| Preserving the Past THE SOUTHLAND’S CITRUS HERITAGE SURVIVES IN SIERRA MADRE | |
| IN 1887, Edwin Waldo Ward, who worked for a New York City food im- porter, headed west to California. He hoped that the clean air and pleasant climate would help him recuperate from tuberculosis. After he settled in | |
| the San Gabriel Valley, his health im- proved, and he bought 30 acres of land in rural Sierra Madre. A friend traveling through Spain shipped him two Seville orange trees, and a grove of 600 trees eventually grew from the graftings. By 1918, Ward was marketing his Seville Or- ange Marmalade nationwide. Now situated just a mile from the Foothill Freeway, the Ward Ranch is down to 3.5 acres. But orange, tangerine, and kumquat trees still thrive, and the ranch continues to produce marmalade. Preserves are cooked in the same 100-gallon kettles used a half century ago. Richard Ward, grandson of the founder, and his son, Jeff ~both shown), now run the operation, which has expanded into other food lines. “We now make about 150 products,” says Jeff, peering into a tub of green olives. “Our olives are shipped in barrels from Spain and then stuffed by hand.” Depending on the season, seven to 15 workers stuff the little green globes with onions, almonds, or jalapeno peppers, then place them in jars. Housed in a two-story redwood barn built in 1902, the Ward Museum is a mishmash of ranching memorabil- ia. Antique preserve jars embossed with the Ward logo are lined up next to re- tired fruit presses. On the wall hang three of the ranch’s original orange-crate labels, depicting idyllic scenes of early- 20th-century citrus groves. Nearby are black-and-white photos of a confident Edwin Waldo Ward surrounded by his orange trees. The Ward Ranch is located at 273 E. Highland Avenue in Sierra Madre. Phone (818) 355-1218. —JOE TORTOMASI | |
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