Deis, Jack

Jack Deis was born in Russia, where he attended public schools and learned the trades of blacksmithing and wheelwrighting under his father before starting his own business at the age of eighteen. Seeking new opportunities, he and his wife, Mollie, immigrated to California in February 1907 and settled in Fresno. Deis initially applied his skilled craftsmanship across Fresno County, operating successful blacksmith shops in Rolinda, Fresno, Lone Star, and Barstow over several years.

Leveraging his financial success as an artisan, Deis transitioned permanently into the agricultural sector by purchasing a twenty-acre ranch on Barstow Avenue, where he constructed a family residence. He transformed this primary property into a thriving seventeen-acre peach orchard and alfalfa farm, while simultaneously expanding his operations with a separate ten-acre tract at Dickenson station dedicated to Thompson seedless grapes. As an enterprising agriculturist, he actively supported the regional fruit industry through his memberships in the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.