San Diego County
Biographies
ARTHUR R. ANTHONY
Arthur H. Anthony, a leading grower
of avocados in Fallbrook, San Diego County, was born in Illinois in January,
1871, a son of Humphrey and Sarah (Andrews) Anthony. He first came to California in 1883 with his
mother, who hoped to be benefited in health by the western climate but who
passed away in Pasadena the following year.
Returning to the east Mr. Anthony devoted his attention to farming
pursuits in that section of the country until 1908, when he took up his
permanent abode in California. It was in
1923 that he came to Fallbrook and began the growing of avocados, in the
cultivation of which fruit he has been a recognized authority for a number of
years. His fine ranch embraces eighty
acres of land, about thirty-five acres of which are planted to avocados and ten
acres to grapefruit. He has been
remarkably successful in locating water on his ranch and now has three wells
which furnish an ample supply of water for irrigation purposes.
The following interview with Mr.
Anthony was printed in the “Fallbrook Enterprise,” published at Fallbrook,
California, under the date of June 17, 1932:
“With approximately two hundred acres planted in avocados, the industry
is a fast growing and prosperous one in the Fallbrook community. Eighty per cent of the present acreage is in
Fuertes, with a mixture of the older varieties.
When the industry first began here, many different kinds were
tried. Among them are Anaheims, Panchoys, Mayopans and Pueblas. The newer plantings are almost all in Fuertes
and Nabals as these have been found to be the best commercial
varieties. Irrigating is done by the
basin system. It takes fifty per cent
more water for avocados than it does for citrus groves. At the present time, the water is supplied by
private dug wells, and the water problem is left for each individual grower to
solve for himself. The majority of the
growers market their fruit through the Calavo
Association, whose headquarters and packing house are in Los Angeles. The individual growers pick the fruit and
ship it to Los Angeles by truck, and from there it is packed and most of it is
sent to the eastern markets. The Calavo Association maintains an information and advisory
bureau for the convenience and aid of the growers. All advertising of the fruit is done through
this association directly. When time
requires, and that time will probably be in a year or two, a packing house will
be built and maintained at Vista to serve the needs of increased business that
is anticipated in northern San Diego County.
In 1913 Mr. Anthony was united in
marriage to Miss Lotta I. Crawford, of Los Angeles,
who is a university graduate and has figured prominently in the work of the
University Club as an organizer of the Fallbrook-Vista district. Mrs. Anthony is president of the Fallbrook
Woman’s University Club. By her marriage
she has become the mother of two children, Donald and Betty, who are eighteen
and seventeen years of age, respectively, and graduated from high school in
1932.
A worthy exemplar of the teachings
and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, Mr. Anthony belongs to the following
bodies: Lone Tree Lodge, No. 36, F.
& A. M., Central City, Nebraska; the Chapter, R. A. M., Grand Island,
Nebraska; Commandery, K. T., Omaha, Nebraska; Consistory, A. A. S. R., and Tangier Temple, A. A. O. N.
M. S., Omaha, Nebraska.
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. III, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 399-400, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles,
Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
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