The '55 Lemons
Isn’t it funny how some things stick in your mind, and sometimes you can’t remember what you had for lunch a couple of days ago?
When we were cleaning out my grandmother’s house, I picked a silver plate, engraved, award tray out of the “garbage” pile. The tray reads, “Los Angeles County Fair, 1955”. With it was a ribbon, announcing a first place win for “lemons” that year. My grandfather was a farmer. He grew mostly avocados and citrus in Escondido, CA, when I was a child.
I took the tray and it hangs in my hallway here at our house and I think about my grandfather and the lemons every time I walk by. My mom told me stories of how her mom and dad (my grandparents) would take them to Los Angeles by car every once in a while when she was young, about a 2 hour drive (evidence in a few pieces of Los Angeles and Rose Bowl ephemera that I also rescued). I remember seeing old photos of my grandfather standing proudly with his produce, and I can remember a few times when we went to the orchard to light fires (contained) in the fruit trees during cold weather..and I even remember the hustle and bustle of picking fruit to get it to packing! I remember my father and my grandfather talking non-stop about rainfall in inches and wondering about the trees. It was an awesome time in my life.
These bright yellows remind me of those lemons..and also a little bit of the grapefruit he grew! When I finished this painting, I took the tray off the wall and tried to polish it a bit. It’s heavily tarnished, but the polishing released some of the smell of my grandparents home into the air nearby….and that brought back many great memories.
Thanks for stopping by today.