Corona Heritage Park and Museum

“Times change, but man never does” is someone’s quote I uncovered years ago, but do not remember who said it. I would tell this to my history students regularly as we would delve into the history textbooks. None, other than me, really cared much about doing that. So, I would weave the stories from history for them through the lives of the people who seemed so far removed from their lives. As I researched this history of the Call Ranch House, which is now located at the Corona Heritage Park in our Lemon Grove, I found an article in the Corona Messenger newspaper printed Thursday afternoon, November 26, 1908. The headline read, “A.F. Call Makes Strong Plea: Appears before Tariff Committee—Gives reasons why Tariff on Citrus Fruits Should Be Increased.” Seems to me Tariffs are a big topic today and mentioned on the news daily. Opinions vary now as they did then. These opinions are divided by personal interest of those advocating and those opposing—then as now.

I have to admit; I don’t know how the tariff rate turned out.

In the latter part of the nineties Mr. Call came to Corona. According to the Daily Independent, Thursday, April 10, 1913, “At that time much difficulty was being experienced in getting water for the young groves which had been set out here. Call overcame all of these difficulties which no one else had been able to do, and in the summer of 1901, he personally sold the bonds here which resulted in the hurrying of Corona’s present water system.”

A.F. Call had purchased 240 acres of land known as Orange Heights Trust before he left his successful law practice in Sioux City, Iowa (the same town where one of Corona’s founders, A.S. Garretson, called home) to come west and become a citrus farmer. The Call Ranch properties extended between Lester and Compton Streets below and above Ontario Street. According to Stan Reynolds and Fred Eldridge’s Corona Commentaries, early ranches had their own support systems. The stables and blacksmith shops for the Call Ranch were located where the old Corona Theater, now the Covenant Church, is located on 6th Street.

Called a “Magnificent Property” in Corona The Queen Colony, 1902, the writer had the following to say: “The largest orchards in Corona, and among the largest in the state owned by an individual, are the properties of A. F. Call. They comprise 240 acres of oranges and lemons, all in heavy bearing and finest condition. With a view of preserving the uniform grade of his fruit, Mr. Call erected a large and thoroughly modern packing house with lemon curing rooms, orange and lemon packing room, box factory and all up-to-date conveniences, from which he packs only his fruit, under his own brands, thus insuring to the buyer a reliable standard.” The Call Fruit Company Packing House was located in the same area where we now have the Metro Station. All our wonderful Packing Houses have disappeared. Whata shame we did not preserve any of them! They were what made Corona “The Lemon Capital of the World,” our claim to fame as they say.

The successful lawyer, citrus grower, and well-respected citizen of Corona, died on April 1, 1913. From the Corona Independent, “A.F. Call, millionaire fruit grower of Corona, and well known all over the state as the attorney for the Citrus Protective League, was instantly killed here Tuesday morning within a few feet of his packing house when Santa Fe passenger train Number Seven westbound crushed into the auto Mr. Call was driving, instantly killing the occupant and demolishing the machine.” He was leaving his packing house to go see how the new separators were working at the Corona Lemon Company Packing House. The train engineer had failed to blow the whistle as was required when coming through a crossing.

Another article from the Corona Independent, dated April 10, 1913, entitled “250 Fruit Men Pay Respect to A. F. Call Monday” tells the story of respect so many had for him. They gathered at his home at then 177, now 1122, Grand Boulevard where he had lived with his widowed daughter-in-law (his son Merrill Asa Call died in 1904) and his granddaughter Mary, to pay tribute to a man they deeply respected. G. Harold Powell, general manager of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, offered the following: “Greatly loved, strong personality, loved to walk through his lemon and orange groves which were the finest to be found in California, prepared the brief on this tariff question presented to the Ways and Means Committee of Congress, acted as attorney for both Citrus Protective League and the California Fruit Growers Exchange, greatest work was his connections with the cooperative movement in the citrus business.”

Another speaker, C.C. Teague of Santa Paula, Manager of Limoniera Fruit Company, mentioned that he was “simply honest, had many friends, and left a document of orchard management which will be of immense value to the citrus industry.” Ethan Allen Chase, President of National Orange Company of Riverside, said of Mr. Call, “He had been the chief guide and advisor of the largest industries of the country.” The memorial ended with the song “Abide With Me” sung by Frank Collier.