The Polly Hale Newletter December 1997: How it all Started

Neither Steve nor I had any idea where our efforts would lead back in 1947 when we opened that fruit stand in front of Vero Beach Parkway Hotel. All I knew is that Steve had dreamed of getting into the citrus business for as long as I had known him.

In fact, his interest began back during the Depression, when his father purchased a small orange grove in Vero Beach as an investment for the family’s future. The family would drive down from their home in Atlanta once or twice a year to visit the grove. Steve tells me it was back then when he became interested in marketing fruit, especially through the mail.

Well, Steve’s dream came true after he completed his World War II military service and we moved down to Vero. It was in the Fall of 1947 when we opened that first fruit stand.

Soon afterwards, Steve jumped right into the gift fruit business, just like he said he would. We started right at the kitchen table making a list of friends, relatives and those first customers who had stopped to buy oranges and grapefruit at his roadside stand. Then we sent them all a postcard offering to ship the very same fresh-picked citrus to their homes. We were so thrilled when our first order came back in the mail – we were in the gift fruit business.

Then the real work began. Steve would pick the fruit himself, take it to the packinghouse where it would be washed, dried, and waxed; then inspected and graded by hand. Then he would bring the fruit home and repacked it in a shed behind our house. I typed the shipping labels at night and wrote out gift cards. Then in the morning he would take it to the railway Express station.

Who would have thought that first mailing list would eventually grow to millions of names!

Our business was a family affair from the start, and as it grew, our Hale family grew along with it. You know, we were in a great location right there in US1, which in those days was the main route winter visitors took through Florida. Miami was Florida’s number one tourist destination, so just about everyone drove through Vero Beach to get there.

Our business grew quickly and we started hiring people. The first employee was O.K. Fowler, who picked fruit in the groves. Then we added Charlie Umberger to work at the fruit stand. They were both the nicest gentlemen and hard workers, too.

Our children even helped in the business. Steve III and his brother Dexter bagged fruit for customers from the time they were seven or eight. Susan and her sister Marianne worked behind the counter when they were both ten years old. It comes as no surprise that today, Steve III and Susan play key roles in the company’s day – to – day operations.

In 1952, Steve hired his first office employee, Marguerite Boutwel. She had moved to Florida from New Hampshire, where she recognized our logo and came in for a job. Marguerite worked for the company until her retirement in 1977.

That has often been the case. People join us and become just like family. Like the Thomas brothers. We needed extra help with the Christmas rush in 1952 and hired Jerry Thomas. The following year we hired his brother, Felix. Both of them still work for the company today. You don’t find loyal employees like that everyday.

In 1949, Steve came out with his first gift catalog. It was only a stock color flyer with our name imprinted on it, but within five years, we did enough business to create our very own catalog from scratch.

We were the only company in the entire gift fruit shipping industry that shipped to customers and billed them. Until then, customers paid for their fruit in advance. We thought it would be more convenient for customers if we billed them after we shipped.

We were also among the first in the industry to computerize the mail order business. This was long before the days when computers were in everyday use.

Then, in 1966, Hale was one of the first mail order companies to install a WATS line for customers to call in their orders. That really gave our catalog sales a boost; and to think today we automatically assume every company has a toll-free number.

Would you believe, today the company employs more than 100 Customer Service Representatives to handle gift fruit calls!

Steve came up with all sorts of cleaver ideas, such as monthly postcard mailings after Christmas season, each one featuring different fruit items and a seasonal ordering plan.

Our retail business, like direct mail, grew because fresh fruit was so popular with winter visitors. In the early days we sold fruit and juice along with citrus-related products like citrus jellies, candies and honey, We used to buy merchandise from Seminole Indians who came to town every week selling their wares. They made the most colorful skirts; I would buy them to sell in the store. We also bought conch shell earrings. There was an older couple in town who carved heads from coconuts; they were popular items, too.

Today we have four beautiful retail locations in Indian River County, including our newest store at the Indian River Commons Shopping Center. It’s just west of Vero on State Road 60, a few miles east of busy Interstate 95c, two on US Hwy 1 and one a few blocks from the Ocean.

I am proud to say that our reputation reaches far beyond the borders of the Indian River County. Our juice can be found throughout Florida in the 7-Eleven stores and any number of hotels and restaurants. We ship fruit all over the US, Canada and even overseas to Europe. Do you know we rank in the top 15 of more than 1,000 gift food mailing companies? That’s a long way from the days I wrote out mailing labels on the kitchen table after dinner!

Recently, American Express included us along with 19 other prominent national retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Walden Books in their Membership Rewards Program. Our company has achieved national exposure on television shows like “Wheel of Fortune” and “the Prices Right”. Recently we were featured on a segment of Robin Leach’s show, “Modern Cuisine”, and the Discovery Channel came in a year ago to film a travel show about Florida that included Hale Groves.

While all that is exciting, we have never lost sight of what brought us here. As a 50-year old, family – owned firm, Hale groves has been involved in our company, both as a company and through our caring employees. For instance, we sponsor a fund-raiser for the restoration of McKee Botanical Gardens. It seemed only fitting since many of the thousands of tourist who stopped at McKee on their way to Miami in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, also stopped for a bag of fruit at Hales’ retail store.

It’s hard to believe 50 years have gone by. We have been blessed with a wonderful, exciting life, doing what we enjoy the most. And all of you have helped make it possible.

So Steve and I, the children, and our ever-expanding Hale groves family, want to thank you for the past 50 years and for what I am confident will be a great future.

~signed… Polly