building ’ s stability relies on the strength of its foundation ; the same can be said for a family ’ s foundation , and in the case of the Bonino family , theirs ’ is built on 100 years of love . In 1917 , Italian-born Luigi Bonino moved his family to San Martin and purchased 150 acres of land , which at the time sold for 50 dollars an acre . His grandson , Louie , still farms 100 of those original acres and sells what he produces at LJB Farms . Louie , his brother Donnie , and his sister Elaine , were born into the farming life , just as their father , Tony Bonino had been .

“ My father , he was a tough guy . I tell you what , he had chores for us every day ,” said Louie , adding , “ That was part of our life .” Farming continued to be Louie ’ s way of life until he entered college in the mid ’ 60s , and majored in electrical engineering . He met and married his wife , Judy , in 1966 . After Louie graduated , rather than waiting to be drafted into the Vietnam War , he enlisted in the National Guard . When his service ended , he returned home to the family farm , and never left .

“ Where can you be your own boss , and come and go as you please , and not have to report to anybody ?” said Louie .

The family legacy was passed on to their sons , Russ , 46 , and Brent , 42 , making them the fourth generation of Bonino farmers , and according to Louie , the reason behind LJB Farms . “ We threw a couple of boxes of pears out front , and we made these signs out of cardboard ,” said Russ . He was five at the time the brothers came up with the idea for a pear stand . “ And that ’ s basically how it started .” Brent , who was three , considered it a unique idea .“ Other kids had lemonade stands , but we had a pear stand .”

The year was 1975 , and canning was very popular . The boys not only sold individual pears to their customers , they sold boxes .

“ After a few years , business picked up and I think it surprised all of us that we started making the kind of money we were from a simple pear stand ,” said Brent . Fast-forward 10 years , and the card table and homemade signs written in crayon transitioned to a 2400 square foot barn and full-service produce market .

Louis ’ wife , Judy , is the administrative end of the business . She sees a similarity with her sons ’ and the roles each plays in the family business .

“ The spilt between the boys is exactly the split between Louie and I ,” Judy said . “ Russ does all the farming , and Brent does all the management of the fruit stand .” As much as the Bonino ’ s enjoy their business , Louie is the first to admit it hasn ’ t been easy .

“ This is a very tough business because this is a perishable business . The only way you can stay in this business is you have to get better , you have to get better yields , and if you don ’ t get better yields , you ’ re not going to make it , because all your costs have gone up ,” Louie said .

Russ agrees with his father . “ The market is always changing , it ’ s always an ever evolving thing .” Evidence of this fact is the dwindling number of farms throughout the area . “ If you go from Leavesley Road north , there ’ s only three of us left … three local farms , there ’ s Chiala Farms , Uesugi Farms , and LJB Farms , that ’ s it ,” Louie said .

Louie credited Judy with the continued success of the family business . “ Oh , my wife plays probably the biggest role in the whole place ,” he said . “ This business is her little domain here , and she takes a lot of pride in what she does here , and all the input .”

Even with LJB Farm ’ s 40-plus years of success , Louie advised his sons to , “ get a job and make some real money .” Their

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH / APRIL 2017 gmhtoday . com

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