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Hadley Fruit Orchards in Food Directory

Hadley Fruit Orchards was founded by Paul and Peggy Hadley in 1931 in Banning, California. Their neighbors were the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. According to members of the Morongo tribe, Paul Hadley often provided tribal members with fruit and dates, fostering a rapport with Hadley Fruit Orchards that remains to this day. The Hadleys fruit and nut business prospered until 1951, when a fire burned down their warehouse, wiping out $70,000.00 in inventory and 20 years of hard work. Under-insured but determined to recover, the couple began selling their products from a roadside stand. To attract customers to the remote location, Paul bought slabs of lumber, painted signs in bright colors and set out to find neighbors and other property owners along the highway who would allow him to put up his homemade billboards. Thanks to the high quality of his merchandise and a tremendous amount of hard work, the single roadside stand not only recovered, but also prospered, eventually selling more dates, nuts, grapefruit and other products most wholesalers. As the number of customers increased, so did the variety of merchandise. The Hadleys added natural fruit, butters and jams, cereals and grains, candies, family kitchen bakery goods, vitamins, and their own selection of wine from organically grown grapes. When Paul became dissatisfied with the quality of dates he could buy, he purchased five date orchards and grew his own. Commercially made cereals didnt meet his high standard so he bought his own puffed grain operation. When he couldnt buy enough honey from local honey houses, he built his own. By the 1970s, Paul estimated that he sold a ton of honey everyday. Seeing a need for a nutritious snack food to sustain hikers in the neighboring San Jacinto Mountains, Paul Hadley originated the widely imitated trail mix. It contained a delightful blend of fruit, nuts and seeds high in fiber, protein and natural sugar. Because of the trail mixs extreme popularity, at least a dozen additional snack items were developed.

Telephone: 1-800-854-5655
Website: http://www.hadleyfruitorchards.com/