Paul Hadley; Founded Roadside Stands

Paul E. Hadley, who took a small fruit and nut business and expanded it into a series of freeway stands catering to weary desert travelers, died Sunday in San Gorgonio Pass Memorial Hospital.

The founder of Hadley Fruit Orchards was 84.

Hadley owned a citrus distributorship in Pasadena in the 1930s for many years before deciding to enter the retail market. In 1951, he opened a store in Banning and when that business burned two years later shifted operations to Cabazon, where the Hadley stand continues to sell a variety of wines, fruits, nuts and gift packs beside Interstate 10.

The stand’s popularity was based on its free samples and fresh lemonade and became an obligatory stop for desert travelers taking advantage of Hadley’s offer of “all you can drink for two-bits.”

He added Hadley Date Gardens in Indio and became his own chief supplier of that fruit. Dates, dried fruits and honey became the gift packs that Hadley began to ship around the country.

In 1978 Hadley sold his interests and retired the next year, shortly after he had opened a store in Carlsbad.

At his death, he and his wife Peggy were living in Banning. His other survivors include a son, Paul; two daughters, Nancy and Pauline, and seven grandchildren. A funeral service will be held today at Weaver Mortuary Chapel in Beaumont.