Your knight called and said you really ought to be here. Shields Dates, located at 80-225 Highway 111 in Indio, just over the border of La Quinta, is a favorite stop for world-class travelers and locals alike. The company was founded in 1924 by Floyd Shields and his wife, Bess Lugton. Floyd Shields was one of the pioneering date farmers in the still-young date industry of the Coachella Valley. He bred a number of his own hybrids and varieties including the “Blonde” and “Brunette” varieties, grown exclusively at Shields to this day. Shields’ longevity proves how much it is appreciated by so many generations over the years. This entrance has been used since 1953.
Did someone say date shakes? Well, Shields has superlative ones in a variety of flavors made with date crystals, and are not to be missed. What are date crystals you may wonder. Actually, Shields was the inventor of date sugar and the date crystal. Date sugar adds flavor to recipes and date crystals are a unique, dry blend of dates for use in cooking, on cold cereals and in date milkshakes. Shields serves only one size of shake and it is large. Most accounts trace the first date milkshake to Russell Nicoll’s Valerie Jean Date Shop south of Thermal, California, around 1930.
According to the Long Beach Sun on November 25, 1929, visitors at Shields Dates learned a bunch of dates do not ripen all at once, but over a period of two to three months, which necessitates several pickings. There were 250 date palms on the Shields ranch, averaging a yield of 270,000 pounds of fruit. The Coachella Valley had 1600 acres planted to dates, with about 600 acres in the trees that bore fruit. Pollination was done by hand in February, March and April and the fruit was picked in autumn until Christmastime. After the small fruit was formed, thinning the bunches insured larger and finer flavored fruit.
On July 9, 1931, The Whittier News said Shields dates were the finest dates in the world. In one garden there were 119 varieties of dates, as different as 119 people. When a date seed is planted, a new kind of date is originated. You never get two palms alike grown from seeds. In 1912, the United States government imported pedigreed date seeds into this country from the Sahara Desert and about 20,000 of these seeds were planted in one of Shields’ gardens. Of the young palms, half were male palms and as one good male palm will furnish pollen to fertilize an acre of female palms, all that were not needed were removed. That’s how Shields selected the 119 varieties they cultivated because every variety has its own flavor.
You will find the Shields Date Theatre in the back of their gift shop where you can view the free 15-minute movie, called The Romance and Sex Life of the Date and learn all about how dates are produced. It was slightly modified in 2007. The movie plays all day on a continuous loop. Shields originally published a 39-page book in 1950, titled Coachella Valley desert trails: the Salton Sea saga and the romance and sex life of the date.
Since 2010, Shields has had a lake view cafe with outdoor seating under colorful umbrellas and linen covered tables. The Cafe serves California cuisine from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day. Live music accompanies diners as they enjoy creative dishes, views of palm trees and mountains. There are even designated pet-friendly spaces.
It’s fun wandering around Shields Dates, which makes the perfect venue to purchase yummy souvenirs for someone special. Don’t forget, you’re special too. In 2001, Huell Howser Productions featured Shields Date Gardens in Palm Springs Week #0002 Dates. It is still available online from Chapman University from the late Huell Howser archives. Known as “The Date Capital Of the World,” the Coachella Valley began harvesting dates as early as the 1800s, which account for more than 90% of the U.S. harvest. Now that’s amazing.
On December 3, 1937, The Desert Sun reported Shields gave his famous speech The Romance of the Date to the Lions Club and had spoken to more service clubs than any other man in California. Shields had just purchased a large tract of land in the vicinity of his present ranch and planned extensive improvements. Among his plans was a wildflower park.
William and Linda Vanderzalm owned a biblical garden in Vancouver, Canada. They sold their property and wanted to relocate their beloved statues to the warmer climes of the Palm Springs area and contacted Shields. The rest as they say, is history. By March 1, 2011, construction at the new 17 acre site at Shields began. It was fully completed by October 2013 and includes a lovely self-guided garden path featuring 23 larger-than-life statues and 14 biblical scenes.
On August 1, 1957, The Times-News out of Twin Falls, Idaho reported Floyd and Bess Shields visited Hailey, Idaho, and entertained friends with 600 color slides at their trailer house taken during trips through South America. They planned on hosting a second showing of additional slides of their recent trip to Alaska. The paper commented Shields was the owner of the Shields Date farms at Indio.
On February 21, 1962, The Sault Daily out of Sault St. Marie, Michigan, reported a local couple, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Johnson, were vacationing from their wintry town of Algoma, Michigan, to the sunny low desert and mentioned their delight with blooming flowers and palm trees. They were particularly smitten with Shields Date Farm and enjoyed famous Black Beauties dates, which were rare at the cost of a nickel each. The Johnsons enjoyed date crystals, date ice cream and date sugar. They were also impressed with Shields 100 seat theatre, where they watched slides about growing dates.
Shields Dates eventually went on the market. It was purchased in February of 2005 by The Jewel Date Company on Avenue 60 in nearby Thermal, California, which according to an article in The Desert Sun on August 25, 2006, started in 1995 as a dried fruit marketer. Jewel Dates maintains its company in Thermal but is carrying on the traditions of the Shields and to the delight of its many satisfied customers has no intention of closing Shields’ doors. For more info, click HERE.
The meandering walk also features a lake with fountains, beautiful flowers and of course, plenty of date palms. We recently checked the Shields Date website, which says the cost is $5 dollars but on the day we went there was no signage and we were unaware of a fee therefore we do not know if this is a new policy. The website also warned the path is closed on windy days, but it was a gorgeous autumn day when we went and we enjoyed every minute.
Bonus: If you crave the peace of walking amongst large biblical statues and scenes in a natural desert environment, may we also suggest you visit Desert Christ Park in Yucca Valley for free. You can go directly to our article by clicking HERE.
