I'm riding east on Sunset Harbor Road to see the last packing house in
Weirsdale. I turn right onto SE137th then cross straight over SR42 and I am on
the old RR easement (SE134 ) and there it is on my left, G&S Packers,
sandwiched between the railroad and SR25. Originally G&S Packers used the
railroad to ship their fruit but in the 1960’s when the railroads upped tracks
the fruit went out the other side of the plant in trucks on SR25.
The packing house was a key part of the citrus industry. It was the packing
house that established the market price for the fruit and paid the farmer for
it. They would then grade and prepare the fruit for resale directly to the
customer or retailers. Packing the fruit was a big part of the marketing and
boxes and crates were decorated with colorful labels to attract attention.
Unfortunately G&S Packers has been closed for a couple of years but it
is the last citrus packing house in Weirsdale. All that remains to remind us
that Lake Weir had a thriving citrus industry. In the 1990's when Florida
produced over 250 million cases of citrus G&S would employ over 300 workers
to meet the rush of Christmas orders. Nearly every Weirsdale High School student
worked there in the holidays and no one was turned away.
The wooden citrus field boxes with dividers on this trailer are standard
cases. They hold about 40 lbs of fruit. You can see this trailer and buy fresh
picked fruit at Beillings Citrus on SR25 at SE 155th Street. Take the time to
chat with Fred Hensley an expert on citrus and get a free history lesson of the
Weirsdale area.
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