USA > California > Contra Costa County > History of Contra Costa County, California; with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 112
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At Two Harbors, Minn., Mr. Anderson was united in marriage with Miss Augusta Jackson, a native of Minnesota; and they have two children : Clarice, a student in the Mount Diablo Union High School, and Raymond, in the grammar school at Bay Point. The family own their own home at Bay Point, where they are highly respected by all who know them. Mr. Anderson is a member of Dalles Lodge No. 181, A. F. & A. M., at Cloquet, Minn., and of the Woodmen of the World.
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FRANK McGEE .- The second largest newspaper agency in Contra Costa County is that owned and operated by Frank McGee in Martinez, his location being at 607 Ferry Street. A native Californian, Frank McGee was born in San Francisco on February 14, 1897, the son of John and Margaret McGee, the former of whom is now deceased. Frank attended the schools in San Francisco, worked in his mother's grocery store, and sold papers on the streets. In time he took over the Bulletin route in Berkeley, and then came to Martinez in 1919 and established himself in business as the McGee News Agency; and since that time he has built up a good business. His careful attention to each subscriber's necessities, and his reliability and courteous manners, have been the important factors in his success.
Frank McGee was united in marriage in San Francisco, on June 18, 1922, with Miss Eleanor Smith, who was also born in San Francisco, and grew up together with Mr. McGee. Mrs. McGee is an able assistant to her husband, and they enjoy the esteem of a wide circle of friends in Martinez. If you want any kind of a newspaper delivered to your home or office in Martinez, the McGee's Martinez Newspaper Agency will look after your wants with dispatch and guarantee delivery.
FRANK R. BEEDE .- A loyal native son of Contra Costa County is found in the person of Frank R. Beede, of Antioch, in which city he was born on April 30, 1897, a son of the late H. F. Beede, pioneer lum- ber and business man, who is mentioned at length on another page of this history.
After finishing the public school courses, Frank Beede was graduated from the Antioch High School with the Class of 1914. He then entered the University of California and was in his third year when he was enrolled in the United States Navy. After about nine months spent at San Pedro, he was sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his ground training, and from there went to Bay Shore, L. I., and later to Pensacola, Fla. His training was ended with the signing of the armis- tice, when he received the commission of Ensign in Naval Aviation. Re- turning to California, he was connected with the Associated Oil Company at Avon for a time, and then spent a short period in Sacramento. In 1923, with Alden Sutton, he opened a repair shop in Pittsburg and had the agency for the Willys-Knight and Overland automobiles. This part- nership continued until he disposed of his interest to go back to Antioch and enter the lumber business, in which he is now employed. He has been an untiring worker for all projects that have for their aim the build- ing up of Contra Costa County, among them the Antioch-Sherman Island bridge project, which is now completed and means so much to this section of the State. His advocacy of good roads, schools and all civic improvements is well known, and he has a wide circle of friends in this part of the county.
On March 24, 1923, Frank R. Beede was united in marriage with Miss Marion Sutton, a graduate in the letters and science course at the
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University of California at Berkeley, who holds an important position in the commercial department of the Antioch High School. She is a daugh- ter of John and Myrtle (Wells) Sutton, pioneers of this State. Mr. Beede is a Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason in San Francisco Consistory No. 1, and a Shriner in Islam Temple of San Francisco. He holds membership in Antioch Lodge No. 175, F. & A. M., and belongs to the Sciots; and both Mr. and Mrs. Beede belong to Pittsburg Chapter No. 353, O. E. S. In politics both he and his wife are Republicans.
GEORGE VICTOR McCAUSLAND .- The son of a contractor and builder, George Victor McCausland is following in the footsteps of his sire and is building up a good business in Richmond and vicinity. He was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on February 8, 1880, the son of Charles H. McCausland, a native of Portland, Me., and a builder. He served as a soldier in the Civil War and was a leader in Grand Army circles in later years, having served as commander of his Post. He also served seven years as a justice of the peace. He married Eunice Day, born near Portland, Me., having met her in Minneapolis, where they were married in September, 1867. Coming to California in 1897, the Mc- Causland family settled in San Francisco and there Mr. McCausland followed contracting and building until 1908, when they located in Rich- mond. He served here for a number of years as a sanitary inspector in San Pablo Sanitary District. The children in the McCausland family are : Cora, Mrs. Robert English, of San Pablo; Ernest J., died in 1917; Frank A., lives in Cloverdale; Charles E., of Berkeley; Albert E., in Oregon City, Ore .; George Victor, of this review; and Harold, also living in Berkeley.
George Victor McCausland received his schooling in Oregon and San Francisco and has taken a special course in building construction. He began working at the trade of carpenter in San Francisco and continued four years, until he felt competent to start out on his own account. This he did and continued there for six years. During these years he was a hard worker for the prohibition movement. Going to Fresno in 1916, he carried on his business until 1924, when he located in San Pablo and continues general contracting work in this community, specializing in moderately-priced residences, and employing from eight to eighteen men, according to his work at hand.
While living in Oregon Mr. McCausland entered the services of the United States government with the Second Oregon Volunteers in 1898, for participation in the Spanish-American War and was with the first expedition taking part in the Battle of Guatemala on Guam Island, then on to the Philippines for one year, where he participated in thirty-two engagements. He was in the Battle of Manila when the city was cap- tured. He said of his war experience that a man "feels most nervous at the beginning of an engagement but becomes calm after the first round of shots"; and that he "would not want to have missed the experience, but would not want to repeat it." The World War was the first war
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in which America has participated that there were not some members of the McCausland family represented. He belongs to Admiral Dewey Post of the Spanish-American War Veterans.
On March 24, 1901, Mr. McCausland and Miss Ellen Shroyer, a native of Parkersburg, W. Va., were united in marriage. Her family consisted of her father, Caleb, his wife Mary Ellen ( Rector) Shroyer, and sisters, Mrs. Sarah Glenn, of Newark, Ohio; Mrs. Mattie Mc- Conaughey, of Berkeley; and a brother, George, in San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. McCausland have six children: Violet, Mrs. Curtis Beacon; Lloyd G., learning bricklaying; Walter Arnold, with his father; Ivy May, Charles Victor and Pansy Ellen, in the public schools. Mrs. McCaus- land takes an active interest in Sunday School work and is a teacher. With his interesting family Mr. McCausland occupies a prominent position in his community.
HOWARD HENRY MYLANDER .- The aggressive secretary- treasurer of the large and rapidly growing manufacturing concern known as the Republic Steel Package Company of California, the plant of which is located in Richmond, is Howard H. Mylander, familiarly known as "Keach," a nickname handed down from his grandfather, who was once badly bested in a horse trade by a man of that name. Mr. Mylander was born in Oak Harbor, Ohio, on October 5, 1894. His native village was a town of 2000 inhabitants located between Sandusky and Toledo, Ohio, on the Portage River, nine miles from Lake Erie. He is the son of Henry Casper and Marion A. (Young) Mylander, both natives of Ohio, the father being a hardware merchant. The parents were married in Ohio in 1878. Eight children resulted from this union, one dying in early childhood.
Howard H. Mylander was the only boy in the family. He received his early education in his native village, graduating from the high school in 1911, after which he attended Oberlin College in 1912-1913. While in college he specialized in mathematics and chemistry, and took some vocal training. During his high school and college days he was a popular football player on the class teams, and he played professional football for four years after leaving college.
During 1913-1914 Mr. Mylander assisted in the construction of the Lorain, Ashland and Southern Railway, which later became a part of the Pennsylvania Railway system. In 1915 he entered the employ of the National Tube Company at Lorain, Ohio, in the engineering department. After working in this department for two months he was transferred to the blast furnace department, and started to learn the pig iron business from the ground up, so far as its manufacture was concerned. His first position was that of a hop blastman, which is all that the name implies. After three months of that work he was given extra turns as blower on the blast furnaces, in the fall of 1915 he was made foreman of the pig machine plant, and in 1916 he was given charge of the stock bins. In the fall of 1916 he was placed in the main boiler plant as assistant
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superintendent. In line with other rapid promotions, in the spring of 1917 he was made foreman of blast furnaces Nos. 1, 2 and 3, where he remained until the fall of 1918, at which time he was again trans- ferred to the offices of the blast furnace department, becoming the research engineer.
In January, 1921, Mr. Mylander came to California to assist in the construction of the plant in Richmond. When the organization finally separated itself from the parent plant in Ohio and became an independ- ent corporation, known as the Republic Steel Package Company of Cali- fornia, he was made secretary-treasurer of the new organization, a posi- tion which he has since continued to hold. Mr. Mylander has been prominent in every phase of the activity and development of the plant, which at the present time is doing a business which amounts to about $1,250,000 yearly. A constantly increasing volume of business makes additions to the factory necessary, and three additions are in process of construction at the time this is written. Much of this development is due to the business acumen and rare good judgment of the firm's secretary-treasurer.
Mr. Mylander is a member of the Blue Lodge Masons, the Elks and the Lions Club, at which club, and similar organizations, he is much in demand as a speaker. He is also a vocalist of considerable ability and makes occasional public appearances for the entertainment of his friends. His firm is a member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and also of the manufacturers' association known as the Steel Barrel Manufac- turing Institute. Among other activities, Mr. Mylander is an ardent golfer, being a member of the Carquinez County Club.
Mr. Mylander was married on March 19, 1919, to Mrs. Nita L. (Stover) Merry of Cleveland, Ohio. They reside at 476 Carlston Street, Mira Vista, Richmond.
GIOVANNI ALLASIA .- The genial proprietor of the Liberty Hotel, at Pittsburg, Cal., Giovanni Allasia, was born in the Province of Cuneo, Italy, March 14, 1886, and spent his boyhood days in his native country, where he attended school and also learned the trade of a black- smith. When twenty years of age he emigrated to America, locating at San Francisco in 1906.
In Stockton, Cal., on December 26, 1916, G. Allasia was united in marriage with Miss Amelia Pesciullo, a native of the province of Genoa, Italy. They have one child, a son, Alfred. In 1917 Mr. and Mrs. Allasia located in Pittsburg, where they operated the old Union Hotel for four years; and then they decided to engage in the hotel business for them- selves. The year 1921 saw the starting of the new building which was to be the Liberty Hotel, and the following year marked its completion. It is a substantial two-story brick building on the corner of Third and Cumberland Streets. The hotel is up-to-date in its equipment and ser- vice, and is well lighted, heated and ventilated. Its dining room is very popular with the public and has a large patronage, being noted for its
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splendid meals and Italian cooking. Mr. and Mrs. Affasia are working together in the operation and management of the hotel and are meeting with deserved success. He ascribes much of his success to his loyal wife, who has proved an able helpmate. They both possess a genial person- ality, an important factor in the operation of a popular hotel. Their personal attention to the wants and whims of their patrons contributes largely to the home-like atmosphere of the Liberty Hotel, and make their patrons feel more like welcome guests.
ZONA R. BAGNALL .- For more than twenty years Zona R. Bagnall has been a valued employee of the Santa Fe Railway, with all the responsibilities that rest upon the shoulders of a railway engineer. In all that time he has had the distinction of never having had a serious accident on any train that has been entrusted to his care, a record of which he may be justly proud. Mr. Bagnall was born in Show Low, Ariz., on August 17, 1880, the son of George and Sarah (Rue) Bagnall. The father, a shoemaker by occupation, was a native of England who came to the United States during the period of the Civil War and joined the Union forces. The mother was born in Camden, N. J., and was reared in Philadelphia. In addition to the subject of this sketch, they were the parents of two other children, George, Jr., who resides in Idaho, and Mrs. Cornelia J. Monroe, deceased.
During the childhood of Zona R. Bagnall his parents lived in several localities, but his education was obtained in the Arizona public schools. At the age of fourteen he became self-supporting, his first employment being in a grocery store, where he was employed for four years. In 1900 he arrived in Richmond and went to work for the Santa Fe Railway, starting in the round house, where he did the calling to crews. From helper he was promoted to the position of fireman, which occupation he followed for about five years. In 1906 he became a full-fledged engineer, a position he has held ever since. Taking a deep interest in everything pertaining to his calling, Mr. Bagnall is an active member of the Brother- hood of. Locomotive Engineers and has been a representative of the local body. He is also a member of the Masons and Woodmen of the World, having been a member of the latter organization ever since his arrival in California.
On October 23, 1906, Mr. Bagnall was united in marriage with Miss Bertha C. Juillerat, who was born in Ohio but came to California with her parents when she was but two months old. She is the daughter of Frederick William Juillerat, a cabinet maker and native of Switzerland, who came to America in 1881. His wife, who was Laura Matilda Vuilleumier, came to America a little later, and they were married here, settling first in Stockton. Both parents are still living and reside in Richmond. Mrs. Bagnall had three brothers; one was an engineer, and another was killed in an accident on the Northern Pacific Railway. Her father had two brothers, both of whom were Presbyterian ministers. Mrs. Bagnall is a member of the Eastern Star and Pythian Sisters. She
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is a Protestant in her religious beliefs. Mr. Bagnall's father died in Los Angeles in 1911, and his mother died in Richmond in 1924. Mr. and Mrs. Bagnall are the parents of one son, William Stanley, aged fifteen, and now in high school. They are property owners and highly esteemed residents of Richmond.
JAMES WHITE HISLOP .- An assured place in manufacturing circles on the Pacific Coast is held by James White Hislop, of Richmond, where he and his associates organized the California Art Tile Company. He was born on September 18, 1860, the only child of William and Agnes (Smith) Hislop, both of Scotch birth and ancestry. After attend- ing the schools of his home community, at the age of eighteen he entered upon an apprenticeship with a local brick-maker, to learn the business. For two generations the Hislops were makers of brick, and it was but natural that the young man should follow in the footsteps of his father as a worker in clay. To better his condition he went to Canada in 1878 and there followed his trade for three years, at the same time getting an experience of the world that has proven of much value to him in his later years. He next was located in British Columbia for three years, and then came to California, his ultimate destination.
Arriving in California in 1884, Mr. Hislop went to Lincoln, Placer County, where he entered the employ of Gladding and McBean Company. For the following fourteen years he remained with them, working his way through various departments to foreman of the enamel department, and later to superintendent of the glaze department. Leaving this posi- tion, Mr. Hislop entered the service of the Carnegie Brick and Pottery Company as superintendent of their plant at Tesla, Alameda County. After the fire and earthquake in 1906, in San Francisco, Mr. Hislop left this company and in April, 1907, landed at Stockton. Soon after, with others he organized the Stockton Fire and Enamel Brick Company, capi- talized for $50,000. This plant was one of the most modern and up-to- date plants of its character in the State at that time, and for two years he served as the superintendent. His next berth was at Tropico, near Los Angeles, where he spent three years in the brick and tile business. Returning again to Central California, Mr. Hislop stopped at Livermore and became superintendent of the brick plant owned by W. S. Dickey, of Kansas City, Mo. He here remained one year, and then moved his fam- ily to a home at Inglewood and became superintendent for the Enamel Brick and Stone Company, continuing there until he came to Richmond in 1922 to engage in business.
At Richmond, in association with A. C. Myers, C. E. Cummings, W. A. and L. J. Hislop, he organized the California Art Tile Company, he being elected president. The other officers are: W. A. Hislop, first vice-president; C. E. Cummings, second vice-president; A. C. Myers, secretary ; L. J. Hislop, treasurer. In 1926 the California Art Tile Com- pany moved into a very modernly built plant, with the most up-to-date machinery for the manufacture of clay products and with shipping facili-
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ties over the Southern Pacific Railroad. The formula for the manufac- ture of art tile and brick has been known to Mr. Hislop for fifty years. Their clay comes from the pits at Lincoln, and the sand from Ione; it is ground, mixed and run into slabs in their plant, and then cut, dried, glazed and burned. They make about 40,000 feet of tile monthly, in- creasing the output as their growing trade demands. Their field of ship- ment covers the United States, Canada and Hawaiian Islands. About sixty men are employed, about half of them being skilled workmen, and all are residents of Richmond. Mr. Hislop has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the communities where he has lived and labored, and is a booster for Richmond.
J. W. Hislop was united in marriage at Lincoln, Cal., with Miss Louisa Ahart, born in that city, the second in a family of ten children. They have become the parents of eight children, viz .: Alta, wife of W. G. Maddox; Eva, Mrs. A. H. Robbins ; William A .; Emma, who married C. H. Rhodes of Los Angeles ; Ruth, Mrs. E. A. Longwell, of Lancaster, Cal. ; Louis James ; George W .; and Velda, still at home. Mr. Hislop is a member of the Masons and Odd Fellows of Lincoln. He became a citizen of the United States in California and votes the Republican ticket. The family are Scotch Presbyterians.
MRS. EMMA ANN GROTHMAN .- Mrs. Emma Ann Grothman, widow of Richard Grothman, a well-known business man of San Francisco, lives on her fruit ranch of thirteen acres in the fertile Alhambra Valley, one mile south of Martinez. This property was formerly owned by Dr. John Strentzel and later known as the old Wolford home ranch, the stately old country residence having been built some forty years ago on the Pinole Grant. This is a very choice ranch, both as to location and as to soil, and is devoted to pears, peaches, and grapes. It is unusually productive, even for this locality. Mrs. Grothman is a native of New York City, being the elder daughter of Franz R. and Helena Woerkin Von Kitz, who were married in Berlin, Germany, the former a native of Amsterdam, Holland, and the latter of Berlin. The young couple de- cided to cast in their fortunes with the newer country; and on arriving in New York, Mr. Von Kitz engaged in the wholesale drygoods business. When Emma Ann was six months old, the family came West on a sailing vessel that was wrecked coming around the Horn. After being rescued they were transferred to another ship and proceeded to San Francisco, and there the father resumed business. Later they moved to Petaluma, and there Mrs. Grothman's only sister, Louise, was born; she became the wife of William Cassius, and is now deceased. Still later, the family moved to Marysville, where the mother died, aged but thirty-five years, when her oldest child was just seven years old.
Mrs. Grothman attended the Lincoln school, and the school which used to stand at Post and King Streets in San Francisco; and she also attended school at Petaluma and Marysville. Her public schooling was
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supplemented by a course at the Sisters of Mercy Convent, at Nevada City, Cal. After the mother's death the family moved back to San Fran- cisco, and in that city she was married on November 22, 1883, to Richard Grothman. He was born in Bremen, Germany, came to San Francisco with his parents at the age of seven, and obtained his education in the public schools of the metropolis. Mr. Grothman was successfully en- gaged in business in San Francisco until his death, which occurred on January 27, 1895, at the early age of thirty-four. Mr. and Mrs. Groth- man became the parents of three children: Louise is the wife of E. O. Mitchell, head gauger for the Shell Oil Company, and resides at Mar- tinez; they are the proud parents of a son Norwood O. Herman is a marine engineer residing in Los Angeles; he married Miss Sallie Dunn, and they have two children, Kathleen and Richard. Gertrude is the wife of William E. Russell, marine superintendent of the Munson Line of steamships, and resides in New York City; they have one child, Helen.
Mrs. Grothman bought her present home place in September, 1914, and finds great happiness in her surroundings, appreciating the beauties of this fertile valley, which is unsurpassed in the State for location and for the delights of its pastoral scenery. She affiliates with the Christian Science Church, being a member at Martinez. She is a most attractive and versatile woman, has many friends in the community, and is the cen- ter of affection in her own family.
CLARENCE WILLIAM JOHNSON .- A city is judged by the hotel accommodations it offers the public. By this standard, Hotel Veale demonstrates that Richmond is a hospitable place for the wayfarer to rest, and by its up-to-date appurtenances in hotel equipment gives a favor- able impression of the city. The hotel is located at 1514 Macdonald Avenue and is fireproof in every way. The hotel takes its name from the popular sheriff of Contra Costa County, who is a personal friend of the owner of the building. It has thirty rooms and caters to the tourist trade as a specialty. The hotel was opened for business in December, 1923, and its manager is Clarence William Johnson, an experienced hotel man of California, who has made that business a life study.
Mr. Johnson was born in Stoughton, Wis., on March 24, 1879, and is a son of Andrew Johnson, who was born on the high seas while his parents were en route from Norway to the United States. They settled in Wisconsin and there reared a family of nine children, all but two of whom are still living. The mother was in maidenhood Katherine Patter- son, and was born in Illinois of Norwegian parents. C. W. Johnson re- ceived his education in the public schools in Stoughton, and after leaving school learned the barber's trade, which he followed for several years. He did his first hotel work at Santa Cruz, Cal., and next he was at Up- lands three years, and from there went to Loyalton, Sierra County, where he also remained three years, or till he was burned out and lost every- thing, not having as much as a hat left. This was in the summer of 1923.
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