Here is Ted Mitchell in later years on Mitchell Farms prior to the property being sold to make way for a new residential subdivision in Citrus Heights. Photo courtesy of Citrus Heights Historical Society

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The Citrus Heights Historical Society invites the public to a screening of a special 30-minute documentary film, “Ted’s Story,” recognizing the remarkable story of one of Citrus Heights’ oldest residents and earliest pioneers, 99-year-old Ted Mitchell, and the history of Mitchell Farms, his family farm.

The documentary screening will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6 in the Citrus Heights Event Center at 6300 Fountain Square Drive, just across from the Citrus Heights Police Station, said Citrus Heights Historical Society President Larry Fritz.

The event was originally scheduled to be held in a lobby conference room at Citrus Heights City Hall but has since been moved to the Citrus Heights Event Center to accommodate the annual State of the City address, also being held in City Hall the same night.

Citrus Heights newcomers might not be readily familiar with the name Mitchell, but as they look around the modern city they now call home, they will better sense and appreciate Mitchell’s legacy and lasting contribution to the city after watching the documentary film, Fritz said.

“He’s quite a remarkable man,” Fritz said. “It’s been an honor to have known him through the years and to interview him for this documentary.” 

Both Fritz and Mitchell are fellow San Juan High School graduates.

The Citrus Heights Messenger previously interviewed Mitchell about the restoration of the World War II Memorial located in Rusch Community Park in 2021 by the Sunrise Recreation and Parks District. Mitchell’s name is one of 272 men and women from the community of Sylvan, now the city of Citrus Heights, who served in uniform during World War II.

Ted Mitchell is pictured with his father, Washington Mitchell. The family opened a service station at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fair Oaks Boulevard along the outer boundary of the family farm. Photo courtesy of Citrus Heights Historical Society

Step back in time and experience the 160-year history of Mitchell Farms as Mitchell vividly recalls his boyhood memories of growing up in the rural community of Sylvan. 

“The pre-incorporated city remained undeveloped until the early 1950s, Mitchell said in the documentary. Mitchell’s family helped finance the city’s incorporation effort to become a city in 1997.

The Mitchell family name is also tied to many properties in Citrus Heights, including land that the Citrus Town Center now rests on, and a new residential subdivision off Arcadia Drive, between Sunrise and Fair Oaks boulevards.

Mitchell’s great grandparents, Edward and Zenobia Crabb, immigrated to the United States from England. They purchased a 160-acre farm, located on the northeast corner of Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard for $1,600 in gold coins in 1866. 

The Mitchell Farms property, located north of Greenback Lane and east of Sunrise Boulevard, was once so thickly wooded with large oak trees that they had to clear the trees by hand before the family could grow any crops, Mitchell said in the YouTube interview. His family used the wood for charcoal, which they sold.

Wheat and hay were the only crops that could be grown commercially at the time, due to lack of irrigation. In 1920, Mitchell’s grandfather, Edward Clay, planted grapes and olives when water became available.

Mitchell’s mother, Bernice, continued to run the farm while his father, Washington Mitchell, opened a service station at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fair Oaks Boulevard.

Mitchell started San Juan High School in 1940 and took additional high school classes in agriculture so that he could graduate early in the middle of the 1943-44 school year. When he was 17 in 1943, however, Mitchell left his family ranch and went with his father to San Francisco to enlist. Mitchell is officially considered a member of San Juan High’s Class of 1944.

Mitchell received a commission as a Navy officer and completed his service in the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant.

Upon completion of wartime technical training in Nebraska, Mitchell attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, before being assigned to duty with the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. where he worked in the development of radar operations and systems.

After World War II, Mitchell returned to his family ranch in Sylvan and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

Admission to the “Ted’s Story” documentary film screening on Nov. 6 at the Citrus Heights Event Center is free and light refreshments will be served.