By Brenda Eubanks Burnette
I recently met Megan and Jeffrey Forbes at a presentation I gave on the Citrus Label Trail during Preservation on Main Street’s annual meeting in Tallahassee. They are interested in adding Alachua and Marion counties to the Citrus Label Trail. Megan is a board member of the Old Florida Heritage Highway, and Jeffrey is the development coordinator for Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT), which bought land from the Micanopy estate of O.D. “Buddy” Huff that is now part of ACT’s Orange Lake Overlook preserve. If you’ve ever seen Huff’s citrus labels, you’ll recognize Orange Lake Overlook.
Jeffrey offered me this interesting information in an email: “At the top of the hill just South of the Town of McIntosh, O.D. & Ollie Huff operated their family retail citrus shop and packinghouse. Folks traveling 441 would stop, buy fruit and tour the groves. In the packinghouse, citrus was, of course, crated and shipped to Northern markets. The entire hillside sweeping down to Orange Lake was planted in trees. O.D. even lured in tourists by placing a sign out on the highway that insisted you stop and see the ‘rare Florida red bats.’ A short walk from the citrus shop would lead you to a cage in the grove that was home to several wooden baseball bats painted red … This went on for decades until the severe freezes of the 1980s wiped them out and they leased the land for cattle grazing.”
In 2019, ACT purchased the property to conserve it perpetually. As part of its mission to protect the historical resources of North Central Florida, ACT raised $200,000 to fully restore the shop and packinghouse for adaptive use as a citrus museum/art gallery and community event space. It’s obviously not enough, but a good start for a worthwhile project!
O.D. Huff was inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1981. Born in Evinston, Florida, on Aug. 29, 1908, he was fondly known as “Buddy” Huff and was a grower, packer and gift fruit shipper. He was a member of the Florida Citrus Commission from 1962 to 1971, serving as chairman from 1965 to 1969. This period was referred to in the Golden Anniversary Florida Citrus Commission book as the “beginning a long and illustrious Huff era.”
During his time in this position, Huff helped to lead programs that contributed greatly to the unprecedented industry growth period which began during the 60s. It included a partnership with Walt Disney World, “OJ” branding, Florida identification on fresh fruit, and more. Huff fostered many programs which contributed to production and sales increases that were unequaled in history at that time. His leadership opened new markets and helped move the industry to engage in innovative advertising and promotional programs. He also held firm during the fight to keep the Indian River Citrus boundary designations intact, saying “This is no time to quit!” when appeal after appeal was mounted and taken to the Supreme Court.
The plaque Huff received at his 1981 Florida Citrus Hall of Fame induction ceremony was inscribed with the phrase “His leadership was a stabilizing force.” He would only live three more years after his induction, passing away on July 12, 1984, at the age of 75 and leaving a legacy of assistance and contribution to the citrus industry.
In these times of losing our citrus heritage so quickly, it’s nice to know that others are taking up Huff’s legacy of assistance and contribution to our industry. I love it when people get people involved!
Brenda Eubanks Burnette is executive director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Pieces of the Past is presented in partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center in Lakeland.
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