valencia late oranges is expected to start next week at the Jessamine Groves. The shipments of the season of citrus fruit from this place up to this time is approximately 27,000 boxes consisting of nearly all the various classes of fruit grown in his state. The fruit still to go from Jessamine Groves is expected to bring this total to 30,000 boxes.
Blanton rates as one of the heaviest Kumquat shipping points of the state, there having been ?40 crates of the most handsome little forwarded from here this season.

Photo: Sugar cane grinding near Blanton before 1920
(from 1987 booklet given out during the 100 year Dade City Celebration)

(Photos and detective work by Lora Blocker.)

Sanford Blocker and his TALL CORN