Shields c. 1955 (check out those cars parked outside).
Mrs. Shields.
The date counter c. 1958.
The date counter today. Enjoying some free tasters.
Gorgeous grapefruit.
The movie.
Looks like the original theatre seats.
Glenn shares some of his knowledge with us.
Thumbs up for the date shake!
So thick, you had to use a spoon.
So, I was looking for an impromptu field trip to take the girls on this week and here’s where we ended up. Although we’ve visited this kitschy neighborhood landmark before, we’ve never taken the time to actually learn about the date. After browsing the store, we watched the free movie in the old theatre and then got an informal tour from Glenn, one of the employees. We tasted a variety of different dates and date-filled goodies before topping off our visit at the nostalgic counter for a famous date shake. It was rich, thick, and very sweet. We only finished about half of one shake, between the 3 of us!
Oh, and if you decide to do some shopping at nearby Costco afterwards, you can skip lunch. You’ll be stuffed from all the samples. Trust me!
Shields produces 95% of all the dates sold in the country. If you like dates, this might be a fun stop on your road trip. Otherwise, for us locals, it’s worth at least one visit… especially when you live in the Date Capital of USA!
Floyd and Bess Shields came to the California desert in 1924 and started Shields Date Garden, working long and hard to build up their business and educate their customers about date culture. In the beginning, Mr. Shields would give his lecture in the garden. As the popularity of his lecture grew, Mr. Shields incorporated a slide show, then recorded his presentation in conjunction with the slide show so that the show could be run several times a day. Today, the 15-minute film Romance and Sex Life of the Date (despite the name, it’s very kid-friendly) shows continuously during store hours, where you can still hear Mr. Shields talking about his favorite subject: the Date.
Correction: The photo of the 2 ladies posing with dates in the 1930s are movie stars, not Mrs. Shields. One of them is Una Merkle (the blonde) and the other, I think, is Madge Evans. I could be wrong about Madge... just my best guess.
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