Neukom Groves is Zephyrhills tradition
Generation after generation call city home
By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
ZEPHYRHILLS — When Zephyrhills was still new, the Neukom family was growing citrus.
“We’ve been here for generations,” said George Neukom III. “Our grove is a family-owned business. I’ve lived in Zephyrhills all my life and wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
Neukom, 43, is the sixth Neukom generation to live in Zephyrhills. According to Neukom’s mother, Ann Brooke-Neukom, the mother’s side of the family came in 1910, before the city was even called Zephyrhills. It was Abbott then, and Christian Leatherman moved his family there from Indiana.
Neukom’s father’s side came in 1914. At that time, Charles and Lorena Neukom brought their son, George, family patriarch.
The first Neukom grove was planted in 1921. The current grove started shipping its own citrus in 2001.
“We get the fruit picked and shipped as fast as we can,” Neukom said. “It’s just better when it’s fresh off the tree. We don’t have to go through a middleman to get it shipped, so it’s much fresher.”
Neukom said his grove is the only one in Zephyrhills that grows, picks and ships its own citrus, although the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce could not confirm or deny that statement.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just us in the area,” Neukom said. “There used to be more groves that did that, but I don’t think any are left.”
One of the reasons Neukom Groves is one of the last groves in the area is there were two big freezes in the 1980s that drove out many of the farmers. The largest freeze was in 1989.
Today, the grove ships several types of fresh citrus, which include: naval oranges; tangerines; and red grapefruits. The grove also squeezes its own orange juice, which it sells in the community in gallon jugs.
“We ship our fresh fruit all over the country, but our juice stays in the area,” Neukom said.
The grove is busiest around Christmas, especially between Dec. 6 and 18, Neukom said.
“If you want to get a box of fruit for Christmas, you should order it by Dec. 15,” Neukom said. “Even that is cutting it real close though.”
Neukom guarantees all orders placed by Dec. 9 will be delivered by Christmas.
It seems citrus fruit is in the blood of Neukom family members. His sister, Tamara, married Ron Oakley, who owns a grove near I-75, west of Dade City.
“I guess you could say citrus is just a part of our family,” Neukom said. “It’s not the easiest business because you have to be constantly working. The work never stops during the spring and summer, and then you have to work like crazy to get the fruit picked and shipped in the fall. Then you still have to care for the trees in the winter, so it is a constant job.”
To order fruit from Neukom Groves, call (813) 782-5596 or visit www.ishipfruit.com.
