'Cousin Rucker' and Orange Juice
James Bristow, 73, Dies;
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Mr. Orange Juice(From the Richmond Times-Dispatch) James J. R. Bristow, 74, died in Dunedin, Florida, recently. His name was virtually unknown outside the Sunshine State, except perhaps in Kentucky, where he was born and where he graduated in 1910 from Georgetown College. But to Floridians, the name of James Bristow means a. great deal. He was the man who, during the long depression of the 1930's, saved the state's important citrus industry from financial collapse. In 1937, when winter oranges were a drug on the market, Bristow, after years of patient experimentation, developed a low temperature-high vacuum process for concentrating orange juice. Attempts had been made previously to win a year-round' market by concentration through cooking, but this proved unsatisfactory because it destroyed the tangy citrus taste. Bristow's discovery made it possible to preserve concentrated juice in cans for indefinite periods. The United States Department of Agriculture was prompt to recognizee that the process would stabilize the all but bankrupt citrus-growing industry. On its recommendation the Reconstruction Finance Corporation granted a loan of 1.5 million dollars to finance construction of a large plant in Dunedin, in Pinellas county. The success of this pilot plant was followed by others in Florida and throughout the United States. Today 75 per cent of the total citrus crop goes into frozen concentrates. Millions of gallons were shipped abroad during the war under lend-lease to supply needed vitamins for our embattled allies. The next time you enjoy your breakfast juice, you may remember that there was a time when oranges were to be had only during the winter months, and that James Bristow was the man who made citrus juice a part of America's daily diet. [Aug. 1, 1965] |
[The first clipping is from a Pinellas County, Florida paper, the second a later reprint in the Covington Kentucky Post of an item from the Richmond, Virginia Times-Dispatch.]
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This page updated 19 May 2001.