John Andrew Snively (1889 – January 22, 1958) was an American farmer, businessman, and citrus grower in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

who was an original inductee into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. At one point, his companies were responsible for one-third of the Florida citrus crop.

Biography

Snively was born in 1889 in

Schellsburg, Pennsylvania Schellsburg is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 330 at the 2020 census. History Schellsburg was so named after John Schell who settled and founded the community. John Schell's grandfather Michael Sch ...

, the son of Frank B. Snively and Laura Irvin Snively. In 1910, at the age of twenty-one, he moved to

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

, where he began working as a fertilizer salesman. A few years later, just before the Florida land boom of the 1920s, Snively bought his first grove, a ten-acre site near Lake Eloise in Winter Haven. In 1934, he established the Polk Packing Company, which later became Snively Groves Inc. Snively Groves was the largest fruit packing and canning company in the United States during the 1930s; with 1,500 employees, it was the largest business in Winter Haven. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the citrus industry boomed. The demand for canned and packaged citrus fruit from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and other Allied Nations greatly exceeded growers ability to supply the fruit. The Allies were willing to purchase all of the canned fruit that could be produced at any price. Citrus prices skyrocketed, and Snively Groves experienced massive growth. After World War II, the citrus industry began to experience wild fluctuations in market prices. At times, the price of citrus fruit fell below the cost of production. Snively recognized that citrus growers had to organize to stabilize market prices and create quality control standards and, under his leadership, growers created the

Florida Citrus Mutual Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) is the industry trade group representing the citrus industry in the U.S. state of Florida. The group was established in 1948 and claims a membership of 3000 growers. It is led by a 21-member board of directors, elec ...

. Snively later served as President of the Florida Citrus Exchange. Snively also served on the boards of the

Tavares and Gulf Railroad The Tavares and Gulf Railroad (T&G) was a historic railroad in Central Florida that operated for many years as a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. It existed from 1886 to 1969. Route Description The Tavares and Gulf Railroad began j ...

and the Winter Haven Exchange National Bank. He served a three-year term as City Commissioner and built several housing sub-divisions on some of his grove land, including the Winter Haven communities of Inwood and Eloise Woods. John A. Snively Elementary School, on Snively Avenue, in Winter Haven, Florida is named after him. Snively was married to Dorothy DeHaven Snively, and had one son and two daughters, one of whom, Avis, was the mother of musician

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

. He died of a heart attack at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snively, John A. American chief executives Businesspeople from Pennsylvania American citrus farmers Farmers from Florida Winter Haven, Florida History of Polk County, Florida Businesspeople from Florida People from Winter Haven, Florida 1889 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople