Fruit Growers Supply Company is a non-profit purchasing agent co-operative of Sunkist. The latter is a marketing co-operative of citrus growers. There was a time when fruit and vegetables were shipped in wooden boxes, that is another story. Fruit Growers, as it is known entered the lumber business reluctantly to manufacture wooden boxes for their member owned citrus growers.
One of Fruit Growers earliest lessons learned was the value of employees. To retain a reliable/skilled workforce amenities were provided to prevent labor turnover. When Fruit Growers mill opened its Susanville mill in 1921, they were in hopes the town would provide such. Susanville had been so overwhelmed by its short term growth, that it was just too much.
While Fruit Growers would provide housing and a hospital, that was not enough. In 1922, they had a three-story recreational building constructed on their premises. Susanville had never experienced a facility like this. Of the many attractions inside the building was a theater that could seat 450 people. It was a multi-purpose room that served as a ballroom and other forms of entertainment—including indoor baseball which I do not know how that operated. The place boasted a billiard room, a restaurant, soda fountain, and a library. The place was named the Story Club, after an influential member of Sunkist who donated the initial stock for the library.
On the north side of the building there was a children’s playground. The Story Club was destroyed by fire in 1944. Times had changed, and Fruit Growers converted the site into a park known as Riverside.
