Our Visionary Founder
As a young boy, Joseph Gallo fell in love with the art of cheese making. This lifelong romance was nurtured by tasting his grandparent’s homemade cheese at their home and then honed through a lifetime of hard work and dedication to a craft few others have mastered.
Joseph Gallo was born in Antioch, CA in 1919. His parents had immigrated to America to escape poverty and find a new life. Both parents came from families involved in grape growing and farming, in Italy and in America.
Later his father moved their grape growing operations near Modesto, where Joseph spent most of his time as a youth. Joseph enjoyed being active in the outdoors, developing a love for the land and the beauty of the surrounding wildlife. For the rest of his life he would personally associate nature with health, fitness, and calming serenity.
The Great Depression was a difficult period for the family and out of necessity Joseph learned a strong work ethic from his time on the family farm. At a young age he gained valuable experience in how to properly cultivate raw land with respect for the environment.
During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served his country proudly in both the Philippines and Korea. Upon his return, he turned all his efforts towards business, starting his own farming operations officially in 1946 at the age of 27.
He worked hard, personally supervising all work and doing as much as he could himself. He believed that everything could always be improved and that there was no shortcut to success. He felt success takes getting up early and working hard everyday. His mantra of “Next time I’ll do better,” served as a catalyst for constant improvement throughout the company.
His three children Peter, Mike, and Linda came to work with him, learning all aspects of the business under his distinctive style. Peter was killed in action in Vietnam. Mike worked his way up and helped build the family business with his father and now runs the company. Linda also maintains close involvement in the family business as well.
Joseph Gallo will always be remembered as being a loving family man and the visionary who struggled to make his childhood dreams of dairy farming and cheese making a reality. His environmental and philanthropic efforts have had a lasting impact on his community. Here at Joseph Farms, his philosophy and memory remains our guiding force to this day.
