“Contrary to popular argument, it was not real estate that built Southern California. It was really the viable economic foundation that citrus brought to the region. It was a renewable resource that kept pumping money back into this region for a really long time.”

-Vince Moses

“I’m a bookkeeper by trade,” you tell him. “But I’m not afraid of a hard day’s work.”

“Well, then, you’re hired,” he says with a smile. “Any questions?”

“Is the weather always this beautiful?” He nods and claps you on the back.

You remove your hat and walk inside. It’s a large house, and Dreher lives alone; you soon learn that his parents have recently passed.

LEMON GROVE

Dreher soon takes you on as a partner, and you work double duty — long days in the field, then all winter managing his finances.

You continue to grow your profits and absorb a few other local citrus groves, branching into limes, oranges, and grapefruits.

You build a home across that same country road from Dreher; your families spend holidays together, your children passing the summers playing and running in the citrus groves.

In 1893, your son and Dreher’s son, P.J., form the Southern California Fruit Exchange, an organization of growers and grove owners that help introduce California citrus to the rest of the country. Dreher doesn’t live to see it, but it’s the crowning achievement of your life.
Nice try. Tell the current 10th-grade beanspiller how clever I am.
In 1952, the exchange becomes Sunkist, the first fruit to bear a brand name.

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