“The Citrus Wizard” of Florida: Lue Gim Gong
— Kun Shi
On May 2, a special exhibit opened at Pinellas County’s Heritage Village to honor the legacy of Lue Gim Gong, a Chinese American who passed away in June 1925 in DeLand, Florida. The exhibit is part of the year-long celebration of the park’s 50th anniversary and the 250th anniversary of the United States, and it will last till June 27. (There is no admission cost to the Heritage Village.)
Lue Gim Gong was an accomplished horticulturalist who contributed to the growth of the American citrus industry by developing a cold-resistant orange. Because of his achievements, Lue was crowned “The Citrus Wizard” and awarded a Silver Wilder Medal in 1911 by the American Pomological Society. In 2000, he was recognized as a “Great Floridian” by the Florida Department of State for his significant contributions to the Sunshine State. Lue is memorialized by the Lue Gim Gong Memorial Garden in DeLand and a street sign—“Gim Gong Rd” in Oldsmar. Despite difficulties and discrimination experienced over a century ago, Lue’s legacy endures with his contributions to the citrus industry. His spirit is enshrined with the following quote above his statue in DeLand: “No one should live in this world for himself alone, but do good for those who come after him.”
In June 2022, OLLI-USF and USF World co-sponsored a virtual lecture by Rollins College’s Prof. Wenxian Zhang on Asian Americans in Florida, with a focus on Lue Gim Gong. Professor Zhang authored a research article about Lue Gim Gong for the Rollins College Archives. Follow the above link to read about Lue’s achievements and philosophy and browse through a collection of photographs sourced through USF and other historical societies and libraries.
An important part of America’s 250th anniversary at the Heritage Village is an art installation in honor of Lue Gim Gong created by well-known artist and educator, Prof. Kirk K. Wang of Eckerd College. In addition to the support from the Heritage Village and Creative Pinellas, Prof. Wang has gained funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and UCA Community Foundation for the 12×18-foot art installation depicting Lue’s fading image with his pets connected to a giant orange; it will be surrounded by dozens of orange-color lanterns with written messages from participants in Tampa Bay and beyond. OLLI members are invited to participate in writing messages on the lanterns to be displayed around the art installation at the Heritage Village.
The art installation unveiling ceremony will be at noon on July 11 at the Heritage Village. The Lue Gim Gong art installation will be on display till July 2027, as part of the year-long celebration of America’s 250th anniversary at the Heritage Village. In the future, Prof. Wang plans to apply for additional funds to create a permanent statue of Lue Gim Gong to celebrate his legacy and for public education.
If you would like to participate in writing messages on lanterns, please contact Kun Shi by June 12 at kunshi57@gmail.com.
Kun Shi holds a Masters Degree in cultural anthropology from The Ohio State University. He worked as a program evaluator for an Ohio state agency between 1999 and 2005 and was program director at the OSU K-12 Chinese Flagship Program from 2006-2010 and for USF World from 2010-2019. He has taught OLLI classes since 2011 and was awarded the Faculty Roll of Honor in 2016. He is a co-coordinator of the OLLI-USF China SIG.
Don’s Moment
— Don Menzel
Are You a Proud American?
Are You a Proud American? Oh, “I think so,”you say. But it’s not an easy question to answer these days, is it? Did you follow the spectacular flight of Artemis II to and back from the moon? How about that breathtaking splash down in the Pacific, with the wonderful view of the flowing parachutes that gently lowered the astronauts to mother earth? If you witnessed this, you surely thought of yourself as a proud American. I know I did! I was glued to the TV and when the splash down occurred, I clapped and hooped. Oh my, what a moment to be a proud American! And then I began to reflect on other proud American moments in my life. Stay with me.
More years ago than I care to remember, I received a certificate from the President of the United States commissioning me as an officer in the United States Air Force. My wife pinned the shiny, new golden 2nd Lt. bars on my Air Force uniform—proud was I! A year later I received a Certificate of Aeronautical Rating for completing all requirements as a USAF navigator. Several months later, after specialized training in advanced navigation, I reported for frontline duty with B-52 crews assigned to fly nonstop nuclear strike missions on Soviet targets, if ordered by the President. I am proud to report that I never dropped a bomb, nuclear or conventional, on any one—although B52s were soon based in Guam for Vietnam missions. I missed Vietnam duty as my five-year USAF commitment was fulfilled. So, off I went to pursue a Ph.D. and five years later I was on the frontline of a university classroom teaching young people about democracy in America. Never did I imagine in my youthful dreams that my lifetime career as a professor was possible. My parents were 8th grade-educated blue-collar workers—my father a lineman with an electric utility and my mother a waitress at popular truck stop on Rt.66. I grew up believing in the possibility of America. My mother advised me more than once as a youngster that “America is the best place in the world to live.” These moments in my life made me a proud American.
Fast forward to 2026. Let’s do some stock-taking beginning with the billion dollar a day U.S.-Iran war. Now the President said he is going to order the destruction of Iranian bridges and electric generating facilities if the Iranians don’t agree with U.S. demands to open the Strait of Hormuz and hand over their nuclear stockpile. And if that’s not enough, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” U.S military soldiers, sailors, pilots and crews would be tasked with committing war crimes. Words and threats like this are those of a criminal! Are you feeling like a proud American? Surely not.
Next consider the Trump Administration’s immigrant deportation policy and practices. Illegal immigrants, especially murderers and convicted criminals, are to be detained and deported as quickly as possible. After all, the President claims he was elected with a mandate to do so. The Department of Homeland Security via the Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) agency has aggressively carried out its duties with poorly trained officers leaving in its wake two deaths in Minneapolis and broken families. U.S. military troops have also been deployed on city streets across America. Does immigration enforcement make you feel like a proud American?
The list of affronts to wannabe proud Americans is lengthy. A short list would include the effort to discourage voting by banning mail ballots, ending birthright citizenship, nationalizing elections, weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice, targeting political enemies, an FBI Director who is an embarrassment. Enough!
Suffice it to say, that if you are struggling to consider yourself a proud American, know that you are not alone.
Donald C. Menzel, Ph.D. is a past president of the American Society for Public Administration, author and international speaker on ethics reform. Don organized OLLI-USF’s China Special Interest Group. He also served as an OLLI-USF faculty member for over 10 years. Together with his wife, Kay, Don divides his time between Florida and Colorado, and contributes commentary on life’s moments and current issues in both locations.
The OLLI Sketchbook
A Cartoon by Art Henrikson
This 1986 cartoon—bearing the caption—Let’s Get On With The Search—depicts the broken shackles of self-doubt and destructive criticism, which free Uncle Sam to pursue liberty and justice for all. The message in the cartoon universally applies to all generations: past, present and future. — Diane Henrikson Russell, Curator, Art Henrikson Archive
A Contemporary Cartoon
OLLI Connects selected Justice as the theme for May over two months ago. Since then, the Supreme Court’s decision to re-interpret the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in favor of discriminatory gerrymandering pushed this publication firmly into the current political arena. The Adobe Firefly a.i. image creation tool was used to capture a cartoon suitable to the moment. — Editor
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