James ‘Jamie’ Sossaman
Queen City - Maricopa County
Inducted in 2015
Jamie's agricultural legacy extends to Iowa, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico. Jamie's father settled in Queen Creek, where Jamie was born in 1932. His 18-year service in the Arizona legislature provided a voice for agriculture.
James "Jamie" Sossman's family has been involved in the agricultural industry for generations. They farmed in Iowa, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico before settling in Arizona.
James Sossman's father, J.H. (Jap) Sossaman, was born in Indian Territory in Oklahoma but was only there for a short time. The family soon moved to Galveston, Texas. According to Jamie, they either leased or took possession of the land on some Island in Matagorda Bay to raise hogs. The Hogs ate the mangroves and did quite well until 1900, when a massive hurricane blew through and wiped them out. It drowned the hogs, washed their home off its foundation, and killed between 8 and 10,000 people. Not wanting to go through that again, the family moved about 150 miles north by 1910. They started the migration to Arizona, but Jamie's father didn't make a move until after he served his stint in the Navy during World War I. Jamie's Chandler heritage dates back to his maternal grandfather, Mathers, who Dr. Alexander J Chandler recruited to farmland. He developed the Mathers Farm south of Chandler before moving to the Rittenhouse, now Queen Creek.
Jamie's mother was a schoolteacher. His father served diesel engines, a skill he learned in the Navy. The fact that J.H. was a Southerner and supported the South during the Civil War was a sore point with Jamie's grandfather, a staunch Yankee. The hate was so strong that the young couple ran to Flagstaff to get married. They then moved to Los Angeles, and Jamie's father worked for a Pump Company until tempers cooled down. His brother owned a farm and suggested that Jamie's father come home to work with him since he needed extra help.
Eventually, J.H. bought the farm, and the brothers' family moved to the Maricopa area. Jamie was born in Queen Creek in 1932, where he grew up and went to elementary school. He laughed at the school he attended as a teenager, now a museum. "Queen Creek had no high school at the time, so we were bused into Chandler to attend high school," he remembers. When graduation came in 1950, Jamie didn't think he wanted to attend college but went to his parent's urging. He took agriculture in his first year. "I said I'm not sure I want to be a farmer," he recalls. He earned his private pilot's license when he was still in high school. After going to Los Angeles, he changed his mind and built F-86 jet fighters. The farm looked good then, so we returned home. When it got back to Arizona in 1952, the Korean War was in full swing. Jamie soon found himself flying seaplanes for the Navy. He and Sue waited to marry until he earned his wings and commission.
Jamie as a young man
Jamie and his dad picking up new Erocoupe
After his second Tour of Duty, his father told him he needed to know if Jamie planned to stay in the Navy or come home and take over the farm. He didn't push either way, but he wanted to retire and needed to know what his plans were. Tammy and Sue talked it over and decided it was a good time to go home, so I got active in politics. He said, "I served on the Queen Creek School Board for 15 years, was elected to the Arizona legislation, and served in the house for 18 years, two years of speaker. After he was elected to the Senate and served there for six years, It was a delightful experience for us. Sue would go in on Thursdays and take the school kids on tours of the legislative process." Jamie continued to run the farm during his time in the legislation.
When ASU developed ASU East, Jamie was asked to be part of the community advisory Council, guiding how to integrate the campus into the community. According to Charles E. Backus, retired Provost of ASU Poly, the school would disband the agribusiness program. They could transfer it to ASU East and build it into a nationally promoted program. Bacchus credits much of that success to Jamie and his son, Stephen.
Jamie and Sue are the parents of three children. Their son, Stephen, has taken over farm operations. They grow alfalfa, corn, salvage, and specialized wheat. The wheat is called ancient wheat. It is wheat seeds that come from thousands of years ago. Jamie says Stephen grows wheat, and his partner sells it in procreation. They are building a flour mill to do their milling and delivery. "There are a lot of restaurants that want to buy this because they can put organically grown food on their menu," Jamie says. However, not part of the Hayden Flower Mill, Stephen and his partner purchased the logo and some of its usable equipment. They obtained a hundred-year-old piece of equipment from a historic Mill, which they intend to display.
Affiliations
US Navy Pilot — Korean War
Queen Creek School Governing Board
Queen Creed Farm Bureau — President
Arizona Cotton Growers — Board
Arizona Sugar Beet Grower’s — Board
Arizona Flying Farmers — Officer and President
Hospital District #1 — Charter Member and Vice President
Chandler YMCA
Chandler Regional Hospital Foundation — Board
Arizona State University East Community Leadership Alliance — Chairman
Transportation Users Leadership Alliance
Arizona Structural Pest Control Commission — Gubernatorial Appointment
Mountain Pine Estate HOA — President
Maricopa County Arizona Pollution Control Corporation
Arizona State House of Representatives — Speaker of the House (1968)
Arizona State Senate (1987)
Precinct Committeeman
Republican National Convention Delegate (1996)
Chandler United Methodist Church — Chairman (2009-2014)
Awards
High Yield Club Short Staple Cotton Winner, 1965
Arizona Outstanding Young Farmer, 1965
High Yield Sugar Beet Award, 1969
Arizona Flying Farmer of the Year, 1969
FFA — Alumni Award, 1975, and Arizona Agriculturalist of the Year, 1986
Arizona State University’s Student Association Legislator of the Year, 1977 and 1978
Arizona Cotton Grower’s Association Industry Award, 1985
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Presidental Citation Award, 1989
University of Arizona-Honorary Alumnus Award, 1993
