| Jan 1, |
Rained in morn. N[ettie] R[uth] & I to beach. Caught 1 cavalle [crevalle jack?],
13 lbs. To D[eerfield] in eve. [Nettie is Mrs. Frank Chesebro; Ruth is their
daughter.]
|
|
Frank's wife Nettie enjoys a boat
ride on the Hillsborough River
(now Hillsboro Canal) near the Florida
East Coast Canal
(now Intracoastal)
sometime between
1904-1910
|
|
| Jan 2, |
Drizzled. R[eid]& Joe at onions. I plowed a little. [possibly William J. Reed,
African American farm laborer; don’t know Joe’s last name]
|
| Jan 3, |
Long’s children. Walk girls here. [George A. Long of Boca Raton was, land
agent, commissary manager, and postmaster. He moved his family to Boca in
1902.]
|
| |
George A. Long came to Boca Raton
with his wife Catherine in 1902. He
served
as land agent, commissary
manager,
and postmaster and
eventually
the
city's first mayor.
|
 |
|
| Jan 4, |
Joe sprayed cabbage with brine. Made plank walk to boat. |
| Jan 5, |
Plowed out middle of E[dgecomb]'s tomatoes. Reid picked some pines
[pineapples]. Rained in P.M. [Timothy Edgecomb, an African American farm
laborer]
|
| Jan 6, |
Picked pines 19 crates. Plowed at canal.
|
|
This view shows pineapples (pines)
growing in front of the Chesebro home
located south of Camino Real and just
east of the FEC Railway tracks ca. 1904.
|
|
| Jan 7, |
Reid & Joe made new road to canal. I plowed S[outh] of big shack. |
| Jan 8, |
Ruth dragged where I plowed. Reid, Joe & I fertilized & scuffled [hoed] peppers.
Also bananas. |
| Jan 9, |
R[eid] & Joe fertilized & scuffled cabbage. I plowed on Lewis piece. [Frank S.
Lewis was T. M. Rickard’s Philadelphia business partner. Rickards was a
surveyor and land agent for the FEC railway and the first white resident of Boca.
In 1906 he moved to North Carolina but still owned land here.] |
| Jan 10, |
Got 9 new records. To Raulerson's in eve[ning]. [family of Burt Raulerson, Boca
Raton farmer, who arrived in Boca in 1903.] |
|
Burt and Annie Raulerson sit for a
picture with their daughter Myrtle
Lee in front of Chesebro's house
in 1911.
|
|
Jan 11, |
Reid in cabbages. I plowed. Joe helping bury Huntlys' kid. [James or Jim Huntley, African American laborer; “kid” probably refers to his goat.] |
Jan 12, |
R[eid] & Joe finished cabbage. N[ettie]. & Ruth dusted them with lime & P[aris]
Green. I dragged & plowed for E[dgecomb]. [Paris green was a popular
inorganic pesticide at the time.]
|
Jan 13, |
Joe plowed & dragged for Combs. I helped N[ettie] & R[uth] fertilize their tomato
ground on Lewis piece. Reid weeded onions. [Burch A. Combs, Boca Raton
farmer] |
Jan 14, |
Over W[est] of D[eerfield] I plowed for Anderson. Broke evener [plow part]
R[eid] & Joe at onions. [John or A.J. Anderson, both African American farm
laborers]. |
Jan 15, |
Rainy most of the day. Fertilized & scuffled onions. |
Jan 16, |
To Delray. Took 33 doz. eggs. Brought home 50 cabbage crates. R[eid] & J[oe]
finished onions. I cleaned ditch along canal bank. |
Jan 17, |
Mr. & Mrs. Cromer here, new owners at Deerfield.
|
Jan 18, |
Planted beans on Lewis piece. Burpees Long Green Pole. 15 1/2 rows next to
peppers. Roberts picked beans the first. 22 bushels.
|
Jan 19, |
Reid & Joe planted beans in N. W. corner of Lewis piece. N[ettie], R[uth] & I set
out tomatoes in same field. Roberts had 24 bushels bean and he didn't get off. |
Jan 20, |
Set out tomatoes all the plants we had. Reid & Joe picked pines. Plowed some for
Roberts. |
Jan 21, |
Plowed out middle for Roberts. Ruth planted rest of her 2 acres. Got plants of
E[dgecomb]. Packed 11 crates pines. R[eid] & Joe fertilized. |
Jan 22, |
R[eid] & Joe fertilized & scuffled pines. I plowed for E[dgecomb] east of his
beans. Rumpus in Deerfield. Scott, Horn[e], Jackson etc. Took Anderson some
fertilizer in eve[ning]. [Possibly Jack Horne, a white Deerfield farmer and
Thomas Jackson, an African American farm laborer. There were three Scotts
listed on the 1910 Deerfield census and it is not clear who is meant here.] |
Jan 23, |
R[eid] & J[oe] salted cabbages & scuffled pines. Took compost to canal. Shipped
6 crates pines.
|
Jan 24, |
Set out some carissas [natal plums, grown for their fruit] in nursery rows.
|
Jan 25, |
Planted Irish potatoes S[outh] of shack. Plowed some for E[dgecomb]. Reid & Joe
scuffled pines & doped [applied pesticides]cabbages. |
Jan 26, |
Planted potatoes. R[eid] & Joe helping Anderson |
An unidentified farmer poses with his crop of Irish potatoes
grown in Boca Ratone, ca. mid 1910s.
|
|
Jan 27, |
Finished potatoes. Packet pines, 11 crates. R[eid] & Joe with Anderson yet.
Edgecomb to Miami. Witness in Horn[e]’s case. |
Jan 28, |
Fertilized Ruth’s tomatoes. Reid & Joe did same to peppers. |
Jan 29, |
Same as yesterday except R[eid] & J[oe] got from peppers to onions.
E[dgecomb] picked beans, 68 baskets, R. had 22.
|
Jan 30, |
Plowed some for Roberts. Got off his beans & some pines. R[eid] & Joe finished
onions. Dusted cabbages. Cold N. W. wind which kept up all night.
|
Jan 31, |
41 [degrees] in morn[ing]. Covered tomatoes & peppers in P.M. Beans after
dark. 28 at canal 8 to 9 P.M. 29 to 10. 34 & 35 rest of night. Nothing at canal
hurt much but &c oldest tomatoes. Pines froze some--about half. Blooms out too
far. |
Feb 1, |
Cleared out row shack & filed in pineapple crates. Chored [did chores] etc.R[eid]
picked beans 26 baskets. Took Combs a load of poles in the eve[ning]. R[eid] &
J[oe] 6 h[ou]rs. |
Feb 2, |
Unloaded pineapple fertilizer from car. Uncovered peppers & tomatoes.
|
Feb 3, |
Uncovered beans. Fertilized pines. R[eid] & J[oe] 9 h[ou]rs |
Feb 4, |
R[eid] & J[oe] fertilized pines. I drew compost, etc. To canal & got crate stuff
from car.
|
Feb 5, |
Drew crate stuff N[ettie] & R[uth] helped. Reid & Joe at pines. Edgecomb had 11
baskets beans.
|
Feb 6, |
Finished crate hauling by 10. Got bean vines and cabbage for cow. The last of
the darkies beans. 11 baskets. [Cows and other livestock were fairly rare in the
early pioneer era in South Florida because of the pest problem. Darkies refers to
the African American farm workers.] |
|
Early South Florida pioneers beleived
livestock could not handle the harsh
climate and pests of the region, so
cows were a relative rarity. Frank
Chesebro did in fact own a cow,
possible the one pictured here.
|
|
Feb 7, |
Longs & Maguires here. Got a load of Para grass. [Para grass is a forage grass.
The E.J. Maguires seemed to owned property near T.M. Rickards first house on
the Intracoastal, near the current Palmetto Park Road bridge, but they are not
listed on the 1910 census or other pioneer memories. Frank listed a Palm Beach
post office box for Maguire in a previous diary.] |
Feb 8, |
Men fertilized Jack's pines. I cut young pines, etc. [Jack is Frank Chesebro’s
brother.]
|
Feb 9, |
Cut young pines. Scuffled paths. Reid finished bean vines on Edgecomb. Sent 4
crates pines to Montgomery. |
Feb 10, |
Unloaded car of fertilizer 10 tons in 3 1/2 h[ou]rs. Joe finished young pines. Reid
pulled beans. N[ettie] & R[uth] & I transplanted tomato plants in P.M.
|
Feb 11, |
R[eid] & Joe pulled rest of beans. N[ettie] & R[uth] & I fertilized peppers &
beans. To D[eerfield] in eve[ning]. Cow sick, too much cabbage. |
Feb 12, |
To Delray 46 dozen eggs. Sold them to McRae and Zill. Got new small wagon
box. Reid scuffled. Joe laid up. |
Feb 13, |
Reid scuffled. Fer[tilized] beans & R[uth]'s tomatoes. Roberts had 7 baskets
beans. |
Feb 14, |
Raulerson here. Wrote to Jack. Windy nearly all the month. |
Feb 15, |
Drew in bean vines. Men scuffled pines. Rained a little in night. |
Feb 16, |
Rainy. Men came at 7. Scuffled. N[ettie] & R[uth] & I fer[tilized] tomatoes.
Got wet coming home.
|
Feb 17, |
Finished tomatoes. Over to Anderson’s. Took fer[tilizer] 8 sacks. Men picked
pines.
|
Feb 18, |
Packed & shipped 20 crates pines to Norfolk. Joe sprayed Ruth's tomatoes. Reid
scuffled Bells [peppers]. 14 crates tomatoes for Combs. |
Feb 19, |
Reid & Joe weeded switch grass patch W[est] of Combs shack. I plowed out
some neddles [nettles] for Edgecomb. Roberts & E[dgecomb] picked tomatoes,
the first. [Switch grass is a forage grass or ground cover.] |
Feb 20, |
Reid & Joe grubbed switch grass. Jack & Herman, Edgecomb helped. Drew grass
up on road from barn to rock road. |
Feb 21, |
Over to Braley's in A.M. and B's & Long's children over here in P.M. [A. Braley
was a Boca Raton carpenter] |
|
Katie (Mrs. George) Long guides
young Vinton Long (born in 1909)
somewhere near the East Coast
Canal. Note young Vinton's long
hair, cap, and "Fauntleroy" outfit.
|
|
| Feb 22, |
Shipped pines, 11 crates. Grubbed grass. Hauled some. Fertilized beans. |
| Feb 23, |
Hauled off switch grass. 18 loads. Joe & Reid & E[dgecomb] boys. |
| Feb 24, |
Plowed some for Anderson. 1 acre & 1/4 acre for Wilder. Got hay of Saxon [?].
[There were three men named Saxon listed in the 1910 Deerfield census, one of
whom owned a retail market.] |
| Feb 25, |
Fertilized Ruth's tomatoes. Joe plowed my patch by Combs. Reid & E[dgecomb]
boys worked in Irish potatoes, etc.
|
| Feb 26, |
Joe here & dragged. Reid & boys making road west of D[eerfield] across cypress
slough. To station with Robert's tomatoes & Combs a load. Picked peppers the
first. 4 baskets. [Station refers to the Florida East Coast freight depot, a wooden
structure then located just east of the tracks and just north of Palmetto Park
Road.] |
|
Young Seminole women can be
seen walking around the corner
of the original Boca Raton railway
depot, located just north of
Palmetto Park Road, ca. 1910s.
|
|
| Feb 27, |
To station with Edgecomb's tomatoes 13 crates. Set out plants in the switch grass
acre. Fertilized R[uth]'s [tomato] crop some more. |
| Feb 28, |
To the beach. On up to Maguire's "farm" near Rickard's old landing [T.M.
Rickard’s first house was on the east side of the Intracoastal just south of today’s
Palmetto Park Road bridge]
|
|
This view of the Intracoastal Canal
looking south towards Lake Boca
Raton shows T.M. Rickards’ landing
at left. Chesebro reported the
Maguires owned property near here
in 1909.
|
|
March 1, |
Fertilized rest of R[uth]'s tomatoes & took a ton of fertilizer to Anderson. Reid &
Joe finished bananas & began on orange trees, etc. |
March 2, |
Took a load of switch grass over to cypress slough. Rained a heap in P.M.
N[ettie] & R[uth] & I set out plants in bean patch 900. |
March 3, |
Drew 2 loads of grass over the river. Joe over there. R[eid] at orange trees. [The
Hillsborough River became the El Rio and Hillsboro Canals ca. 1912.] |
March 4, |
Drew 2 loads of grass. Reid over there. Cold all night. To canal twice. 35
[degrees] at home, 38 at canal. No damage. |
March 5, |
Took 1 load of grass. To Delray with 1 horse. Joe spraying R[uth]'s tomatoes. 2
days 3 tbl [?] dope. |
March 6, |
Took 2 loads grass. Reid been fertilizing orange & other trees. Joe helping
N[ettie] & R[uth] prune tomatoes. |
March 7, |
Darkies here to have photos taken. Mrs. Purdom & children here. [The Perry
Purdom family arrived in Boca Raton in 1905.] |
This photo from the Chesebro collection shows Frank’s African American
employees; unfortunately none are identified. This image could be one of
those referred to in his March 7th diary entry of 1909. |
The Purdom family ca. 1908.
Left to right: Harry; Eula; Florence (mom);Ernestine (baby);
Perry (dad);Thelma; Viola; Jewel. |
|
March 8, |
Took A[nderson] a load of crates & same to Roberts. 2 loads to station for Combs,
31 & 34. N[ettie] & R[uth] picked peppers. Reid & Joe trimmed grape vines. |
March 9, |
Two loads to station for Roberts, 58 peppers in P.M. 26. Fertilized R[uth]'s
tomatoes. Reid & Joe fertilized my tomatoes. |
March 10, |
Took a load for Edgecomb, 23. Worked at R[uth]'s tomatoes rest of the day.
Reid & Joe fertilized & scuffled peppers & picked pines. Took Sundy's bull back
to Long's. [Sundy is John Shaw Sundy, later the first mayor of Delray] |
March 11, |
Worked some more on tomatoes. Picked and packed rest of pines, 27 crates. |
March 12,
| Finished tomatoes. Took a load of grass over river & brot [brought] 15 crates
tomatoes, Anderson's first. Reid over west. |
March 13, |
Fertilized R[uth]'s young tomatoes. R[eid] & J[oe] for themselves hauling up
wood, etc. |
March 14, |
Prof. Rehbinder [Rhebinder] left. Read, wrote & chored. Wrote to Days.
[Rhebinder was the first school teacher at the Boca Raton school.]
|
 |
Boca Raton children and Professor
Rhebinder pose outside the town’s
first school, built primarily by Frank
Chesebro, December 2008.
|
|
March 15, |
Chored & trimmed trees in A.M. Took load of grass over the river in P.M. Reid
here in P.M. Joe not at all. Rained towards night. |
March 16, |
Reid & Joe began building a shack near old one at canal. Picked beans the first--8
baskets. Edgecomb picked them. |
March 17, |
Joe & I got [palm] fans near Sunset Hill. Gathered cabbages & big load--all that
was any good. Took a load of grass over the river in P.M. & got a load of
tomatoes, Anderson's, 45 crates. [Sunset Hill is approximately where today’s
cemetery is located.] |
March 18, |
Hauled & shipped Edgecomb's tomatoes 38 crates. Packed and shipped 9 crates
cabbage. R[eid] & Joe worked at shack. |
March 19, |
Reid & I cut some more [palm] fans. Picked beans. Edgecomb helped, 19 baskets.
Fertilized & scuffled red cabbage. |
March 20, |
Joe here. Picked peppers, 52 crates. Hauled 45 crates tomatoes for Wilder, 11 ripe
tomatoes & 34 peppers--mine. |
March 21, |
Shipped 93 crates tomatoes for Roberts, 18 peppers. |
March 22, |
Reid & I got [palm] fans & finished shack. Picked the beans east of sweet
potatoes, 20 bushels. |
March 23, |
R[eid] & J[oe] fertilized my tomatoes. I hauled 100 crates for A[nderson]. Reid 7
h[ou]rs. |
March 24, |
Unloaded crate stuff out of a car. Raulerson, Braley, & Maquire got some. Took
crates & fertilizer to A[nderson] in P.M. & got 31tom[atoe]s. N[ettie] & R[uth]
along.
|
March 25, |
Finished hauling crates. Got beans, 8 baskets. Rained at 11 hard. N[ettie] &
R[uth] began picking their tom[atoe]s. Only Reid here. |
March 26, |
Reid & Joe picked R[uth]'s tom[atoe]s. I hauled crates to Combs, Roberts,
Thomas, & Wilder. Drew 50 crates for Wilder & Reid. |
March 27, |
Picked last of beans on N[orth] patch & Joe pulled the vines to make room for the
tomatoes. Took 2 loads of stuff to the station, 104 crates. |
March 28, |
Took 2 more loads to station. 77 crates. Maguire here. |
March 29, |
Picked beans, 15 baskets. Reid & Joe fertilized R[uth]'s tomatoes last time. |
March 30, |
Hauled 100 crates for A[nderson] and 4 loads pepper from canal. R[eid] & J[oe]
picked them. |
March 31, |
Hauled 100 crates again for A[nderson] & took 97 crates of peppers to station in
one load. R[eid] & Joe picked tomatoes for Ruth. |
April 1, |
Joe picked tomatoes. I got muck for huckleberry plants, etc. Took a load to station
for Combs, 43. Rained hard after 3. |
April 2, |
Finished tomatoes after noon. Scuffled peppers. To D[eerfield] in eve[ning]. |
April 3, |
Scuffled peppers. Pruned tomatoes. Hauled. Only Joe here the last 3 days. |
April 4, |
Fixed up 5 bus[hels] onions to go to Miami. Wrote to Geo[rge], Harry, etc. [Harry
is Frank Chesebro’s son.] |
|
Harry Chesebro sold his carved
coconut heads to area tourists,
ca. 1910s.
|
|
April 5, |
Got some muck and dug holes near road for some Parkinsonia [blue palo verde].
Set 4 loads out of car of crate stuff. Worked till midnight. |
April 6, |
Unloaded more crate stuff. Joe & another fellow picked for Ruth. Over to
Anderson's, got 1 load. Drew up tomatoes after dark.
|
April 7, |
Drew 3 loads for A[nderson], 150 crates. Drew 2 loads from canal after dark. |
April 8, |
Hauled from canal & to station & for Anderson, 2 loads. Roberts helped 2 days. 2
days picking Ruth's. Jimmy, Eljah helping. |
April 9, |
Hauled for Combs & Ruth. Fertilized my tomatoes. Shipped onions to Miami.
Got rest of crate stuff. |
April 10, |
Hauled for Roberts & Ruth. Unloaded car of fertilizer in P.M. Joe & I. Joe, Jimmy
& Smith bedded up my tomatoes in A.M. Rained at noon & the 2 darkies quit. To
D[eerfield} in eve[ning]. |
April 11, |
More rain at 10 or 11 & kept it up most of day. Carter & A. Mr. & Mrs. Denny
came up from M[iami] in an auto. Ruth went back with them & home on evening
train. |
 |
The Chesebro farm was located
adjacent the all important FEC
railway tracks. In this photo a train
can be seen passing by the house
ca. 1910s.
|
|
April 12, |
Topped onions. Geo[rge] came at noon & pulled some. I am half sick. [The
nearest doctor was in Delray at the time.]
|
April 13, |
Topped & shipped onions from B[oca] R[aton] & D[eerfield]. Then picked
peppers in P.M. Rained some yesterday and today. |
April 14, |
Rained all day. No one came. Hauled up peppers & a load of tomatoes for
E[dgecomb]. Sent 65 peppers. |
April 15, |
No rain but everything soaked. Picked rest of peppers & hauled a load for Roberts
& Combs. Roberts & Jimmy helped. They fertilized Ruth's young patch. Reid &
Joe for themselves. |
April 16, |
Hauled. Took crates over for Anderson & Reid, but met them & they turned me
back to packing house in D[eerfield]. Too much water over there. Have picked
the last. Roberts & Jimmy picking Ruth's. Worms bad. |
April 17, |
Geo[rge] & Jim & Roberts worked. Hauled for E[dgecomb] & Combs & drew up
tomatoes & onions. |
April 18, |
Read & chored. Over to beach. |
April 19, |
Shipped R[uth]'s tomatoes, 2 loads. Topped onions. Jim, Geo[rge] & Josh here
toted out shed, off of pines |
|
Maude Johnson of Deerfield and
an unidentified male pose with
Ruth Chesebro ca. 1910s.
|
|
April 20, |
Joe, Geo[rge] & Jim here. Josh for E[dgecomb]. All worked at onions. |
April 21, |
Same gang as yesterday. Got off 50 bus[hels] of onions to FEC [Florida East
Coast Railway] Commissary, Marathon, Fla. Began picking R[uth]'s tomatoes
again. Gathered the red cabbage. 1 load. |
April 22, |
Hauled onions, tomatoes, cabbage, etc. Joe, Geo[rge], Jim, & Josh here. |
April 23, |
All here. Fertilized my tomatoes. Pulled onions, etc. Hauled for Roberts,
Combs, etc. |
April 24, |
24, Hauled 2 loads to station in morn[ing]. Blowed Bordeaux [organic pesticide] on
my tomatoes in morn[ing]. Picked peppers, got in onions, etc. |
April 25, |
Picked peppers most of day. |
April 26, |
Got off 600# [pounds] onions to Miami. Pulled onions. Rained in P.M. |
April 27, |
Dried the onions & hauled up 8 loads in P.M. Joe not here. Men fertilized pines
in A.M. |
April 28, |
Men fertilized rest of pines. Then we all worked at onions--25 sacks to Miami. |
April 29 |
Mr. Purdom came to work. Got off onions to Romph [?] & Hughes & 1 sack to
Braddock & Bryan. Pulled & drew in morn[ing]. |
April 30, |
Picked tomatoes R[uth]'s and mine. Pulled Red Bermudas [onions], etc. |
May 1, |
Fer[tilized] R[uth]'s little tomatoes. Darkies scuffled pines. Windy. Hauled 3
loads to station. 140 crates. |
May 2, |
Chored & wrote a little. Fussed with sick calf. Poisoned with Paris Green. |
May 3 |
Got crates of Raulerson. Took a load of onions to D[eerfield] for Combs. Men
fertilized & scuffled. |
May 4, |
Up at 4 to fertilize young pines. Done 5 acres. Purdom came at 5& blowed
tomatoes, mine & R[uth]'s. Drew a load to station for Edgecomb. [Blowed
tomatoes - probably applied pesticide with a hand sprayer.] |
May 5, |
Purdom not here. We sent off 600# onions. Men scuffled young pines. |
May 6, |
Worked at onions. Men scuffled in A.M. Put onions out of shack in P.M. to dry. |
May 7, |
Purdom on again. He & Geo[rge] & Jimmie picked peppers. I hauled tomatoes,
peppers, etc. Jack picked up onions again in P.M. & we finished & set them in
shack after dark. 150 baskets. |
May 8, |
Men picked tomatoes most of day. We put up the peppers & hauled tomatoes.
The last for Combs. Calf can't stand yet. Had him slung up all night. Josh quit. |
May 9, |
Packed tomatoes. Long's folks here. |
May 10, |
Purdom & Roberts picked rest of tomatoes in A.M. Joe, Jimmie, Geo[rge] &
Roberts scuffled pines. We packed tomatoes. 55 crates of Ruth's. |
May 11, |
Packed tomatoes. 82 crates of mine. Roberts helped again. |
May 12, |
Joe, Geo[rge], & Jimmie scuffled. Let Jimmie go at night, too slow. Worked at
onions. Sent a barrel to Dania & 2 sacks to Lantana. Thunder storm at night. |
May 13, |
Worked at onions. Joe & Geo[rge] helped & scuffled. Calf stood up, first in 2
weeks. To D[eerfield] in eve[ning], N[ettie] & R[uth] along. |
May 14, |
Put onions out of big shack again to dry. Topped. Got a load of tomatoes for
Mose Brown. Reid here. |
May 15, |
N[ettie] & R[uth] & Mr. Purdom topped onions. Reid & Geo[rge] done scuffling.
Picked up onions. I hauled tomatoes for Edgecomb & took fertilizer to Braleys &
took 74 crates tomatoes to D[eerfield] for Maguire and Raulerson. |
May 16, |
Took 37 crates of E[dgecomb]'s tomatoes to station. To Longs in eve[ning] to hear
new phonograph. [The Long’s home was located on what is now South Dixie
Highway and Palmetto Park Road at the time.] |
The George Long house was located south of Palmetto Park Road
just east of Dixie. It was well equipped with a piano,
library, and other luxuries. |
|
May 17, |
Reid & Geo[rge] here. Picked tomatoes. Ruth's & half of mine. Hauled 2 loads
for Raulerson from canal. |
May 18, |
Reid, Joe & Geo[rge] & Purdom here. Picked rest of tomatoes in A.M. Picked
pines on Bell's, 2 h[ou]rs & rained & went home. Purdom hauled & made crates,
etc. I hauled a load from canal for Raulerson & 2 to D[eerfield], 118 crates.
Darkies 7 1/2 h[ou]rs.
|
May 19, |
Joe & Geo[rge] here & Purdom. Doped tomatoes. Picked pines, Bell's & mine.
P[urdom] hauled. I helped with tom[atoe]s in A.M. Packed pines, etc in P.M.
Rained a lot in P.M. Darkies 9 h[ou]rs. |
May 20, |
Rainy. Geo[rge] & Purdom here. Pete Williams came in Anderson's place &
worked an hour. Worked at pines & onions. Took a load & shipped from
D[eerfield]. [Pete Williams is described as a “mulatto” farm worker in the
1910 Deerfield census.] |
May 21, |
Geo[rge] & Purdom here. Picked & hauled pines to car. Chases [?] 133 crates.
Wildcat got out of trap by hen coop. Got 1 or 2 hens night before. |
May 22, |
More rain. Purdom & Roberts got crate stuff from car. Topped onions. Picked
peppers in P.M. Geo[rge] here. Mosquitos bad.
|
May 23, |
Worked at peppers. Purdom helped. Took Edgecomb's tomatoes to station. 56
crates & P[urdom] got a load for Raulerson from the prairie, 39 crates. Sent 36
crates pepper to Chicago. |
May 24, |
Finished up peppers, 17 crates. Tom Jackson here & he, Geo[rge] & Roberts
picked pines. Purdom hauled, etc. To D[eerfield] after 5.
|
May 25, |
Picked pines same as yesterday. 132 in 2nd car to Chase. Last day for Roberts.
Edgecomb had 29 crates tom[atoe]s & Combs had some tomatoes & peppers. |
May 26, |
Edgecomb, Jackson & Geo[rge] here & Purdom. Finished my pines & went on
Harry's. |
May 27, |
All here but Purdom. Dellagal [Delegal?] came. Picked tomatoes & got off
146 pines in 3rd car to Chase. |
May 28, |
All here & Mrs. Edgecomb & packed tomatoes on stoop. Got off 100 pines in 4th
car. |
May 29, |
All here & finished Harry's & got over half way on girls. Very ripe. Packed 90 &
chored some. |
May 30, |
Packed 80 crates. Rained. |
May 31, |
Packed 63 crates & got off 221 in car. Sent 6 bus[hels] onions to Stranahan.
Toothache. [Frank Stranahan operated a store in Fort Lauderdale.] |
June 1, |
Sent 115 sacks ripe pines to canning factory. Packed 50 crates. |
June 2, |
Packed 109 crates, Jacks. Mostly 30s & 36s. Laid the 42s aside. 159 crates in car.
Reid, Geo[rge], Jackson & Mr. Purdom here. |
June 3, |
Purdom not here. Eula sick. Geo[rge], Reid & Jackson picked rest of Jack's pines
& my tomatoes. Last time I guess. Sent 33 crates pines to New York. Freight &
Clyde. [Eula was one of Purdom’s daughters; she later married Charlie
Raulerson, Burt Raulerson’s nephew.] |
June 4, |
Reid, Jackson & Geo[rge] here. Got off 45 crates to Heyser. Mostly small. Sent
30 sacks ripe to canning factory. Picked Bell's and began on mine again. Got off
22 crates tomatoes, the last. Hauled a load 50, for darkies beyond Hurricane Hill.
[Hurricane Hill probably refers to what the pioneers called “the hill,” the top of
the ridge on Palmetto Park Road at about Northwest Fourth Avenue.] |
June 5, |
All here. Picked mine under shed. Picked peppers in P.M. Put 61 in car for
Chase. Purdom got a load from Big Jones. |
June 6, |
Packed peppers. Hauled up 2 loads & sent 36 crates at night to N.Y. |
June 7, |
Picked & packed pines. All here & Ed Smith also. |
June 8, |
All here. Picked & packed pines. Got off 130 crates in car for Chase. Ed Smith
fertilizing & scuffling orange trees. |
June 9, |
All here 6. Rained & put up a lot of ripes. Last day for Ed Smith. Picked on
Harry's. |
June 10, |
Picked & packed & sent 88 crates to Porcher. Picked girls patch. |
June 11, |
Same as yesterday, 71 crates to Porcher. Picked Jack's - small Let Reid or
Geo[rge] Smith go. |
June 12, |
Edgecomb, Jackson & Purdom here. Shipped 61 crates to Porcher. Hoed bananas.
Got creole onions. Cleaned stable, etc. |
Pioneer Harley Gates, who came to Boca Raton in 1913,
shows off his banana crop. |
|
June 13, |
Up to Long's in P.M. & changed records. Maguires here in eve[ning]. |
June 14, |
Got off Jack's pines to D[eerfield] twice. Wrote to Esther. E[dgecomb]
J[ackson] & Purdom clearing off Irish potato ground. [Esther was Frank
Chesebro’s daughter, probably away at school at the time.] |
June 15, |
Chored in P.M. Men finished Irish potatoes. I plowed ground in P.M. They
weeded, fer[tilized] bananas. |
June 16, |
Unloaded half a car of pineapple crates. Plowed & dragged in P.M |
June 17, |
Dragged & set out sweet potato plants. Too hot & most of them died. |
June 18, |
Set out some bananas & picked peppers. |
June 19, |
Men & I packed the peppers, 48 small crates & 4 big ones. |
June 20, |
Over to Sunset Hill with Purdom. Helped Ruth pack trunk, etc. |
June 21, |
Ruth started in morn[ing] for South Haven. We picked & packed pines. To
D[eerfield] in eve[ning] on wheel. |
June 22, |
Returned 150 crates I borrowed of Saxon. Edgecomb got his ripes & put in our car
for canning factory. Worked at pines rest of day. Shipped 53 crates to N.Y. |
June 23, |
Worked at pines. Sent 35 crates. |
June 24, |
Only the 2 darkies here. Finished pine & got off 66 crates. Set out some bananas
in P.M. |
June 25, |
Purdom & darkies here. Set bananas & sweet pota[toes]. |
June 26, |
Hauled old house for P[urdom] from Sunset Hill to little house west of depot.
E[dgecomb] had team in P.M. to haul wood. Jackson dug holes in hen yard for
mulberry trees. Chored.
|
June 27, |
Maguire shot a wildcat. Up to Braleys in P.M. |
June 28, |
Purdom fixing up his old house. Got muck for mulberry trees & got the trees of
Long & set them out.
|
June 29, |
Dug some dwarf Cavendish [banana] plants on Rickard's & set them out, 2 rows.
Plowed part of old sweet potato patch. |
June 30, |
Plowed & dragged a piece near Jap cane for Pearl Millet--5 rows, Sorghum--2
rows, Soja [soy] beans--6 rows, Kaffir corn--5 rows, Sorghum Livingston [?]--5
rows, Velvet Beans--4 rows. [Japanese sugar cane is a forage crop.] |
July 1, |
Went to Delray. Men weeded a piece for Para Grass. [Palm Beach officially
becomes a county.] |
July 2, |
Plowed, etc. for Para Grass |
July 3, |
Planted Para Grass. Rains most every day & all night. |
July 4, |
Read, chored, wrote to Lib, etc. [Libby was Frank Chesebro’s sister.] |
July 5, |
Edgecomb & Tom White here. Picked pines. To Raulersons in eve[ning]. |
July 6, |
Picked & packed pines. |
This photo from the Chesebro collection shows the farm workers
taking a “dinner” break ca. 1910s. |
|
July 7, |
Done picking at noon. Men began fertilizing. |
July 8, |
Got off rest of pines & drew fertilizer. E[dgecomb] & White
put it on. |
July 9, |
Drew rest of fertilizer. Men rained off after 1. Old cow sick. Ate poison weed, I
guess. |
July 10, |
Men done fertilizing at noon all but young pines. To canal in P.M. Set out
carissas, Date Palms, etc. Rained. |
July 11, |
Figured out bills of lumber for house & packing house. Still rainy. |
July 12, |
Purdom & white here. Fertilized bananas & melons. Planted velvet beans. Picked
peppers for seed, 4 baskets. Got 1 lb. Lost 2 h[ou]rs from rain. |
July 13, |
Roberts back. Got some more sweet potato vines but didn't set them. Scuffled
pines. Edgecomb getting his pines. |
July 14, |
Edgecomb here again. Scuffled & pulled suckers. [The sucker is an offshoot of the pineapple which can be replanted.] |
July 15, |
Roberts came on to work. Pulled & hauled suckers to car, 3 loads, 1000 & over to
load. Purdom came out at 2 P.M. |
July 16, |
Hauled 2 loads suckers, 5540 so far. Scuffled rest of mine. P[urdom] home yet. |
July 17, |
Pulled & hauled suckers, 2 loads. Men scuffled in P.M. Loads of suckers:
1000, 1000, 1140,1150, 1240, 1160, 1100, 1100, 1270, 1200, 1380, 1350. |
July 18, |
Went to beach in P.M. Maguires along. Mr. & Mrs. Tasker & some
other Delray folks there. [A young couple named Tasker (T. and wife Eva) are
listed in the 1910 Deerfield census; his occupation is fruit packer.] |
|
Harry Chesebro poses with a young
woman named Clara Muhle next to a
large chunk of driftwood on Boca’s
beach 1916.
|
|
July 19, |
Scuffled. Pulled & hauled suckers. |
July 20, |
Same as yesterday. |
July 21, |
Scuffled girls & Jack's. Got a load of hay from Saxon, 1 ton. |
July 22, |
Fertilized & scuffled young pines. |
July 23, |
Same as yesterday. |
July 24, |
Same. Rained in P.M. Sorted onions. |
July 25, |
Rainy. |
July 26, |
Planted sweet potato patch the 3rd time. Cloudy & rained in might. |
July 27, |
Scuffled young pines. Planted eggplant in boxes, 9 boxes Fla. High Bush,
9 boxes NY Imp[roved]. [Varieties of eggplant] |
July 28, |
Put on last of fertilizer on young pines & scuffled. |
July 29, |
Finished scuffling. To canal & hoed young bananas and fodder stuff. |
July 30, |
2 1/2 miles below D[eerfield] & dragged 2 1/2 acres for Jackson on
McCormick place. Men cutting out suckers & slips in old patch of pines. |
July 31, |
Men the same as yesterday. I am about sick. Chored a little. |
Aug 1, |
Up to Braleys. Wrote to Jack. |
Aug 2, |
Purdom & E[dgecomb] pulled suckers. P[urdom] drew 2 loads for Maguire.
Down to see Combs. They came back Sat[urday]. |
Aug 3, |
Men same as yesterday. Roberts came in P.M. I drew 2 loads suckers for
Maguire. |
Aug 4, |
R[oberts] & I planted more eggplant. P[urdom] & E[dgecomb] at suckers. Done
on mine. Began on Jack's. |
Aug 5, |
Planted more eggplant, 60 boxes small. 1/2 lbs seed does about 50 boxes. N. & I
went to Pompano & got horse feed of Slaughter & Smoak for the amount they
owed me for onions. [Samuel H. Slaughter and Lewis R. Smoak were Pompano
pioneers.] |
Aug 6, |
Men got out pineapple shed boards & drew out by rock road. I pulled nails, etc. |
Aug 7, |
Same as yesterday. Edgecomb set out some Peruvian beans W[est] of house. |
Aug 8, |
To Longs in P.M. to hear new records. Maguires here in eve[ning]. |
Aug 9, |
Jackson came again. He & E[dgecomb] knocked slips [cuttings or suckers] off
Harry's etc. P[urdom] & R[oberts] knocked down shed. Roberts gave out at noon. |
Aug 10, |
E[dgecomb] finished slips. Then all worked at shed. Roberts home. I pulled nails.
Jackson 2/3 of day. |
Aug 11, |
P[urdom], E[dgecomb] & J[ackson] finished shed and pulled suckers on Bell's, 1/2
day.
|
Aug 12, |
All here. Drew out suckers on mine. Got a load of rock at canal in P.M. I pulled
nails at odd times. N[ettie] & I & Maguires went after cocoanuts on Rickard's old
place in P.M. Got 35 or 36. |
|
A Seminole man stands in a dugout
on the FEC canal ca. 1910s. The
waterways provided their main
system of transport from camps
located at various sites in Broward
and Palm Beach County.
|
|
Aug 13, |
Roberts & Jackson weeded off at canal for eggplant. P[urdom] & E[dgecomb]
drew suckers, etc. |
Aug 14, |
Same as yesterday. P[urdom] & E[dgecomb] finished suckers & got 2 loads of
rock. I finished pulling nails. |
Aug 15, |
Read, wrote & chored. Wrote to Esther. |
Aug 16, |
Went to Miami to see about onions, horse epidemic, lawyer Price, etc. Left
D[eerfield] at 5 A.M. Back at 8, Men weeded & scuffled. |
Aug 17, |
Same as yesterday the work here. Got grass & fixed up stable, etc. To D[eerfield]
in eve[ning]. |
Aug 18, |
Rained hard in morn[ing] & till 8 or 9 o'clock. Purdom didn't come. Darkies
came in P.M. Got plank off of walk across slough east side of canal. |
Aug 19, |
R[oberts] scuffled pines & men weeded in A.M. All transplanted eggplant in
P.M. Rainy. |
Aug 20, |
Car of lumber came. P[urdom] & I unloaded half of it. Men weeding for
themselves. |
Aug 21, |
Unloaded rest of lumber. Siding, ceiling, flooring & sheathing. |
Aug 22, |
Read & chored. N[ettie] made cocoanut pies, etc. Had a ceriman.
[ceriman=monstera deliciosa] |
Aug 23, |
Jackson & Purdom picked pines. I packed & drew in. |
Aug 24, |
Jackson & Purdom picked pines. I packed & drew in. |
Aug 25, |
Shipped 39 crates pines to McCormick & Hobbs & 2 to Massa. Set out eggplants
in P.M. in transplant bed. |
Aug 26, |
Unloaded lumber, framing stuff. |
Aug 27, |
To Miami in morn[ing] & back on wheel. Left at 11:30. In Deerfield at 5.
Purdom unloaded rest of lumber & scuffled. Saw lawyer Price for Jackson.
[Chesebro probably went by train, i.e. the Florida East Coast Railway, to Miami
and returned via bicycle, or wheel. He left Miami at 11:30 and got to Deerfield by
5PM. At the time he was fifty-eight years old and he would have been riding in the
heat of the day in August.] |
Aug 28, |
Purdom scuffled. I unloaded sash doors, window frames, nails, etc. Chored. |
Aug 29, |
Rained more or less all day. Maguires here most of A.M. Some eggplant at canal
underwater. Saw Carson. |
Aug 30, |
Combs came & we started on packing house. Laid sills. Men set out eggplants in
transplant beds. [Chesebro’s packinghouse was located by the Florida East Coast
tracks (Dixie Highway) near his property, at about Camino Real.] |
Chesebro’s packinghouse, adjacent the railroad tracks, was constructed in 1909. |
|
Aug 31, |
Same as yesterday. Combs & I framed Joists, etc. |
Sept 1, |
C[ombs] had a boy at his house & didn't come. I cut rafters. Purdom home.
Roberts hauled slips at D[eerfield] for Hopkins. [James H. Hopkins farmer
originally from
Canada.] |
Sept 2, |
Same as yesterday. Maguires moved to beach in eve[ning]. Purdom scuffled pines. |
Sept 3, |
Plowed some for eggplant & planted pepper seed bed. Jackson hauled rest of
Hopkin's slips. |
Sept 4, |
Purdom, Anderson & I worked on packing house. |
Sept 5, |
Read & wrote to C [Clare?] & got feed, etc. from canal. |
Sept 6, |
Combs came & we began on house. Anderson & I on packing house. [Chesebro
began construction on a major addition to his ca. 1904 house at this time.] |
|
This image shows both Chesebro’s
first and second farmhouse, the
latter built in 1909.
|
|
Sept 7, |
Combs quit. Mad about something. Anderson, Purdom & Artefe [?] here. Put up
frame of house. |
Sept 8, |
Same as yesterday. P[urdom] & I on house. Darkies on packing house. |
Sept 9, |
Put up rafters on packing house, 62 2 x 6, 20 ft. long. I fell 7 ft. |
Sept 10, |
Frank Blackwelder came to help. He & P[urdom] on house. Anderson & I on
packing house. Artefe gave out. [Rubin Blackwelder and Frank Blackwell were
both listed in the 1910 Deerfield census as white farm laborers. Perhaps Chesebro
had the names confused.] |
Sept 11, |
Same as yesterday. All putting on siding. Rained hard in night. |
Sept 12, |
Wrote to Esther. M & J[ack?]16 pages. More rain. |
Sept 13, |
Anderson, Reid & I on packing house. |
Sept 14, |
Same as yesterday. |
Sept 15, |
Same, Men at canal planted more pepper seed. |
Sept 16, |
A[nderson] took Mrs. A to St. Augustine. Reid & Walter here & James, Roberts
began work. Set out eggplant. Wet. |
Sept 17, |
Unloaded car of fertilizer, 10 ton. Put it in shed. Reid & James picked pines. Set
out more eggplant. |
Sept 18, |
Rained most of day. Sent off 12 crates pines, 5 to Massa, 7 to Zipperer. Rained
most all night. |
Sept 19, |
Still raining hard. Read & went to canal twice. |
Sept 20, |
Rained in morn[ing]. Purdom 6 1/2 h[ou]rs. Anderson same.
James 5 1/2, Blackwelder came at noon. |
Sept 21, |
B[lackwelder] came in morning & got his tools. Said there were too many n[------]
on the job. Guess Combs has been at him. Picked rest of pines & shipped them, 8
crates. Hired Raulerson to help.We put on roof board on house. [An early
documentation of racial prejudice in what was essentially a small southern town.] |
Sept 22, |
Put on rest of roof boards & some siding on packing house. Purdom, Raulerson, &
A[nderson] at it. James fertilizing eggplant. |
Sept 23, |
P[urdom], R[aulerson], A[nderson], J[ackson] & James put roofing on house. 12
rolls. |
Sept 24, |
Rained most of day. All here but Raulerson & we put floor on house. |
Sept 25, |
P[urdom] & James laid upper floor in house. A[nderson] & J[ames] & I put rest of
siding on packing house & began roof boards. |
Sept 26, |
Rained in night & more or less all day. Plenty of water at canal. |
Sept 27, |
Put roof boards on packing house. A[nderson], J[ames], Jim & I[?]. Purdom on
house. |
Sept 28, |
Same as yesterday. Roberts & Edgecomb planted peppers & eggplant by cow shack at canal. P[urdom], Jim & I went to beach after 4. Nofish. Rough. |
Harry Chesebro sits by the family “shack” near the East Coast Canal
ca. 1910s, possibly the cow shack mentioned in the diary. |
|
Sept 29, |
Finished roof boards. Rainy towards night. |
Sept 30, |
Rained all night & most all day. We ceiled [installed the ceiling] in house
Purdom, A[nderson] Jim & Jackson. |
Oct 1, |
Drew pineapple fertilizer from car and P[urdom], A[nderson], J[im], & James put
it on. A[nderson] , James & I went to beach after 3 & got a lot of fish. Rained in
A.M. Water standing in road in the spruce pine. |
Oct 2, |
Finished fertilizing old pines at noon. Scuffled in P.M. Mr. Long & Mr.
Wester here. |
Oct 3, |
Purdom went fishing in morning & lost cast net in ocean. Read & wrote. |
Oct 4, |
P[urdom] & R[aulerson] on house. A[nderson] & I on packing house. E[dgecomb],
R[oberts], James & Jackson transplanted some eggplant at canal. |
Oct 5, |
P[urdom] & R[aulerson] on house. A[nderson], J[ackson], Jim & I put roof on
packing house. Roberts scuffled pines. |
Oct 6, |
P[urdom] & R[aulerson] had company. We put on rest of roof, scuffled.
|
Oct 7, |
Rainy & we laid floor in packing house, A[nderson], J[ackson], R[oberts]
& Jim. |
Oct 8, |
Laid rest of lower floor & fertilized & worked trees in grove. N[ettie] & I
to D[eerfield]. |
Oct 9, |
Finished trees & fertilized & scuffled young pines. All hands & Purdom. |
Oct 10, |
Read & wrote & talked. Letter from Mr. Collingswood. |
Oct 11, |
Rained about all day & blowed in P.M. Purdom, Jim, & I worked on house. Great
storm at Key West. [Fifteen people died in the Keys as a result of this hurricane.] |
Oct 12, |
A[nderson], Jim & I on house. E[dgecomb] and J[ackson] scuffled pines after 9.
Roberts in P.M. To D[eerfield] in eve[ning]. |
Oct 13, |
Mr. Hill came to help on house. P[urdom] and darkies scuffled pines. P[urdom]
went home in P.M. I fertilized rest of pines. |
Oct 14, |
Hill & I on house. A[nderson], J[ackson], & E[dgecomb] in pines. Roberts & Jim
planted more seed. Mr. Maguire here in eve[ning]. |
Oct 15, |
Hill & I on house. Rest in pines & at canal, Purdom, J[ackson], E[dgecomb],
A[nderson], Jim & R[oberts]. |
Oct 16, |
To Delray & got horses shod & a load of lumber. Plenty of water in road. Hill on
house along. Roberts planted cassava on Jack's. E[dgecomb], J[ackson] & Jim cut
road to lake. [Lake refers to Lake Boca Raton. This would have been
approximately at today’s Camino Real.] |
Oct 17, |
Read & wrote to Jack, etc. |
Oct 18, |
All worked but E[dgecomb] & P[urdom]. Roberts half a day. Started on piazzi
[piazza; meaning the house porch.]. |
Oct 19, |
All here but E[dgecomb], R[oberts], J[ackson]. Jim weeding off at canal. |
Oct 20, |
Went to Delray for more lumber. Back at 2. E[dgecomb] & J[ackson] half a day.
R[oberts] & Jim all day. |
Oct 21, |
Hill, Purdom, Anderson, Jim & I on house. Rest for themselves. A[nderson] idol.
[idle]
|
Oct 22, |
Fixed stairs in old house & laid floor upstairs. Tore out old floor. Roberts plowed
for beans. |
Oct 23 |
Same as yesterday. Finished floor in old house & began in packing house upper
floor. |
Oct 24. |
Warm & quiet. To Longs in P.M. |
Oct 25, |
Planted peppers & garden. Hill & Purdom here. |
Oct 26, |
Hill here. To Miami on wheel. Started at 7:30 got there 12:30. Home on train.
Jim & A[nderson] bedded up eggplant. [On this trip, Chesebro road to Miami on
his bicycle and returned via the train.] |
Oct 27, |
H[ill] & P[urdom] here. H[ill] done, took tools home at night. Planted eggplant,
cabbage & pole beans.
|
Oct 28, |
Set out some eggplant, laid floor in shop. A[nderson], Jim & I.Rained at night. |
Oct 29, |
Rainy. A[nderson] came at noon. Finished piazzi roof. Made stairs in shop. |
Oct 30, |
Laid floor in shop. Used all flooring. Jim plowed some niddles [nettles] for
E[dgecomb] & got para grass. |
Oct 31, |
Read & wrote a little. N[ettie] & I to canal. |
Nov 1, |
Began painting. A[nderson] & Jim chored & weeded at canal. |
Nov 2, |
same. |
Nov 3, |
Same. Plowed for onions. |
Nov 4, |
A[nderson] sent 2 n[------] to clear off for beans next to Para grass. Started a fire &
burned shack & 15000 lath[?], etc. |
Nov 5, |
Painted. Plowed & dragged onion ground. Jim clipped King. [King was
Chesebro’s horse, purchased for $150 in Miami in November of 1908.] |
|
Esther Chesebro poses with one
her father’s horses ca. 1910s.
|
|
Nov 6, |
Painted. Planted onions in P.M. Jim raked ground. Anderson planted beans
S[outh] of bananas. |
Nov 7, |
Letter from E[sther]. Talked, read & wrote to R[uth]. |
Nov 8, |
Planted more onions & painted. |
Nov 9, |
Painted & planted peppers & tomatoes by calf shack. |
Nov 10, |
To Delray for a little more lumber & to get plow fixed. Jim & Jackson weeded on
Lewis place. To D[eerfield] in eve[ning] at a pineapple meeting of the citrus
exchange. Mr. Goodwin & Mr. Rose talked. I joined. |
Nov 11, |
Painted & put plow together. Plowed some in P.M. Jim & J[ackson] weeded &
burned weeds. A strong E[ast] wind for over a week. Hard on beans. |
Nov 12, |
Plowed on Lewis piece & for Combs, 1/2 acre. Painted. |
Nov 13, |
Painted most of old house once over. Jim worked in packing house & got load of
cement blocks & bricks from station. |
Nov 14, |
N[ettie] & I to beach. Found Climax [one of the animals?] dead. Guess he died
Wed[nesday] or Thurs[day]. |
Nov 15, |
Got rest of brick from station. Fertilized & hoed onions. |
Nov 16, |
Mr. Kennedy came from Miami to build fireplace & chimney. Anderson here &
helped Jim at onions. |
Nov 17, |
Finished chimney & put up terra cotta chimney on old house & set up range. |
Nov 18, |
Jim dragged onion ground at canal & I planted creole onions, 14 oz. A[nderson]
plowed for more beans, S[outh] of bananas. Hoed & fertilized seed bed peppers &
eggplant. Rainy. |
Nov 19, |
Jim plowed & dragged some for Combs. Done at 2. Began painting packing house. |
Nov 20, |
Painted. Jim took down staging from chimney. Picked ripe pineapples. |
Nov 21, |
Purdom & Hills' folks here. Doped onions for cut worms. Pulled snake grass.
[Snake grass is an ornamental grass also known as horsetail, known for its
intrusive qualities.] |
Nov 22, |
Painted. Mr. Tasker made mantel. Jim got rest of pines. Raulerson had King 2
days. |
Nov 23, |
Painted. Shipped pines, 9 crates. Tasker made shop doors. Cut his thumb bad.
Jim cleared out ditch. |
Nov 24, |
Painted. Men plowed at canal. Jim helped on packing house. |
Nov 25, |
Jim & I painted & put props under peak of roof & got out the sag in roof. |
Nov 26, |
Finished painting packing house. Sand rest of floor, etc. |
Nov 27, |
Painted stoop & posts. Men set out peppers at canal. |
Nov 28, |
Moved organ desk [desk that looks like a pump organ] etc. in new house. |
Nov 29, |
Painted porch 2nd time. Tasker came again. We hung shop door. Jim plowed for
Anderson. |
Nov 30, |
Jim plowed for A[nderson] again. Tasker & I put windows in shop. |
Dec 1, |
Tasker worked at windows. I helped & Jim & I unloaded part of a car of pineapple
crates. To D[eerfield] in eve[ning]. |
Dec 2, |
Finished unloading crates, 2000. Finished windows in shop. Began partition in
old house. Tasker done & to help Long. |
Dec 3, |
Done partition. Jim at canal doing bananas & carissas. |
Dec 4, |
Folks came at 5 A.M., 10 of them. Allen, Jennie, Mit, Mattie, Maud, Clare,
Josephine, Sutter, Mrs. S., Stanley Barlow. Got trunks 10. Talked & to canal.
Jim weeded & made seed bed. [Clare and Mattie were Frank’s brother and sister
in law who resided in Michigan. Allen is Frank’s son who remained in Michigan
to care for the family farm and resort; his wife is Jennie. The Sutters were family
friends from Michigan.] |
Dec 5, |
Talked & A[nderson] half a day. Went to canal in A.M. & lake in P.M. Too
scared to go to the beach. |
Dec 6, |
Jim plowed for Anderson. We put down a well at packing house for Sutter.
Martha, Josephine, Jennie, boy and I to beach. |
Dec 7, |
Mit & boys weeded onions. Mattie, Mrs. S[tanley] & I to D[eerfield]. Josephine
began operations near cow shack at canal. Jim plowed for Anderson on Lewis
place. |
Dec 8, |
Mit & boys weeded. Plowed for Sutter. |
Dec 9, |
Mit & boys weeded. Plowed for Allen. Transplanted tomatoes. |
Dec 10, |
Done weeding. Plowed for Mit near bananas. S[utter], Josephine & A[nderson]
planted beans. |
Dec 11, |
Mit planted beans. Transplanted more tomatoes. A[nderson] sick at night. |
Dec 12, |
Mit, Mattie, Maud, Sutter & the boys to the beach. Cow had her calf. |
Dec 13, |
Rainy. Boys ceiled pantry. chored. Mit, A[nderson] & I across canal
in P.M. Jim plowed for Roberts. |
Dec 14, |
Mit & I to Delray. Jim finished pines. Boys at pantry. |
Dec 15, |
Packed pines, 15 crates. Jim plowed for Roberts. Mit, A[nderson]
& I transplanted some tomatoes. |
Dec 16, |
Shipped pines to Fl[orid]a Citrus Exchange. Jim plowed for Anderson in A.M. &
for Combs in P.M. Mit, A[nderson] & I fertilized & hoed onions. |
An unidentified worker stands with crates of pineapples
ca. 1905-1915. The label shown at center is unfortunately illegible. |
|
Dec 17, |
Same as yesterday. Finished onions. Set out cabbage, etc. in pot hole[?] Stanley
at pantry alone. Anderson setting peppers. Roberts picked 15 baskets beans.
Mrs. Maguire here. |
Dec 18, |
Jim dragged for Combs. Planted seed bed in hammock by lake. Mit &
A[nderson] weeded off & we transplanted more tomatoes. Jackson picked 9
baskets wax beans. |
Dec 19, |
Jennie, Mattie, Maud & boys to beach. Mit, A[nderson] & I to Longs & Braleys
& over river & to canal & got Braley's boat. |
|
This scenic view shows a boathouse
opposite Rickards’ landing on the
East Coast Canal ca. 1910s.
|
|
Dec 20, |
Jim plowed for Jackson & we chored. A[nderson] fixed wheel, etc. |
Dec 21, |
Jim done for J[ackson] & plowed for Mit--bean ground. Mit ceiled overhead in
kitchen. Sutter planted more beans. |
Dec 22, |
Jim plowed for Edgecomb. Mit & A[nderson] & Josephine planted more beans. |
Dec 23, |
Jim for E[dgecomb]. I chored, planted garden. Rest weeded off & A[nderson]
Jennie, Mit, Josephine & I to beach after 3. Cool spell. 50[degrees] & 48 two
mornings. |
Dec 24, |
Mit & A[nderson] began weeding across canal. Jim plowed for J[ackson] &
E[dgecomb]. I plowed for Combs in P.M. 9 of us to Baptist C[hurch] tree in
eve[ning]. [Likely at the Baptist church in Deerfield.] |
Dec 25, |
I plowed & dragged. Mit & rest across canal. Got cold at night. |
Dec 26, |
Cold N[orth]W[est] wind most of day. Covered truck in P.M. & fired in groves.
About 38[degrees] at house & 29 at canal. [Chesebro covered the vegetables in his
truck garden and lit smudge pots to prevent frost damage.] |
Dec 27, |
28 [degrees] in morn[ing] at house, 22 at canal. Some stuff hurt a little, some not
at all. Pines hurt some, the outer leaves. Weeded across canal. Jim plowed on
Lewis piece. |
Dec 28, |
Jim plowed for Anderson & Edgecomb. Boys across canal. I made a garden plot,
etc. Wind back in S[outh[W[est]. |
Dec 29, |
Jim plowed & dragged for S[utter] way south. Colder again. Covered & fired in
grove. |
Dec 30, |
31 [degrees] in morn[ing]. Jim plowed for Allen for tomatoes. Boys over canal.
Still cold. Covered more & used fire pots in grove. |
Dec 31, |
33 [degrees] in morn[ing]. Jim dragged for A[nderson]. I helped A[nderson] weed
off over canal. Cool during day but wind changed. Down to 43 in eve[ning]. Up
to 45 at 9 & stayed there till morn[ing]. Worst & longest cold spell we ever had. |
