Rudy Graf was one of those four. In 1932, he and his wife Bethi bought a small farm on St. Michael’s Ave. Several years later on April 7, 1936 they were blessed with the birth of their first son, John B. Graf. Rudy’s work as a minister took up a great deal of his time, so from a young age much of the responsibility of running the farm fell on John’s shoulders. John worked several other jobs, but was always drawn to farming. In the spring of ‘62 he left his job at McNeil Machine and he and his wife, Janice, began farming. At first they rented land on St. Michael’s Ave. But by the spring of ‘63 they were also renting land on White Pond Drive, the site of the current operation.
The muck land was perfect for growing radishes, green onions, and many lettuce crops. John was a skilled grower and he soon earned a reputation for the quality of his products. At that time, marketing vegetables was very different than it is today. John was what was known as a Truck Farmer. He sold his crops at several different venues including the Akron Farmers Market, small local groceries, and wholesale markets such as the Northern Ohio Food Terminal. In the late 60’s and early 70’s times were changing. With the rise of large supermarkets, many small local markets began to decline and/ or go out of business. This, coupled with the decline of the Akron Farmers Market, produced a hardship for many growers and John was no exception. John and Janice had a family to support and by the mid- 70’s the need for change was imminent. In 1979, they got their opportunity. A man named Arthur Dzuro owned most of the land that they farmed. Mr. Dzuro raised vegetables himself as well as bedding plants in several greenhouses. He had developed a small retail farm market and garden center, but Mr. Dzuro was getting older and wanted to retire. At this point, the Graf’s arranged to buy the property and thereby expand the business. This purchase meant that Graf Growers would have a retail market to sell vegetables in and the greenhouse business to develop