Our History
The agricultural history of the Mohrs and Frys extends back to the 1850s, when 5th generation Bruce Fry's great-great-grandfather on Jerry's mother's side. Cornelius Mohr, left his job on a whaling ship in the port of San Francisco and began a farming operation on a Spanish land grant in Mt. Eden near what later became Hayward. Cornelius' son, William Mohr, continued farming diversified row crops including tomatoes, sugar beets, wheat, and experimenting in horticulture, breeding iris. Before his untimely death, William Mohr became known around the world for his pioneering research in iris hybridization.The American Iris Society annually presents the William Mohr Medal in his honor, which is the highest award given by the society, strictly to Arilbred Irises that are less than 1/2 Aril content.
Jerry's dad, Jeryl R. Fry, Sr., met and married Marian Mohr while both were attending the University of California, Berkeley. In 1955, they extended the farming operation to the Delta, in an area known as Terminous (within San Joaquin County). Due to urban encroachment in Mt. Eden (Hayward), they added more properties in Thornton, Lodi, Woodbridge and Acampo. Some properties were originally vineyards planted with old head trained Flame Tokay, Palomino, Zinfandel and Alicante. Today, the properties are planted with 12 different winegrape varieties.
Jerry's mother Marian, who was president of Mohr-Fry Ranches until she passed away in 2007, lived in the house where she was born, on the original Mt. Eden property, which was first farmed by her grandfather around 1855. Marian's youngest daughter, Alfreda Andrews, is the Chief Administration Officer, Vice-President of Administration and Secretary of Mohr-Fry Ranches. Marian's oldest daughter, Gayle Fry Tully was the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer and President before she passed away in May of 2009. Marian's son, Jerry Fry, today, is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Mohr-Fry Ranches.
Jerry Fry studied agricultural engineering and soil science at U.C. Berkeley. He also received a master's degree in soil physics at U.C. Davis. Alfreda Andrews attended and graduated from U.C. Berkeley where she majored in Political Science. Jerry's youngest son, Bruce, now the 5th generation member of the Mohr and Fry families, grew up working on the ranches part-time as he completed schooling. After receiving his degree in Agricultural Business Management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1995, he joined the family business full-time and now is the Vice President of Operations. Mohr-Fry Ranches started as, and remains, a family run business with multi-generations involved in all the day-to-day operations.
