Residents of Hog Farm Given Eviction Notices

Residents of trailers and makeshift plywood dwellings on a Saugus hog ranch--and the man who let them live there--Sunday morning were handed eviction notices giving them 60 days to move.

George Hadnot, who has leased the property since 1971, said he and about 18 others were served with the notices by a private security agency representing the ranch owner, Charles Lyons Jr., a Paramount businessman.

Hadnot said he has allowed about 20 needy families to live on the 100-acre ranch for the last few years. “I didn’t know I was doing anything illegal,” he said. “I was just trying to do something to help somebody.”

Several of the families left the property last week after the county ordered them to vacate the land because of violations in zoning, health and fire codes, Hadnot said. However, he said, seven or eight families who had rented spots in nearby trailer parks returned to the ranch when their landlords refused to accept children.

Eventually, Hadnot said, “Everybody’s got to get rid of their belongings and hit the road. I think we’ll all find somewhere else to go.” He said he expects to return to his native Texas and raise farm animals.

Hadnot said residents were not surprised when they received the eviction notices. Lyons gave them longer to find somewhere else to live than most of them had expected, he said.

Daniel Hon, Lyons’ attorney, said last week that the owner would take legal steps to remove the people from his ranch. He said he does not know what Lyons plans to do with the property after it is vacated.