By Brenda Eubanks Burnette
The humble field crate has its roots in the practical demands of grove labor, long before citrus became a branded commodity. Often confused with the crate developed in 1875 by E.B. Bean that was used to ship citrus, and which featured colorful citrus crate labels, the field crate’s origin is less about marketing and more about functionality, durability and efficiency in the grove.
In the earliest days of Florida citrus, fruit was often hauled in baskets, sacks or barrels to nearby packing sheds or shipping points. These methods were messy, inefficient and prone to bruising the fruit.
As citrus groves expanded in the late 19th century, growers needed a standardized, stackable container that could be easily loaded onto wagons or trucks. Enter the field crate: a rugged wooden box with slatted sides for ventilation and drainage and solid ends that had a half-moon cutout as a handle which made it easier to carry. They were designed to be reused season after season, often marked with stencils or brands to identify the grove or owner.
By the early 20th century, field crates began to follow more consistent dimensions, typically holding 90 pounds of fruit. Grove workers or local mills built the wooden crates from pine or cypress.
While examining several field crates I recently acquired, I observed that many bore a circular stamp stating, “The South’s Best, MICKLER 69, Kissimmee, Fla.”
A Dec. 6, 1951, article in The Orlando Sentinel by Katie Knox reported that M.P. Mickler was involved in lumber and general contracting in the Gulf Coast area of Florida before moving operations to Kissimmee in 1942 and forming M.P. Mickler Lumber Co., “this, at a time when machinery and labor were almost impossible to obtain.” In 1945, his son, J. Ellis Mickler, returned from five years of military service and joined the firm, so the name was changed to M.P. Mickler and Son, Inc.
The firm was one of the largest crate mills in the state, manufacturing cypress field crates to the tune of 1,000 to 1,500 boxes daily. Almost 90% of its output was sold in Florida, with “carload lots sent as far west as Houston, Tex., for use on tomato crops and as far north as Michigan to be used for celery crops.”
“It has been found,” said M.P. Mickler, “that cypress, although more expensive than pine, is far more weather resistant than any other native wood obtained in commercial quarters.” He went on to say that “The great bulk of large cypress has been cut from the state, but the smaller stunted growth, which was passed over by the larger mills, is found particularly adapted to the building of field crates. It has good heart content, is tough and resilient and also close grained.” At one point the mill had over 3 million board feet of cypress wood drying over 11 acres “from the railroad track to the vacant lot by the city power plant.”
By the mid-20th century, field crates began to be replaced by metal bins, fiberglass tubs and eventually bulk harvesting systems. The mill was operated into the 80s by the Mickler family until the city of Kissimmee finally acquired the property, opening the 43,000 square-foot Osceola County Library System in January 1994.
The wooden crates are now hard to find, with many having been burned or given away and used for shelving or record bins. But the wooden crates and the memories they evoke remain a symbol of the tactile rhythm of the harvest season and the hands-on grove work that was the foundation of Florida’s citrus industry.
Brenda Eubanks Burnette is the former executive director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame and is currently president of the board of Vero Heritage, Inc., which operates The Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum in Vero Beach, Florida.
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