Niaz Mohamed's name in Urdu

In 1955, Niaz Sr. became a U.S. citizen, which qualified him to purchase land. He acquired about 1,000 acres in the El Centro area. Daughter Mary Jane remembers his excitement when he took out his first bank loan to buy property in Texas. As early as the 1940's the couple had two beautiful homes, one in the mountains. Now they could legally own them.

Interior of the Mohamed home

In the 1970's Mary Jane joined the Peace Corp and went to Pakistan to meet her father's family. Her parents joined her there. Niaz hadn't been home in 50 years. Preparing to return to the U.S., he suffered his first heart attack. Niaz Sr. passed away in 1981, during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Lydia survived him.

Niaz and Lydia Mohamed

Niaz Mohamed Farms has grown in the capable hands of Niaz Jr. There are two companies, Salico and 4M Farms with operations from central California to Yuma. 4M stands for Mark, Marty, and Mike Mohamed, the sons of Niaz Jr. and wife Sally. It was Sally Case, Niaz's college sweetheart who first convinced the serious young man it was okay to have fun.

In different ways, the children have remained close to their heritage. Abdul is an award-winning agriculture teacher in Imperial, and only Barbara lives out of state.

Mary Jane married Ernie Morgan. They are both teachers in San Diego. The family lost Betty Ann in a car accident in 1982.

The Mohamed family