HANDY, JOEL BRUCE -- Even as a boy the inclinations of Joel Bruce Handy were in the direction of agricultural pursuits and at the early age of sixteen he started ranching on his own account. A native son of Orange County, he has grown to manhood in his home environment and has been a liberal contributor to modern ideas on the subject of vegetable growing, particularly of the Monstrous variety lima beans.
The next to the youngest of four children born to Owen and Mary (Parker) Handy, Joel B. Handy was born December 5, 1881, on Handy Street in Orange, Cal. His schooling was received in the schools of Villa Park and he was always a leader in athletics during his school days, being very proficient in all kinds of sports and games. In 1897 he decided to start out on his own responsibility, although but a boy, and he began the growing of vegetables. At first he grew only small produce, such as peas, beans, corn, etc., marketing his produce at Los Angeles and San Francisco. He was the pioneer in the growing of small vegetables in the Villa Park district and was one of the founders of the Orange County Vegetable Association, with headquarters at Villa Park. Mr. Handy was always very successful in his work and soon became purchasing agent for the large commission firms of Quadroos and Joseph, and Jacobs and Malcolm, both of San Francisco. He was also the representative of the Aggeler-Musser Seed Company for some time and proved up on the Monstrous lima bean here and at Laguna Beach, which has proved the biggest bearer of all lima beans. For about seven years of this time he also had a nursery, raising orange and lemon trees.
For the past fifteen years Mr. Handy has been manager of the Handy ranch of thirty acres, which is situated at Villa Park, devoted to oranges and lemons. In addition to his extensive activities as a vegetable grower he has also become interested in citrus culture, and is the owner of an orchard of seven and a half acres at Villa Park, half Valencia oranges and half lemons, and here the family make their home. He is a member of the Central Lemon Association and Villa Park Orchards Association.
On February 10, 1904, Mr. Handy was united in marriage with Miss Esther May Johnson, born in Michigan, who came to Orange, Cal., in 1902 with the family of her uncle, G. J. Stock. She is the daughter of Wm. M. and Elizabeth (Stock) Johnson. Her father is dead, while her mother now makes her home at Anaheim with a younger brother, Estel Johnson. A sister of Mrs. Handy, Mrs. J. H. Gunnett, resides at Long Beach. Mr. and Mrs. Handy are the parents of three attractive children; Zelda Elizabeth, in Orange Union high school, and Owen William and Bruce Johnson.
A man of unusual energy and initiative, Mr. Handy makes a success of any work that comes his way, and in addition to his profitable ranching activities he is also of an inventive turn, which frequently stands him in good stead in his ranching enterprises. Notwithstanding a very busy life, Mr. Handy retains his prowess as a sportsman and has a fine bungalow and fishing launch at Laguna Beach, where he gets great enjoyment out of the free outdoor life. A firm believer in protection, he is naturally an adherent of the principles of the Republican party.
