Agricultural roots run deep

by Gino L. Filippi for 4/25/08 as appeared in Daily Bulletin newspaper

Greetings from the vine! 

Several weeks ago at a meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga Rotary Club, Rick Nelson asked if I would be able to visit Sonny Rowlands in Ontario. Sonny is a longtime friend of the Nelson family.  “Sure, anything for a fellow-Rotarian,” I said.  My mission was to inspect Sonny’s grapevines which were in need of pruning.

A few days later, I found myself heading down Euclid Avenue with pruning shears at my side ready for the job! This tour of duty would be most enjoyable for me as I knew it would be a wonderful opportunity to visit with a most interesting and longtime resident of Ontario. Previously, Rick shared that Sonny and his family had deep roots in our valley. “Be sure to see his antique tractor collection too,” he said.   I arrived early that morning and was greeted warmly by Sonny and his wife Frances, known as Franny by family and friends. As we visited, my eyes caught a large tree full with plump tangerines. 

Sonny gave me the go ahead, and I immediately picked a few. Of course they were most sweet and delicious.  Far better than I’ve found in the store.  I asked Sonny how long he had lived in his home in this quiet neighborhood.  “We have lived on ‘I’ Street since it was paved,” he said with a kind smile. Sonny’s Grandfather founded Glen B. Dorning Tractor in the late 1920’s, and in ‘46 he began working at the business, then owned by his uncle.  Franny’s father had worked many years at the famous Armstrong Nursery in Ontario.  In ‘74 Sonny purchased the tractor dealership from his uncle, and today the business is owned and operated by their two children.  Sonny was born in 1925 in Ontario and attended local schools including Chaffey High School. He enjoyed his studies while playing sports and he established longstanding relationships in the community. From 1942 to 1946, he served the US Navy on the destroyer USS Dunlap in the Pacific. Like many his age, Sonny worked at different jobs when he was young. “On cold mornings, we were up at 2am on top of the wind machines, to get the still air moving to protect the lemons and oranges.  We would pull up our tools with a rope when repairs were needed,” recalled Sonny.  “The smudge pots were placed at every other row, and we would start lighting them at the row’s end. They were produced by Scheu Products and they burned a heavy crude oil. On some days school was cancelled due to smoke in the air.” 

While working at the shop, Sonny would become familiar with the farming families of the valley named Carrari, Cherback, DeAmbrogio, DeBarard, DeVito, DiCarlo, Ellena, Galleano, Guidera, Hofer, Lopez, Lucas, Merrille, Pizzo, Schiro, Vernola, Williams and others.  Dorning Tractor was quite the popular place to shop when the orchards, groves and vineyards filled the landscape. 

We found the vines on the west side of the house, in the bright sunshine. They were trained along the top of a short fence.  All appeared most healthy and well established, and ready for the annual cut back. I asked Sonny if he knew what varieties were growing.  “Some are Concord, a few are white, and I believe the others are Zinfandel.  Each season brings more than enough grapes for Franny to make many jars of her jam,” he said with a grin. “Last year’s crop was heavy.”   I noticed only a handful of berryless stems were left hanging by the neighborhood birds.  I learned later by reading the plastic tags at the bottom of each vine that Sonny was also the proud owner of French Colombard and Thompson Seedless, both white varieties.   As we began cutting and removing the previous season’s branches, there were many questions going through my mind.  I wanted to hear all about the giant citrus groves which once stretched from Upland’s highlands south to Ontario, and east to Alta Loma and Etiwanda, and about the tractors and equipment used to care for the vineyards and groves. 

What a wonderful resource Sonny is for agricultural history and machinery knowledge, I thought. “There were many highly skilled men who I enjoyed working with over the years. This valley was so beautiful and the land was home to so many hard working families. We were creative and recognized what needed to be done, and we did it,” said Sonny. “Your great uncle Vic Danzo was quite a man.  I really enjoyed visiting him in his shop at old Guasti.  He designed and helped build many hydraulic mechanisms for the tractors. He also developed a large hedge trimmer to top the trees in the groves. I knew your grandfather Filippi too. He was a true gentleman.” I learned from Sonny that the groves of our valley were planted approximately half lemons (Eureka and Lisbon varieties), and half oranges (Valencia and Navel). The lemon trees were less resistant to the cold temperatures.  “I remember Rick’s great-grandfather Nelson operated a lemon grove on the southwest corner of Banyan and Hellman in Alta Loma. The frost came one year and it was so cold that trunks of the trees spit.  In addition to the citrus and grapes, our valley also grew corn, sweet potatoes, Idaho potatoes, beans, peaches and other stone fruits,” said Sonny. He also shared that the early grapevines were planted in narrow rows, and horses were first used to pull the equipment through the vineyards.  Small Caterpillar tractors arrived after, however the sand acted as an abrasive on their steel tracks, and parts wore rapidly.  In later years (1948-49) they redesigned and modified the rubber tired Ferguson tractor’s axels to a 12” narrower rear axel width so they could pass easily. “We found a factory in Los Angeles to produce the custom axels for us,” recalled Sonny.  I believe that Sonny and his family played a significant role in our valley’s agricultural heritage and deserve merit.  From time to time, I visit the tractors at Glen B. Dorning on Holt Blvd, and remember going there with my grandfather when I was young. It is a good memory for me.  “You just can’t believe how many people still bring their kids down to see and sit on the tractors,” said Sonny. 

My new friend Sonny is a most intelligent man with a kind face, gentle smile and a fantastic memory. He is blessed with a loving wife and family. He also is the proud owner of a most unique antique tractor collection including models with steam and gasoline powered engines.

Enjoy a glass of wine tonight!