Building On Faith       
Mills celebrates 50 years
Half a century ago today, Basil Mills came to the Salinas Valley by train and never expected to stay. Now his story is so interwoven with the valley's that neither one can be told separately.
By Dave Nordstrand "The Californian" April 25, 2003.

AS HIS TRAIN RUMBLED through the Salinas Valley half a century ago today, Basil Mills gazed out at the lettuce fields.

"A clear day," he recalled. "Beautiful."

He didn't realize it then, but in that passing scenery he was glimpsing his own future, one rich in business and community successes.

"I thought my stay in Salinas would be temporary," Mills said. "I never dreamed I'd end up being here 50 years."

Now 73, he's a man with a relaxed smile and wavy gray hair.

His reputation rests on Mills Family Farms, a Salinas grower-shipper firm, yet it reaches well beyond.

Mills' business accomplishments and decades of service to nonprofit groups have made him a force in defining life in the Salinas area.

The National Steinbeck Center Museum's agricultural wing, to take but one example of a project in which he is involved, opens Sept. 1.

"He's been successful, and he feels strongly about giving back," said Bill Ramsey, a friend and owner/partner of Mann Packing Co. Inc.

Part of Mills' giving stems from bedrock Christian beliefs, Ramsey and others said.

Mills agreed.

"Faith is the foundation of everything I do," he said.

$100 million a year

Tuesday, he sat at a polished table in the boardroom of Mills Family Farms, Across West Market Street, 18-wheelers backed up to the docks of the company's 35,000-square-foot cooler.

They loaded their refrigerated trailers with vegetables bound for places across North America. The company's Wholeaves® plant is near Abbott and John streets.

"Last year we did $100 million a year in sales," Mills said.

How he and his family created the company is one part of the Salinas Valley story.

Another part turns on the thick files lined up on a table in Mills' paneled office. Each is labeled - United Way, YMCA, Panetta Institute, CSUMB ...

All represent his civic efforts and those of his family and company. "Those of us who are blessed have the responsibility and privilege to participate (in the community) with our time and treasure," he said.

On the job training

Fifty years ago, Mills had little time and no treasure.

He had boarded that Salinas-bound train in Los Angeles. He was then a newly discharged Army sergeant. He'd volunteered for the draft during the Korean War while still having a year to go at the University of Colorado.

While waiting to return to school, Mills went looking for work.

"I saw a blind ad in a newspaper," he said. "'Must be single,' it said. 'Must be free to travel and with some typing skills.'"

Mills felt he qualified.

Produce broker Walter Markham had placed the ad. Markham hired Mills and gave him 10 days to report to Salinas.

Mills had eaten tossed salad. He'd sampled strawberry shortcake. Otherwise, he knew little about produce.

He did office work for Markham. He also learned to inspect lettuce, and Markham sent him to Blythe to buy produce.

After two years, Royal Packing hired Mills as an assistant sales manager. He enrolled in night school at Salinas High School to learn accounting.

"I was learning all aspects of the business," he said. "Buying and selling lettuce, growing costs - everything involved."

A road not taken

At the end of 1957, Royal Packing moved to Phoenix. Mills was set to go along when Cel-A-Pak asked him to stay and market its cauliflower.

With a $1,000 advance from Cel-A-Pak in the bank, he started Mills Distributing Co.

"I was the only employee," he said.

It took hard work, of course, but Mills and hard work were old friends.

The son of an itinerant newspaperman, Mills had been born in Montevideo, Minn. By age 10, he was selling magazines door-to-door.

In high school, he held four part-time jobs at once - selling magazines, delivering newspapers, cleaning a shoe store and, later, selling shoes.

"My dream was to have my own business," he said.

Mills Distributing Co. proved profitable from the first. Roger Mills soon moved to Salinas to join his brother in the venture.

In 1963, the company incorporated and Roger became a partner. He's now the executive vice president. Basil is president.

Basil's sons, Jim and David, and his daughter, Susan, also work for Mills Family Farms, Basil's wife, Eve, who died in 2000, was the secretary-treasurer.

Giving in return

In the early days, Mills and his family and the company began to support the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the YMCA. As the company grew, the list lengthened.

Soon it included the California Rodeo, the Community Foundation for Monterey County, FOOD Crops, which is now Ag Against Hunger, Legal Services for Seniors and many more.

The community shows its appreciation with countless honors. One was the Award of Honor from the Western Growers Association, given to those who contribute to the industry and also to the community.

The impulse to help is consistent with what industry movers such as Bruce Church, Gene Harden and Bud Antle have done, Mills said.

"Part of our mission statement as a company is that we'll give back to the industry and community as we're able," he said.

"Our employees do that. They ring a bell for the Salvation Army. They adopt families at Thanksgiving and at Christmas."

Early Salinas days

Soon after he arrived in Salinas, Mills began to settle firmly into life in the valley. The town had about 20,000 residents.

In 1953, he bought his first car, a blue Ford coupe.

In 1955, he married Eve Parker, who'd been working as a secretary for the Salinas Lettuce Farmers Co-Op. In 1958, the couple bought a new home on Wilgart Way for $27,000.

As for the produce business itself, Mills was enjoying the work, even if it marched to its own drum.

Skies cloud over. Orders get rained out. A truck breaks down or the driver hauls a load to the wrong address.

"You need to love it or you're better off doing something else," Mills said. "My brother and I have always tried to remain calm in the midst of chaos."

When Mills started, business deals were based on a person's word. They still are, he said.

"Over the phone. A verbal handshake," Mills said. "One of the appeals of this business is that you're dealing with good people."

A key to Mills' success is that he believes in the industry, said Jim Bogart, president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.

"He believes in the work and in the benefits of that work, which is feeding people with nutritious and safe food," Bogart said. "He has a passion for it. He's very comfortable with what he does."

Mills often will hand out carrot bites or sliced apples to friends with whom he's playing golf.

Jim Gattis, who is not in agriculture, has served on boards with Mills.

"He has energy and a lot of perseverance," Gattis said. "He contributes and works hard. He's one of the most philanthropic people I know." Lloyd Lowrey is the senior warden at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Corral de Tierra, which Mills attends. He's known Mills since 1976.

Lowrey sees Mills as a role model.

"Not only for me, but other people," he said. "Businesswise and faithwise, and that's a wonderful legacy."

Basil Mills

• Age: 73

• Position: President, Mills Inc., a grower-shipper firm in Salinas.

• Education: Business administration major at the University of Colorado.

• Family: Mills lives in Corral de Tierra. He and his wife, Eve, have four children. Three work for Mills Inc. Mills' younger brother, Roger, is executive vice president. Mills has eight grandchildren. Eve died in February 2000.

• Background: Mills and his family and employees have been involved in such community projects as the California Rodeo, the National Steinbeck Center and the Community Foundation for Monterey County. His many awards include the Award of Honor from the Western Growers Association.

The American Heart Association recently honored Basil Mills for his support, and more than 200 people attended the gala fund-raiser held in Monterey. Pictured are, from left, Dr. Richard Gray and his wife, Carolyn Gray; Debby Nelson; Mills; and Elise Bradeck and her husband, Dr. Stephen Bradeck.