IMAGE VIA ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER
This Friday, May 1, the Orange County Regional History Center (Website) is hosting a Lunch & Learn on Lue Gim Gong, a name most Floridians have never heard, despite the outsized role he played in shaping the state’s citrus industry (and our awesome Once Upon A Time feature on him last September).
Born in China in 1857, Lue Gim Gong emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and eventually settled in DeLand, where he became an accomplished horticulturist best known for developing a cold-resistant orange variety. Seventy-five years after his death in 1925, the Florida Department of State honored him as a “Great Floridian.”
The talk will be led by Professor Wenxian Zhang of Rollins College, a leading expert on Lue Gim Gong’s life. Zhang will explore the story of the man known as the “Wizard of Citrus” and the “Chinese Burbank of Florida.” The event runs from noon to 1 p.m. and is available both in person and online, with closed captioning. History Center members attend free. Lunch must be ordered by 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 30, and you can register at thehistorycenter.org.
