Gus Hall Citrus Fruits
Gus Hall Citrus Fruits
Gus Hall (1881-1956) began his long tenure in the citrus industry when he joined the South Lake Apopka Citrus Growers Association as General Manager in 1910. Under his leadership, South Lake grew from humble beginnings to an operation handling 641,000 boxes of fruit annually. One of Hall’s successful innovations while at South Lake involved featuring his face on the Gus Hall Combination Brand crate label, making him instantly recognizable while attending industry events in northern markets. After 31 years with South Lake Apopka Citrus Growers Association, Hall left to form his own operation, Gus Hall Citrus Fruits. His packing house, located just west of Oakland in Killarney, was constructed by T&G Railroad on State Highway 438. From South Lake, he brought his Gus Hall brand label and added other labels including Boxcar and GH. In 1946, he sold his interest in the company, and it was renamed Killarney Fruit Company.
I enjoyed reading this. I grew up in Killarney, I used to pass that packing house every day, I thought that Killarney Rose label painted on the side of it was so pretty, I searched for a long time and finally found a mint label of my own, which is framed and hanging in my house.
I remember sitting in the car with my mother, and friend who was spending the night with me ,and watching the packing house burn to the ground. A sad ending to an era.