End of Citrus Era in Mesa

Mesa's last major citrus packing plant is permanently closing its doors. This is truly an end of an era and a nod to our change from a rural community to an urban one. While there are still groves to be found in Northeast Mesa, there are far less than there used to be.

Moreover, the spring time smell of citrus isn't as pervasive as it once was and countless groves across the city have given way to subdivisions and shopping centers. Gone, also, are most of the cotton fields that dotted the city and kept things cooler on summer evenings, with the heat escaping into the night sky. These days that heat island continues far into the twighlight hours.

Clearly Mesa has matured, and in some ways, we are finally starting to act like it: long term economic planning, embracing emerging technology and aerospace, joining regional efforts instead of going it alone. While its fun to be nostalgic, the good old days don't need to prevent us from having better days ahead.