THE HISTORY OF THE CORKSCREW ROAD FRUIT STAND
For more than ten years things were quieter, traffic was less, and the area had a country atmosphere. A part of the earlier times were fruit stands that included the Tropical Fruit and Products stand built in 1937 and owned by Edith Trebell. It was she who created the new famous chutney that continues to be made by the Estero Historical Society members and sold as a fundraiser. There was also the Citrus Stand and Shipping Company owned by Clyde Marshall located on Rte. 41 in the 1950s. Those were wonderful fruit stands, but the one many early residents of VCC remember most fondly was the little stand on Corkscrew Road.
It was the convenient place to get locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables. There was an old orchard behind it where customers could watch the cows grazing. The cows would frequently come to the fence for a closer look and an occasional hand out. One day a calf was born in full view of the customers. What a thrill to see the calf get up on its wobbly legs right after birth.
Jon Spiegel, who leased the property in 1990 from the Koreshan Foundation, owned the fruit stand. He also leased a 25-acre citrus farm off Broadway where he grew the citrus he sold at the little stand on the two-lane Corkscrew Road. He would bring in veggies from Immokalee to sell at the stand and at the Cabbage Patch on Rte. 41. He stayed there until the property was sold to Joe Bigelow.
Terry Howard, who was one of the first Country Creek residents having bought in 1987, heard about the upcoming sale and loss of the fruit stand and decided to paint a picture of the fruit stand that was an important part of our history. She asked her son to take a picture so she could paint at her leisure. It is a treasured part of the history of The Villages at County Creek.
