FLVC logo

Hughes Memorial Foundation, Inc. Records, 1959-1962, 1968-2008, 1956, 1965

 

Summary

Extent:
2 Linear Feet
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Materials in this collection were organized chronologically and broken down into the following series: The History of the Foundation series contains biographical information about Lena and Ausker Hughes as well as information about Hughes Budwood and the Foundation. The Board Meetings series contains meeting minutes from the annual meetings of the Board. Also in this series may be materials passed out at the meeting such as the annual Treasurer's Report. File names in this series are reflective of the title given to the meeting by the Directors as indicated in the meeting minutes. The Financial Records series contains tax documentation, bank records, and correspondence related to financial matters of the organization. The Scholarships series primarily contains correspondence between the Foundation and the schools that receive funding for scholarships: Florida Southern College and the University of Florida. The Other Institutions subseries includes information on institutions and organizations that inquired about Foundation funding but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Biographical / historical:

The Hughes Memorial Foundation, Inc. was founded in 1961 as the Hughes Budwood Foundation by Lena B. Smithers Hughes in honor of her late husband Dr. Ausker E. Hughes. Dr. Hughes had been a chemist with the United States Department of Agriculture in Orlando, Florida. While there, he began to develop a budwood cross between Valencia and Parson Brown oranges. After his death in 1944, Lena Hughes continued her husband's work, even though it did not prove successful at first. However, in 1955, the USDA and Florida's Division of Plant Industry's Budwood Registration Program became interested in the Hughes's budwood because of a need for virus-free budwood. After passing five years of testing, in 1960, the Hughes Budwood began to be distributed across growers in Florida. Today, it is the most prolific version of the Valencia orange across Florida and can be found in many other countries as well. The proceeds of the sales of this budwood led to the creation of Hughes Memorial Foundation, Inc. to provide scholarships for undergraduate students in citrus and agricultural programs at both Florida Southern College and the University of Florida. The Foundation's first scholarship was given at Florida Southern in 1965, and in 1966, scholarships would be given the University of Florida for undergraduate and graduate students as well. In 2007, ownership of the Foundation was transferred to the Florida Citrus Nurserymen's Association, and by 2008, the transfer process had been completed thus ending the Hughes Memorial Foundation.

Acquisition information:
The Hughes Memorial Foundation, Inc. Records were donated to the McKay Archives in 2015 by Charles Youtsey, former Secretary/Treasurer of the Foundation from 1977 to the end of the organization in 2007. Also included in this donation were the Charles Youtsey Papers.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Terms of access:

Permission to publish material from the Hughes Memorial Foundation, Inc. Records must be obtained from Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Archives Center or the appropriate copyright holder. Please inquire if you have questions at 863-680-4453

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