Nicknamed "The Fruit King." Owner of 40,000 acred of productive fruit land in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. Founder of the DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation, for a time the largest producer in the world. He left his home near Palermo at the age of 14, coming to New York first selling bananas from a pushcart in Baltimore for $8 weekly. Eventually he was able to plant orchars and vineyards in California and orange groves in Florida. Later after amassing his wealth he donated land and cash for churches, schools, etc. During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and 40s his farms were a haven for labor. The small community of DiGiorgio located east of the city of Bakersfield is named for him.
∼Di Giorgio, Cal., Feb. 24 (AP) - Joseph Di Giorgio, 76 years old, head of the agriculture empire bearing his name, died of a heart attack at his home here today.
Di Giorgio, who came to the United States from Sicily about 60 years ago, became one of the world's leading growers and shippers of fruits and, in recent years, vegetables.
His scattered Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation farms cover more than 20,000 acres, mostly in California and Florida. Principal farms include those at Arvin, Delano and Marysville, Cal.
(Published in Amarillo Daily News, February 26, 1951)
∼Di Giorgio, Cal., Feb. 24 (AP) - Joseph Di Giorgio, 76 years old, head of the agriculture empire bearing his name, died of a heart attack at his home here today.
Di Giorgio, who came to the United States from Sicily about 60 years ago, became one of the world's leading growers and shippers of fruits and, in recent years, vegetables.
His scattered Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation farms cover more than 20,000 acres, mostly in California and Florida. Principal farms include those at Arvin, Delano and Marysville, Cal.
(Published in Amarillo Daily News, February 26, 1951)
Nicknamed "The Fruit King." Owner of 40,000 acred of productive fruit land in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. Founder of the DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation, for a time the largest producer in the world. He left his home near Palermo at the age of 14, coming to New York first selling bananas from a pushcart in Baltimore for $8 weekly. Eventually he was able to plant orchars and vineyards in California and orange groves in Florida. Later after amassing his wealth he donated land and cash for churches, schools, etc. During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and 40s his farms were a haven for labor. The small community of DiGiorgio located east of the city of Bakersfield is named for him.
∼Di Giorgio, Cal., Feb. 24 (AP) - Joseph Di Giorgio, 76 years old, head of the agriculture empire bearing his name, died of a heart attack at his home here today.
Di Giorgio, who came to the United States from Sicily about 60 years ago, became one of the world's leading growers and shippers of fruits and, in recent years, vegetables.
His scattered Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation farms cover more than 20,000 acres, mostly in California and Florida. Principal farms include those at Arvin, Delano and Marysville, Cal.
(Published in Amarillo Daily News, February 26, 1951)
∼Di Giorgio, Cal., Feb. 24 (AP) - Joseph Di Giorgio, 76 years old, head of the agriculture empire bearing his name, died of a heart attack at his home here today.
Di Giorgio, who came to the United States from Sicily about 60 years ago, became one of the world's leading growers and shippers of fruits and, in recent years, vegetables.
His scattered Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation farms cover more than 20,000 acres, mostly in California and Florida. Principal farms include those at Arvin, Delano and Marysville, Cal.
(Published in Amarillo Daily News, February 26, 1951)
