Hansen, J. C.

Born in Fresno County in 1890, J. C. Hansen was raised on his family’s local ranch and graduated from Selma High School in 1909. He began his professional career as secretary for the Selma Land Company before transitioning into the retail clothing industry. Partnering with T. E. Rasmussen to purchase “The Toggery”—a well-established haberdashery in the George B. Otis Block on Second Street—Hansen eventually bought out his partner in 1918 to become the sole proprietor of Selma’s premier exclusive men’s and boys’ furnishings and merchant tailoring shop.

Known for his high business standards and attentive customer service, Hansen established “The Toggery” as one of the community’s most reliable commercial enterprises. Outside of his business pursuits, Hansen married Selma native Mabel Schultz, and the couple became prominent and popular figures in the town’s social circles.