FLVC logo

Waverly Growers Association Collection, 1921-1994, 2000

 

Summary

Extent:
5 Linear Feet
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The Waverly records include Office Files about day-to-day business mostly between 1930 and 1950's. Of special note are the files from the WWII years discussing rationed items. James C. Morton (JCM) was an operations director, and his files date mostly in the 1950's and are about fruit. Operations and Supply files include documents about running and supplying the Waverly complex. The Membership newsletters are dated 1937 and 1938, then jump to 1957 and run until 1977. Files from Audio-Visual materials include scrapbooks, photographs, and negatives. The first scrapbook includes images for a retirement party for W.C. "Bill" Pedersen. Bill Pedersen created the Waverly Welcome House (photographs), a rest area and spot for tourists to learn about citrus growing, while purchasing fruit. The Welcome House was located between Cypress Gardens and Bok Singing Tower, along Route No. 540 in central Florida. The second scrapbook, includes, clippings, documents and photographs of people and places around the compound

Biographical / historical:

Waverly Growers Association was an agriculturally based cooperative. It was a grower-owned fresh citrus cooperative offering members grove care, harvesting, packing services, and marketing. Founded in 1914 by a group of local growers led by Charles Hillery Walker and Danish immigrant W.L. Pedersen, the cooperative was originally called Waverly Citrus Growers' Association until the name was changed in 1936 to Waverly Growers Cooperative. It was in continuous operation between 1915 and 2005 and managed by grower-members. This included fertilizing, cultivating, spraying, irrigating, picking, trimming, and replacing trees. Waverly began operation in 1915 in Waverly, Florida and shipped citrus fruit to markets in the United States and Canada under brands including Waverly, Waverly Famous, Huntsman, Pepper, and Seald-Pep. In 2005 it closed its packinghouse and merged into Florida Natural.

Acquisition information:
N. Perry Hansen, Executive Vice President for Waverly Growers Cooperative donated the records to the Citrus Institute of Florida Southern College (Professor Tom Mack) in 1995. They were transferred to the McKay Archives in 2009.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no restrictions on this collection. It is available for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has been transferred to the college. Permission to publish material must be obtained from Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Archives Center or the appropriate copyright holder. Please inquire if you have questions.

Location of this collection:
Florida Southern College
111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr.
Lakeland
FL
33801
USA