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 79
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RAY S. WIGHTMAN .- A highly respected and well-known citizen of eastern Contra Costa County is Ray S. Wightman, now living on his well-improved and productive ranch near Oakley. He was born in Anti- och on November 18, 1885, the son of Joel D. and Sarah Jane (Snead) Wightman, the latter a native of New Jersey and still living. The father was in the contracting business in Antioch for many years, served as a member of the board of supervisors, and was on the building committee during the construction of the Court House in Martinez in 1901-1903. He bought twenty-five acres of land near the Live Oak schoolhouse and set twenty acres of it to olives. This ranch is now occupied by C. E. Wightman, a son, who is mentioned on another page of this history.
Ray S. Wightman attended the schools of Antioch and grew up and helped his father with his olive orchard until he went to work for Laurit- zen Brothers in the carrying of passengers on the rivers from Antioch to Stockton and to Sacramento. He rose to be captain of the new boats operated in the passenger service, the Princess, the Ellen and the Gwendo- lin. He followed the river for eleven years, until 1920, when he bought a thirty-acre ranch near the new bridgehead and developed sixteen acres of it to a vineyard of wine grapes. This property was sold and Mr. Wight- man bought his present home place of two and one-half acres four miles west of Oakley and erected his present comfortable and modern home.
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He was one of the organizers and is a stockholder in the Bridgehead Shipping Corporation and serves as its secretary. He is acting as agent for the American Toll Bridge Company at the Antioch Bridge.
Ray S. Wightman was united in marriage at Yreka, Cal., on August 8, 1917, with Miss Ruth C. Davis, born in Chico, Cal., the daughter of
J. L. and Elizabeth Davis, now residing at Wallace, Calaveras County, where Mr. Davis is engaged in stock-raising. Mrs. Wightman attended the schools of her home district, a private normal, and Heald's Business College in Stockton. She began teaching school in 1911 and is a very successful educator, now teaching in the Riverside school in Sacramento County. She is a talented and highly educated lady and has a wide circle of friends. Two children have blessed this marriage, Ray P. and George Davis. Mr. Wightman belongs to the East Contra Costa County Cham- ber of Commerce and is a live wire in all projects for the upbuilding of his community and county. In politics he is a Democrat.
CHARLES STANLEY DIMM .- A representative citizen of Rich- mond, and one who is prominently associated with the Standard Oil Re- finery, is Charles S. Dimm, residing at No. 560 Key Boulevard. He is a native of Indiana, born at Whiting on March 18, 1895. His father, Luther D. Dimm, was born in Pennsylvania and from an early date has been connected with the oil industry. For a number of years he was manager of the Richmond refinery, and he is now manager of the refinery at El Segundo, Los Angeles County. The mother was Miss Lula Jennie Rickenbaugh, also born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of an old and highly respected family of the Keystone State. Charles S. Dimm is an only child. He attended the Richmond Union High School, and was graduated from the University of California in 1917 with the B. S. degree. He majored in economics, chemistry and general business. He was prominent in college life and was presented with a key for scholarship, in the Beta Gama Sigma scholarship society. He was president of the Glee Club and a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.
After his graduation from college Charles S. Dimm entered the em- ploy of the Standard Oil Company at El Segundo and was there at the breaking out of the World War. He was in the government service at the aviation field at Lake Charles, La., and was honorably discharged in December, 1918. He then took a trip through the Eastern States, being absent for two months, and then came back to his work at El Segundo. On February 28, 1921, he came to Richmond, and has been at the Rich- mond Refinery since that date.
On February 10, 1923, Mr. Dimm was united in marriage with Miss Dorothy Dukes, of Berkeley. She is the daughter of Dr. Charles A. and Mabel (Saxe) Dukes, and took a three-year course in the University of California. They have a son, Stanley Dukes Dimm, born May 30, 1925. Mrs. Dimm is an efficient cellist and is well and favorably known in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and other parts of the Bay section. Mr.
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Dimm is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner. He is a member of the University Club of Los Angeles. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dimm have a wide circle of friends throughout the Bay section.
PETER H. WIND .- Coming from good farming stock in Denmark, Peter H. Wind has chosen to make Crockett his home and the scene of his activities. He was born in Denmark on September 15, 1868, a son of Loren and Anna E. (Paulsen) Wind, both natives of Denmark where they were among the highly respected farmer folk. He has a sister in Burlingame and one in San Francisco. After going to the schools in his home locality until he was thirteen, Peter H. Wind set out for America. He stopped in New York but a short time, then made his way to Savanna, Ill., where he found work on the railroad and remained thus employed for ten years. During that period he saved his money and stored up a great deal of valuable information that has stood him in good stead since taking up his home in California.
When he first landed in Crockett he went to work with his brother-in- law, Christian Larsen, at the building trade. The latter is now a dealer in real estate and a builder in Burlingame. In 1896 Mr. Wind took to contracting for himself, and has erected many homes in Crockett and vicinity since then; also has contracted for business blocks and done con- siderable remodeling. His business has had a steady growth and he has given his patrons the best efforts in his line. One of the homes he built was that first occupied by George M. Rolph, when he came here as super- intendent of the refinery ; he also erected the first clubhouse. He operates under the name of P. H. Wind & Son, the latter is Fred Wind.
Mr. Wind was married in 1888 to Miss Anna M. Neilsen, a native of Denmark, who came in young womanhood to America, and is the only one of her family now living here. Her mother is still living and is ninety-four years old. Five children have been born to this union: Fred, a partner in the building business with his father; Berthel, died in young manhood; Anna J., bookkeeper in San Francisco; Lila E., Mrs. Renato Suscipi, of Rome, Italy; and the youngest, Charles, a high school graduate, who also spent two years at the University of California. The family attend the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Wind is an Odd Fellow and is a Past Grand in the order. He is a Republican in politics.
WALTER COOTS .- Among the native sons of Contra Costa County who have risen to important positions is Walter Coots, assistant manager. of the mercantile establishment of L. M. Lasell Company, the Emporium of Contra Costa County. He resides in his beautiful home at 119 Pa- checo Boulevard, Martinez. Mr. Coots is in charge of the following de- partments : dry goods, gents' furnishings, ladies' ready-to-wear, shoes, and the furniture department. He was born at Concord, Cal., June 10, 1886, a son of the late James Coots, who passed away at Concord in 1911, at the age of seventy-six, after a long and useful career. James
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Coots was a native of Ireland, who immigrated to Canada while a young man, and in 1867 arrived in California. He was married at Pacheco, Cal., to Miss Winnifred Grant, a relative of Gen. U. S. Grant, who was a cousin of her father. Mrs. Coots' great-aunt, Lottie Grant, furnished the data for the Grant family history as recorded in "General Grant's Memoirs." The Coots family are of Scotch-Irish descent and lived in the northern part of Ireland. The mother of our subject was born at Walnut Creek, Cal. She is still in the enjoyment of health and happi- ness and now makes her home in Martinez. Two children were born of this union: Walter, our subject, and Robert, who is a bookkeeper for the Shell Corporation of California, at Martinez.
Walter Coots' early life was spent at Concord and vicinity, attending the public schools of his home district and assisting his father in the oper- ation of two farms, a responsibility all the greater because of the fact that his father also operated a threshing outfit, threshing thousands of sacks of grain every year. His services were in great demand in the fer- tile grain growing section near Brentwood and Byron. Walter Coots . was fourteen years old when he went to work for Geary & Company at Concord. Later he clerked in the store of Randall Brothers for two years. He entered the employ of L. M. Lasell on July 1, 1907, and he has continued there steadily ever since, having risen to his present posi- tion by sheer force of merit.
The marriage of Walter Coots occurred at San Jose, Cal., and united him with Miss Nina Claire Fenton. Her father was a locomotive en- gineer on the Siskiyou mountain division of the Southern Pacific system and was killed in a railway accident when Mrs. Coots was only three weeks old. His widow makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Coots. Fraternally, Mr. Coots is affiliated with the Native Sons of the Golden West and the Woodmen of the World, both of Martinez. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
BERNARD DAL PORTO .- Known by his intimate friends as "Ben" Dal Porto, our subject was born at Jackson, Amador County, on June 27, 1895, the son of Salvatore and Mary (Frediani) Dal Porto, both born and reared in Italy. The father was born near Lucca on No- vember 5, 1865, came to America and California in 1889, and was mar- ried in San Francisco in 1892. His wife was born on May 14, 1868. They had the following children: Frank, of the Oakley Garage, who served in the United States Navy during the World War, doing convoy duty ; Edith, who married E. A. Silva of San Francisco; Lena, wife of Dr. C. H. Lind- ner, of San Francisco; Bernard, of this review; and Tony, a machinist in the Oakley Garage, who was in the motor vehicle department during the World War. Salvatore Dal Porto was a pioneer of Jackson and con- ducted a boarding house for the Kennedy Mining Company for several years. He saved his money and in 1908 came to Contra Costa County and invested in property at Oakley, and became the foremost upbuilder
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of the new town. He built the post office building at a cost of $8000; the Oakley Garage, costing $15,000; Oakley Theatre Block, also costing $15,000; and the Oakley Hotel at an expense of $50,000. The latter was completed in 1925 and is a modern building in all of its appointments.
Ben Dal Porto grew up in Jackson and attended the public schools there and in Oakley, coming here when he was thirteen years old. He helped his father on the ranch, and the boys and father have all worked together to bring about their present prosperity. Ben conducts a soft drink parlor and pool hall in the hotel building, which is also under his management. In 1917 Ben Dal Porto was in the draft for the World War and on December 10 of that year he was in France and was first assigned to the signal corps of the 41st Division. He was transferred from one department to another in the service, and when he was returned to California he was mustered out and honorably discharged at the Pre- sidio in San Francisco on April 7, 1919, as sergeant of the first class from the Base Hospital. He belongs to the American Legion at Antioch.
On November 22, 1920, Mr. Dal Porto was married at Antioch to Miss Irma Lynn, daughter of John Lynn, one of the old settlers and a . butcher in Antioch. Two children have blessed this marriage, Bernard, Jr., and Lynn. In politics Mr. Dal Porto votes the Republican ticket. Fraternally, he is a member of the Young Men's Institute of Antioch. Mrs. Dal Porto belongs to the Native Daughters in Antioch.
J. R. BUNDESEN .- A very competent machinist who is meeting with merited success is J. R. Bundesen, of the firm of Bundesen and Lau- ritzen, shipbuilders, machinists and dredging contractors of Pittsburg. Mr. Bundesen was born in San Francisco on November 19, 1892, the son of Boy and Annie (Lauritzen) Bundesen. The father, familiarly known among the boatmen as "Pete" Bundesen, was for years a ship painter in San Francisco.
After his school days were over J. R. Bundesen learned the trade of the machinist and applied himself to his calling with diligence. He served in the World War in the United States Navy and was in Germany during 1918 and part of 1919. He served as a machinist, was promoted to chief machinist and engineer, and was honorably discharged at Mare Island in 1919. He then located in Antioch and started the Bundesen Machine Shop, and soon became known as an expert in his line, specializing in work on Diesel Engines, so much used on river boats and water craft. On De- cember 18, 1925, a partnership was formed with H. F. Lauritzen. The company bought the Lanteri Ship Yards at Pittsburg, and the new organi- zation is known as Bundesen and Lauritzen Ship Yards and Machine Works. They are prepared to construct barges of all sizes, dredges, and all kinds of craft for river use. They have remodeled the Pittsburg plant, installing modern machinery, have erected a new machine shop, and now make their headquarters at the Pittsburg plant, Mr. Bundesen having discontinued the Antioch establishment. The new location has a 250-foot
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frontage in the heart of the manufacturing district, and they are executing orders for craft for use as far north as Oregon. They are both expert workmen and are able to make repairs on any and all kinds of river and harbor vessels. The firm took over the Delta Dredging Company, a Lan- teri corporation, on April 1, 1926.
Mr. Bundesen was married in April, 1924, to Miss Nellie Eunice Hig- gins, daughter of Lee Higgins, rancher and sheep grower of Contra Costa County. The family home is at Antioch, where both Mr. and Mrs. Bun- desen are leaders in their social circle. Mr. Bundesen is a member of Harding Post, No. 161, American Legion, of Antioch; Antioch Lodge No. 175, F. & A. M .; and the Loyal Order of Moose, of Pittsburg.
LAWRENCE NICOL .- A man of strong personality and good edu- cation, Lawrence Nicol holds an assured place among the prominent ranchers and citizens of eastern Contra Costa County, where he is manag- ing the ranch owned by Nicol & Smith, Inc. This ranch comprises 640 acres of fine land, with 300 acres in alfalfa, 200 acres in twenty-five-year- old almond trees, and fifty acres in Blenheim and Tilton apricots. In 1920, when Mr. Nicol came here, this land was a grain field with the ex- ception of the almond orchard. Since that date, as manager of the prop- erty, he has carefully planned and executed his improvements until the property has no equal in this part of the county. No expense has been spared to bring about this change and to place the ranch on a remunerative and productive basis equal to any in the Delta region.
Lawrence Nicol is a native Californian, born on September 17, 1888, in Stockton, where he was reared and where his father, Frank Nicol, was a leading lawyer for more than thirty years as the senior member of the firm of Nicol & Orr. The elder Nicol was born in Illinois, and in an early day crossed the plains with his parents in a covered wagon drawn by ox- teams. Upon arriving in California they settled at Columbia, Tuolumne County, where the older members of the family followed mining for a time. Frank Nicol studied law in Tuolumne County, and after being ad- mitted to the bar moved to Stockton in 1880. He was married in Sonora to Adelaide Dodge, daughter of a pioneer family and herself born in this State. Her mother was a pioneer of 1854. Four children resulted from this union: Edwin E., in the insurance business in San Francisco; Mrs. Robert A. Smith, capitalist; Lawrence, of this review; and Mrs. Joseph Nielsen, of San Francisco. Frank Nicol died in Stockton in 1910, aged fifty-one years. Mrs. Nicol, now in her sixty-third year, makes her home in San Francisco.
Lawrence Nicol attended the Stockton public schools and was gradu- ated from the high school in 1907. That year he entered the University of California, pursuing a natural science course; and after he was gradu- ated he entered law school, from which he was graduated in 1911, and then took two postgraduate courses in law, receiving the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence. He then entered the law firm of Goodfellow, Ells &
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Orrick in San Francisco, and was following his profession at the time of the World War. In the fall of 1917 he answered the draft, trained at Camp Lewis, and went to France with the 41st Division, serving under General Alexander, and had charge of the military correspondence until the signing of the armistice. He then went to Paris and gained admission to the Sorbonne University of Paris, where he specialized in French, his- tory and literature. Early in 1919 he came back to the United States and received his honorable discharge at Camp Mills, Long Island, as a corp- oral. In 1920 he again took up civil life and came to his present location, where he has built up a reputation for himself as a public-spirited citizen and successful rancher. He believes firmly in the future of the county, and is always found ready and willing to give of his best efforts to further every project for the advancement of those interests that make for a better and bigger prosperity for the people who select this county as their home.
At Ross, Marin County, on December 28, 1920, Lawrence Nicol was united in marriage with Miss Irene Hund. She was born and reared in Marin County and represents a prominent family of the north bay district. Three children have blessed this union: Frank David, Jean, and Walter Harry. Both Mr. and Mrs. Nicol have an ever widening circle of friends in this county, and it is a privilege to be counted among their personal acquaintances.
GIUSEPPE SPARACINO .- The standing attained by Giuseppe Sparacino, one of Contra Costa County's successful business men, is the result of well-directed effort accompanied by ability and energy. He has been a resident of Martinez since he was a very young man, and for several years has been the representative, in this city, for the San Francisco Inter- national Fish Company. He is a substantial citizen and willing at all times to'assist in any movement for the welfare of the community.
Joe Sparacino, as he is familiarly known, was born at Santa Elia, Pal- ermo, Italy, September 24, 1880, the second eldest in a family of five chil- dren born to Nunzio and Rosa (Belanti) Sparacino. Nunzio Sparacino was employed as a fireman for the Flavio Rubertino Company, now the Italian General Navigation Company, for more than twenty years; he came out to California for the first time in 1889 and engaged as a fisher- man in the bay region. Returning to Italy on a visit to his family, he re- mained for one year and then returned to California, this time bringing our subject, who was then a lad of twelve years. They settled at Martinez and were there engaged as fishermen, and a few years later the rest of the family came to California to make their home. The father is now eighty years old, and the mother has reached her seventy-second year.
Giuseppe Sparacino attended public school in Italy up to his twelfth year, and after arriving in Martinez entered the public school, but only attended two terms, when he quit to assist his father in the fishing busi- ness, which had grown to such proportions that they owned several fish- ing boats. When his father retired from the business in 1907, Giuseppe,
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Leeno
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or Joe Sparacino succeeded to the business, which grew rapidly under his able management, so that he soon began to buy and market the catch of other local fishermen, and found himself in a lucrative wholesale business. Ten years ago his business was consolidated with the San Francisco In- ternational Fish Company, and Mr. Sparacino has since been the local manager of the Martinez branch.
On October 13, 1907, at Martinez, Mr. Sparacino was married to Miss Anna Belanti, born at Palermo, Italy, where she grew up and was educated. To them have been born seven children: Rosa, Nunzio, Joe, Nina, Peter, Frank, and an infant unnamed. Mr. Sparacino belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Moose Lodges of Martinez and was made a Mason in Speranza Italiana Lodge No. 219, F. & A. M., San Francisco. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Sparacino was one of the organizers of the National Bank of Martinez and is serving on its board of directors; he is also a director in the Richmond-Martinez Abstract Company.
FRANK SEENO .- Few residents of California outside of Pittsburg are aware of the fact that Pittsburg is one of the most important centers of the fishing industry in the State. It is estimated that about 700 persons are engaged in the fishing industry in the various capacities necessary to conduct the business in Pittsburg. The building of fishing boats, and motor boats for fishing, is considered a very important business here. Frank Seeno is one of the noted and successful boat builders in Pittsburg, where he has a well-equipped shop on the water front at the foot of Railroad Street. Here boats are built, launched, repaired and made ready for use on short notice. He began making sailboats, but now specializes in motor boats of from six to twelve horse-power gas engines.
Frank Seeno was born near Palermo, Italy, on the Island of Sicily, on August 5, 1873, the son of Erasmo and Rosa Seeno. The father lives in America, but the mother still resides in Italy. They had seven children : Frank, Gaetano, Angelo, Josephine, Rosa, Frances and Mary. The father was a stone mason by trade and Frank worked with him fifteen years, during which time they were engaged in building operations in Tunis and Algiers, Africa.
In 1902 Frank Seeno was married to Miss Rosa Cardinalli, the wed- ding taking place near Palermo. She died three years later. In 1906 he came to California and located at Black Diamond, now Pittsburg. He worked as a boat builder, and later satisfied a desire to see Alaska, where he spent three seasons working as a stevedore. Coming back to Pittsburg he leased a shop and began business, and later erected his own buildings and equipped them with modern wood-working machinery run by electric power. He has been successful, and is highly regarded in Pittsburg. In 1908 Mr. Seeno was again married, taking Miss Catherina Taormino, a native of Italy, as his wife. They have had five children: Rosa, Erasmo, Salvator, Vincent and Josephine. 23
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WILLIAM LUTZ .- William Lutz is well and favorably known throughout Eastern Contra Costa County, and particularly in Oakley, where since 1922 he has operated the Oakley Pharmacy. In connection with his drug business, which includes a large and ever increasing prescrip- tion department, he handles newspapers, magazines and stationery. Wil- liam Lutz was born in Geneva, N. Y., on September 18, 1898, his parents being John and Elizabeth Lutz, now honored citizens of Antioch. John Lutz, the father, is in the employ of the Pioneer Rubber Company at Pitts- burg, but has his home in Antioch. The Lutz family came to California when our subject was six and a half years old. As a boy, William Lutz attended the grammar school in Antioch and later entered high school. He began to study pharmacy under Professor Flint, of the Physicians & Surgeons College in San Francisco, and then found employment in the Pal- ace Drug Store in Antioch. During the World War he spent ten months in France in the Medical Department of the army, and prior to going to France he spent six months in training camps in the United States. Re- turning to the United States he resumed his position with the Palace Drug Store, after his discharge from the service on May 10, 1919, and in 1919 passed the State examination as a pharmacist. Three years later he opened his present drug store, where he has built up a prosperous business. He is thoroughly reliable and competent, and enjoys the confidence of the entire community.
On May 2, 1925, Mr. Lutz was married to Miss Verna Boyd, born in Butte County, Cal., and they are prominent in the best social circles of Antioch and Oakley. Mr. Lutz is a member of the American Legion, Harding Post No. 161, at Antioch.
GRIFFITH LLOYD .- A trusted employee of the Selby Smelting Company in Contra Costa County is found in Griffith Lloyd of Crockett. He was born in Wales on March 26, 1868, the son of Thomas and Cath- erine (Evans) Lloyd, both now deceased, the father died at the age of over ninety, in 1924. There were an even dozen children in the family of Thomas Lloyd. The oldest brother came to America when a young man and located in New York State, where also there is a sister now mak- ing her home.
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