Page 22 January 2017 Tino Ferrulli Most sales people don’t last 10 years in the car business, let alone hold the number one sales position within a dealership for 19 years. Tino Ferrulli has no plans on slowing down or cutting back anytime soon. Team Tino Ferrulli has put together an established group of professionals dedicated to your complete satisfaction. Thank you again for another record setting year. Stop in and see why we shine among the best. tinoferrulli@gmail.com 4725 North Scottsdale Road • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 By Greg Bruns In 1899, W.J. Murphy planted the very first citrus acreage in the Salt River Valley near 56th Street and Indian School Road, next to the Arizona Falls. Citrus was one of many crops Murphy experimented with all over the Valley, and he found it excelled in the fertile soil south of Camelback Mountain. Over the years, this area did well with numerous varieties of navel oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, and several other crops like table grapes, dates and alfalfa. Dollar for dollar, citrus performed the best, and over time this area south of Camelback Mountain was populated with citrus groves. Navel oranges had the highest return on the investment in the early 1900s, and the ability to harvest the fruit as early as November put Arizona at a distinct advantage. California citrus growers couldn’t get their boxcars to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in mid-November. Demand for citrus was high around Thanksgiving and now, Arizona had both quality and timeliness, taking a significant share of the market. The boom in citrus agriculture in the early 1900s brought investors, farmers and land speculators to the Valley in droves and over a period of 20 years, citrus became a driving force of Arizona’s economy. There were hundreds of citrus farms and providers in the Salt River Valley, all vying for a piece of the market. To differentiate themselves, farmers used fruit crate labels to tell a little bit of the story behind their farm and the product inside. Bright and colorful labels were there both to entice the customer and to claim ownership and responsibility for the product inside. Good brands would be remembered and the labels would be sought out in the future. The labels to the right were selected because either the artwork or the information indicates it may have had some connection to the Arcadia area. All labels are circa 1900 and part of author’s collection. Brief history of citrus in Arcadia area