There’s a saying that goes “everyone has relatives in Florida” and while maybe it’s not completely true, sometimes it feels like it. For decades large numbers of people have flocked to Florida as a retirement or vacation destination, as it is seen as a tropical paradise full of sand, sun, and entertainment. But there’s another side of Florida that is less sought after by vacationers and retirees. Intermingled with seaside towns, condos, and strip malls are acres upon acres of citrus groves and cattle ranches. This graphic novel attempts to highlight these lesser known places and explain how families live and run these farms. Spanning almost a century, this graphic novel explains how agricultural practices and industries in Florida have changed over time. This story follows two families who have small scale farms that eventually grow and ultimately are sold to large citrus companies. This story is fictional but stems from historical events, facts, and endless hours of research. The families portrayed here are not unlike many real families that existed in Florida during span of this novel.
where she is going, and explore the wild places that stretch beyond Oscar Scherer State Park.
My roots begin in Florida and even long after I moved away I still find myself coming back. Until recently, I never thought I would want to make a life in Florida but now I can’t imagine a life anywhere else. Some of my first memories of life and of Florida are of exploring the wild places of Oscar Scherer State Park near my hometown of Venice. I was lucky enough to have family friends who lived in the park and I always loved visiting them. More deeply though, I wished that I could live there, in what seemed to me like the great Florida wilderness, full of unexplored places and exotic adventures.
This graphic novel is one attempt to better understand a specific part of Florida that I feel deeply connected to: agriculture and its history. The title, ‘The Wilderness Bears Fruit’ , comes from the idea that Florida is a great wilderness, perhaps at some point in history even wilder than the west. Althought it is wild, the Florida wilderness, and the more developed places of the state, can still provide us with some sustenance, and in the case of citrus, much sustenance.
I moved away from Florida when I was still young and knew very little about it. To seven year-old me Florida was a place associated with family, the ocean and palm trees, lizards and alligators, and endless heat and humidity. While growing up and revisiting Florida these associations were only further affirmed, with the addition of amusement parks and a refuge from winter winds. As my siblings began to move back to Florida I visited them more and more frequently and finally I had a decision to make: where do I want to be? Florida in so many ways became the obvious choice; it is the home I could never escape from, the home I have never really left. Now that I am physically back in Florida I find myself wanting to make up for all those years spent away. I want to dive deeply into the state, learn about her past and
Recently I spent six months farming in Volusia County in which I learned practical farming skills and methods for farming in warm climates. While this experience and knowledge were very important to me I felt somewhat disconnected from the larger agricultural community. I felt that I was lacking an understanding of how agriculture in Florida came to be the way it is. I found myself wondering why the citrus industry is so successful, why I see cattle pastures intermingled with highly developed areas, and if there are many more small organic farms like the one I worked on. While this graphic novel is a work of fiction it stems from historical events and follows the development of agriculture and farm life in Florida as realistically as possible while attempting to answer these questions.
The Turners are a small family of three: Henry, Ruth, and their three-year-old daughter, Catherine. They are tenant farmers, meaning they do not own land but they own farm equipment and animals. As tenant farmers part of their profits always go back to the land owner. Henry has been farming cotton all his life. His father was a cotton farmer and his father so there was never a question of what Henry would become. Growing cotton is hard work. It is all done by hand, each plant sowed by hand and each boil of white fluff picked by hand at harvest. With each passing year Henry questions why he continues to grow cotton. Not only is it hard work and tiring, but it is also becoming less rewarding economically as the price of cotton is falling. Henry constantly wonders if this line of work allows him to provide the best life for his family. Then one day everything changes...
During the day while Henry is working out in the ďŹ elds, Ruth and Catherine do chores around the house like cooking, ginning cotton, milking the cow, making cream and butter, taking care of the chickens, and growing a few vegetables in their small garden. Although Catherine is young, Ruth tries to get her as involved in these activities as possible.
Goodvenin’ Ruth. Smells mighty good.
You’re just in time Henry! Boiled potatoes, salted pork, and beans. I’m afriad no collards tonight, that new crop isn’t quite ready to harvest yet. Is Catherine in bed? Yes. She fell asleep about an hour ago. She was very fussy today. She begged me all day to let her go to town with you tomorrow. Soon enough she will be able to come. She’s growing up so fast. I must leave early tomorrow morning. Is there anything you need from the store? I’m running low on salt. It would be good to get some more.
While they sit and have supper Henry and Ruth talk. Henry makes small complaints about the day, the hardships of harvesting cotton, and how they don’t have enough hands in the fields. These are all things Ruth has heard many times before but patiently listens. Henry wonders if cotton harvesting will ever become mechanized. He has heard that some farmers have been trying to build new machines to help with planting, plowing, and harvesting. Henry looks at his hands, worn from years of hard work, and he smiles with the promise of these futuristic machines.
Z
Z
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Turner House
+ +
Merchant
Hello Henry. How’s it going? Did you bring another load of cotton today?
‘Fraid it’s down Henry. Only eight cents a pound.
Hi Joe. Yup, another load. Five hundred pounds this harvest. What’s the price this week?
Oh dear. That’s two cents less than last week.
It is really down because...
Hang on a second. Are those ORANGES?!
I thought you might be interested in these, everyone seems to be. Valencia oranges, straight from Florida. I was lucky to get them in. They’re the last of the season. But I’ve never seen oranges here. How did you come by these?
That’s incredible! I never would have believed you if I didn’t see them here with my own eyes.
Well the citrus industry is doing so well down there, expandin’. Lots of money in it it seems. Three of my customers have even moved to Florida to start their own groves! They make growin’ cotton look harder and harder. Anyway, These arrived to Nashville by . train in just over a day! Kept pretty well too.
Joe explains to Henry almost all he knows about the orange groves of Florida and how their industry is expanding like he has never seen. He explains how he heard that you can buy land for cheap in some of the wild places of the state and that he is sure Henry could afford some. Joe tells him that he heard in Florida one can be free of the sharecropping system that has a hold on much of the South. Even though Henry has not been a sharecroper for some years the idea of a place without the system, and a place where he could have his own land, sounds idyllic to him. Joe tells him more about the families that moved away and laughs like he doesn’t understand how they could just pack up and leave their homes behind, like it was a crazy idea. Henry takes in every word Joe is saying, mesmerized by the thought of another industry doing so well and with less effort. Henry buys three oranges and eats one on his way home, thinking about their conversation the whole way back.
Sounds like Pappa’s home.
Pappa! Pappa! Catherine!
Evenin’ Ruth. I brought you a special something from town. An orange! Oh Henry! I haven’t had an orange in ages. Let’s eat it now!
Henry tells Ruth the story of how he got the oranges and about the groves of Florida, relaying to her the information that Joe told him. He asks her how she would like to have an orange whenever she wanted. Ruth is puzzeled and asks Henry what he means. Henry tells her that he thought about it the whole way home and he thinks they should move to Florida and start an orange grove. Ruth doesn’t understand but she doesn’t say no. Henry is a good cotton farmer, but what does he know about growing oranges? Henry further tries to convince her by reminding her that the cotton crop is not doing so well and how the past few years have been hard because of soil exhaustion and harsh weather that has ruined their crops. Ruth is slightly hesitant, but she doesn’t need convincing. Ruth knows that Henry is a smart man, she trusts him and she would follow him to the ends of the Earth.
Goodnight Henry.
‘Night Ruth.
The Turners sell what they can, anything that could easily be replaced, and pack what little belongings they have left. They bring no furniture with them, only a few material possessions and the things they will need on the road. Once they hitch their wagon to their one old horse they start the journey southward. Henry is able to purchase land at a merchant in Florida, like most merchants around the country, near where they hope to settle. They spend a few hours looking over maps of the area, making sure to get just the right spot. They settle on a piece of property near a river, located in a thick hammock of cypress and palmetto.
It’s hard to tell, but I think this is it! He said it would be about here, past the orange groves. Where the cypress hammock starts.
These cypress will be perfect wood for our new home. For tonight we will camp here and tomorrow I will start to build our new lives.
Why hello stranger. Haven’t seen you around these parts before. ?
Have you come like the others, for the oranges?
Haha, that’s undoubedly true!
Names Elijah Smith. Who might you be? Henry Turner. Just arrived from Tennessee with my family. Nice to meet you.
Why else would anyone come here? In the past 48 hours I’ve learned that this state has more moquitoes than the rest of the country combined.
I’m in the orange business myself. Got 200 acres just south of here. I’m just heading up to the merchant now to get some new seedling trees. Would you care to come along? I would like that very much... ...but I’ve got to build a home for my family. We’ve been camping under the stars these past few days and Ruth’ll be wanting a safe place for the children as soon as possible. I understand but how about this. What if I help you chop down some of these trees and in a few hours we’ll head for the store and on the way I can tell you all I know about growing oranges? You, my friend, have yourself a deal.
It is less developed in Florida than in Tennessee and the country store is even more isolated. The store is, however, located on a river, which means that it is able to get supplies fairly regularly and may even recieve international goods every now and then. On the journey there Henry and Elijah meet no one along the road, although they do pass acres upon acres of orange groves, some with small seedling trees, others with trees as old as 60 years, Elijah says. With just about the rest of his lifes savings, Henry is able to lease a patch of land of about 50 acres. This land is a couple of miles away from the land he aquired the day before to build their home on. Along with the 50-acre plot Henry also buys year-old seedling orange trees that have been grafted from rough lemon. He has to take a loan out for the trees and only gets enough to plant about 20 acres. Henry, following Elijah’s advice, gets two varieties: navels, which are harvested in December, and Valencias, which are harvested in February or March and are mainly used for juicing. On the way home Elijah tells Henry the histroy of Florida oranges.
Orange trees aren’t native to Florida, or even North America.
They were brought to Florida by Spanish explorers. But oranges aren’t native to Europe either. They were brought to Europe from China in 310 B.C.E.
After arriving in Florida in the 16th century the trees were mainly left wild. With the expansion of railroads only a couple of decades ago the citrus industry reached new heights.
It wasn’t until the 1830s that oranges were cultivated and large-scale production began.
This led to an increase in Florida’s population.
They called it “orange fever� and settlers came from all over to take part in it.
Which led to even more citrus production.
The rest of the country saw Florida as a tropical paradise where one could live a wonderfully healthy and prosperous life.
But towards the end of the 19th century disaster struck the citrus industry.
Two devastating freezes hit the state back to back, December 1894 and February 1895, and the industry suffered horrible losses.
Many growers lost huge investments. Unable to take any more devastating frosts, many growers moved south with the hope of being out of harms way.
The industry is slowly recovering.
And the future of oranges looks bright.
The Turners and the Smiths spend a great deal of time together and have become good friends. Elijah and his wife Marie have a young son, Samuel, who is the same age as Catherine and they often play together. Like Elijah promised, he told Henry all he knows about growing oranges and he even hired him to work in his groves. Marie and Ruth also work together as Marie shows her what to grow and how to grow dierent crops in the Florida climate. Marie shares her seeds with Ruth so she is able to start a garden to sustain her familly.
one...two...three...
sweet potatoes collard greens black-eyed peas
turnips mustard greens
pumpkins
boar
raccoons gopher tortoise
panther
catfish
black bear wolf
cattle
One day Elijah shared the story of the cabbage palm with Henry. The story begins like this...the cabbage palm is only a name that the Seminole Indians and Florida Crackers call the Sabal Palmetto.
The Sabal Palmetto isn’t actually a tree at all. It is a grass consisting of a single trunk and a topping crown of fronds that can grow to be 70 feet tall.
This bud is protected by old fronds that create a criss-cross patten.
The cabbage palm grows taller and taller from a single bud in the center of the trunk.
This pattern is called a boot.
Now there are two possible reasons why we may call this the boot...
The first is because Spanish Conquistadors used them in place of shoehorns.
The cabbage palm is harvested to make a dish called swamp cabbage.
The second is because the U.S. Army hung their boots on them during the Seminole Wars in order to keep unwanted critters from crawling into their shoes at night.
Swamp cabbage is made by harvesting the heart of palm, the inner core of the bud. Harvesting the inner core kills the tree.
Step 1: Cut off the top three feet of the palm.
Step 3: Strip back the boot fronds until you reach the tender, tightly wrapped central core.
Step 2: Cut off the top foot of that three feet. The lower two feet are most important.
Step 4: Cook with salted pork and onions or whatever other vegetables you like, beans, tomatoes. But don’t cook it too long!
The Seminoles, use all parts of the palm, not just the heart. The fronds are used for roofing because they are waterproof and the fiber between the trunk and boot is used to make twine.
house
smokehouse (and Elijah helps)
outhouse crib
kitchen table and chairs
orange crates
wagon
Henry decides that a way to make a proďŹ t while the grove waits is to drive cattle. He pitches his idea to Elijah, who has never driven cattle himself, and they decide to try it together. There are many wild cattle in Florida for the taking but catching and driving them is a time-consuming endeavor. It involves rounding up wild cattle, branding them, driving them to market, and keeping them safe along the way. And it could be a dangerous job. Wild cattle could be ďŹ erce and mean, cattle could sometimes stolen by other drivers or bandits, and wolves might try to attack in the night. In order to round up wild cattle Henry and Elijah need not only their horses but also a dog or two. Dogs help to ush out stray cattle from hammocks, scrub, and swamps. Once out of the bush a cow is caught with a rope by one of the men on horseback. After being caught it has to be branded in order for them to claim ownership of it. Like most cattlemen in Florida, Henry and Elijah do not keep their cattle fenced. Instead, after branding they let the cow go and it may graze freely where it likes until it is rounded up again to be driven to market. Driving cattle to market often took weeks. Dogs are again used to help control the movement of a herd from the front and sides, keeping the herd as one as Henry and Elijah drive them forward from the rear. Henry and Elijah drive their cattle all over the state in order to sell them, the main markets being in Tampa, Punta Gorda, and Punta Rassa.
When they are home Henry and Elijah still make weekly Saturday trips to market. Elijah sells his oranges there and Henry goes along for the ride. Because Henry helps Elijah maintain his groves he pays him a small wage. Oftentimes though, the two men are out running the cattle for weeks at a time, camping in the wilderness along the way to market cities. They must run the cattle far sometimes and other times the cattle move slowly. You can’t force them to move faster or they might take off running. The cattle business is something Henry and Elijah share together equally and they split all their profits in half.
Ruth! Come and see!
Oh Henry! A dairy cow? For us?! Thank you! Thank you!
The Turners had not had a dairy cow for many years now and Ruth is overjoyed. She has been asking Henry for a dairy cow for the past few years but the timing has never been right. With a dairy cow their diets will drastically change. Now they could have milk, butter, and cream. Cooking would become easier for Ruth and mealtimes could have more variety. Ruth teaches Catherine and Caleb how to care for the cow, feed her, clean her, and milk her, as well as how to make cream and butter. The process, especially of making butter, takes a very long time. Churning butter takes patience and willing participants, which are sometimes diďŹƒcult to ďŹ nd. During times when they have an excess of cream or butter Henry will take them to the merchant to sell or sell them to their neighbors.
One day in February ...
Hello Caleb. Pappa! Did you see them?
The blossoms!
Let’s go see!
?
Ruth!
Oh Henry, after all this time! Finally there are blossoms!
Ruth! There are blossoms!
This calls for swamp cabbage!
Every flower on each tree has the potential to become an orange. Although the trees have flowers now in the spring, the oranges will not be ripe for some time, the navels in November and the Valencias the next February. During this waiting period Henry spends his free time walking up and down his groves, noticing small changes every few days. The Turners lives continue as before. Ruth gardens, cleans, raises their children, cooks, and cares for the chickens and dairy cow. Henry continues to work in Elijah’s groves, though there is less work this time of year, and they still go on cattle runs together. The only difference is that the future that once looked very distant is now much closer. They remember just why they came to the Florida wilderness in the first place and they are again hopeful to see where their journey will led them.
harvest bags
harvest crates ladder
helping hands wagon & horse