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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Joe Francia, 78 (pictured), and his 80-year-old brother Ben have been farmers in the South Bay since their father bought his first farm in Mountain View in 1926. To visit the Corn Palace, located next to their 20-acre farm right off Lawrence Expressway, is to step back into time in the South Bay when orchards and farms were the booming businesses of 'Silicon Valley.' 'We're the last of the Mohicans,' Joe Francia says.
Way We Were
Corn Palace harkens back to Sunnyvale's agricultural past
By Daniel Hindin
If commuters find themselves stuck in the usual morning traffic on Lawrence Expressway by Poinciana Drive, with a simple westward glance, they may see the last real-life reminder of the Valley of Hearts Delight: The Francia Brothers' Corn Palace.
Before residents called Sunnyvale the Heart of Silicon Valley, they considered their town part of the Valley of Heart's Delight. Joe Francia, 78, who co-owns the 20-acre farm called the Corn Palace with his brother Ben, 80, nostalgically recalls the old days.
"My parents bought this land in 1926," Joe says. "Back when I was a boy houses went for $11,000 and ranches went for $500 an acre. I remember when El Camino Real was a dirt road with orchards on both sides. Lawrence Expressway was called Lawrence Station Road back then, and if one car passed each hour, we thought it was a busy day. When you stepped outside, you could smell the fruit in the air. But now it's done; it's sad."
According to Joe, the Francia's own the largest parcel of undeveloped land in Sunnyvale. Besides growing corn, both yellow and white, they also grow tomatoes, sugar beets, apricots, cherries, zucchini and many other types of fruits and vegetables in Sunnyvale and on their 27 acres of land in Mountain View.
Commuters, who choose to forgo the monotony of daily traffic and take that quick turn off Lawrence Expressway onto Poinciana Drive and up White Oak Lane, will find a small open-air structure overflowing with fresh produce in front of a backdrop of acres of corn. One of the brothers will pop his head out of the heated back room, where they hide out during the winter months, with a quick-witted joke and an offer of service.
"We have our share of regular customers, but we've had to cut back because things are slowing down," Joe says.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Joe Francia, right, helps out customers in the early morning at his family's farm and produce stand, The Corn Palace. The family sells homegrown and outside produce seven days a week, all year, except for Christmas and New Year's Day.
While gazing across the street from the Palace, Joe recalls the prune orchard that used to stand there. "It's long gone," he says. Now there are nothing but apartment complexes and a few houses that surround the Francia brothers' land.
"Most of the neighbors don't even buy from us," says Josie, Joe's daughter. "Life is faster paced these days. People want to get everything they need at one place."
"A lot of people don't even know where their fruit comes from anymore," Joe adds.
Joe says people come in almost every day, offering to take the land off their hands for large amounts of money. Although many have told him that he could be a millionaire, he just shrugs off such claims.
"It's getting tougher and tougher to make it," he says. "But it's the only thing we've done. We enjoy it. It's what we know. We're not quite ready to sell, but we won't live forever."
Both Joe and Ben say their children help out as much as they can. Some of them come in daily. "We're a close group, but it's not worth it anymore for them to take over," Joe says. "You can do a lot better working for somebody else."
Although the future remains uncertain for the Francia Brothers' Corn Palace, they still carry on as diligently as ever. They say they still do decent business at their farm, and they participate in the Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Milpitas farmers' markets every week. And they still run into some of the old faces at these functions. Joe has fond memories of Ron Pardini, who runs the Sunnyvale farmers' market. He recalls selling produce to the Pardini family as long as 30 years ago.
"Those were the old hillbilly days," Joe says. "It was real nice. Everyone knew everybody. But no one wants to hear about that anymore. People look at you like you're crazy if you talk about old times."
Indeed, many people in Silicon Valley (Joe shudders at that term) have a hard time imagining the extent of the change this area went through during the last couple of decades. But those, who wish to get a taste of the way things were or just some fresh fruit right from the source, can take that quick turn off the beaten path and find the Francia family working hard in the fields, or joking with customers in front of their stand from 5 a.m. to about 7 p.m. every day.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
