USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume III > Part 20
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In 1888 the women of Santa Monica, under the direction of Mesdames W. S. Vawter and M. E. Chapin, won the first prize ($200) for a floral exhibit in the Hazard Pavilion, Los Angeles, and they contributed this amount to the reading-room fund. Members of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union then took over the management. At this time Mrs. Jane Austin was president and Mrs. Laura E. Hubbell, the vice president of the library association. These earnest women were alive to every opportunity to make money for the treasured free reading room and library. Mrs. Hubbell's devotion to the interests of the library at this time has left a lasting appreciation on the part of the community.
On the 14th of November, 1890, the local Woman's Christian Temper- ance Union gave to the city government of Santa Monica a library of 800 volumes. The city trustees appointed a board of library directors, com- posed of W. W. Webster, E. H. Sweetser, L. T. Fisher, Abbot Kinney and H. W. Winslow. In the building of the Bank of Santa Monica two rooms were rented for the accommodation of the library, and Elfie Asenath Mosse was appointed librarian. She has continued in charge ever since that time, to the great satisfaction of citizens and officials. The library steadily grew until it occupied five rooms, and in March, 1903, it was re- moved to the new City Hall, at the corner of Fourth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.
It is a matter of record that many citizens united in writing to the Carnegie corporation with a plea for a contribution for a library building, but it was the appeal of Mrs. Joseph H. Clark that gained consideration and brought forth a gift of $12,500. Through the efforts of her husband subscriptions were secured, and then was effected the purchase of the present site of the library, at the corner of Fifth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. Through this setting the library took a big step in the line of advancement.
Mayor T. Horace Dudley and Mayor Roscoe H. Dow in succession gave to the library its first substantial municipal support, which enabled it to take its place among the progressive libraries of the state. The branch library building at Central Avenue and Main Street, Ocean Park, was the generous gift of the Carnegie corporation. The gift was made in response to a letter written by Mayor Samuel L. Berkley, who is now chief executive of the municipal government of Santa Monica under the commission form of government, and who is also president of the Board of Directors of the library. The Ocean Park branch of the library was opened February 15,1918.
Today (1922) the main and branch libraries contain a total of 35,000 volumes, and under the new registration one-third of the population are active members of the two libraries. Coincident with the growth of the library and the rapid increase in population has come on the part of the public a new attitude toward the library and its service, and instead of the librarian creating a demand for new books of reference or information on developments in professions, trades, science or home economy, the library finds itself taxed to the limit of its facilities at times to meet the ever- growing demand for books recording accomplishments in the various fields of human activity. Thus the library finds its service necessary to the
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practical worker. In keeping the library up to its high standard the libra- rian has been effectively helped by her first assistant, Miss Katherine Monica Whelan, and the other members of her faithful staff.
JAY DON RINEHART, of Pasadena, here figures as one of the constitu- ent members of the representative law firm of Merriam, Rinehart & Mer- riam, the head of which is Judge John H. Merriam, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work, as is also of his son, Ralph T. Merriam, the junior member of the firm.
Jay D. Rinehart was born at Coon Rapids, Carroll County, Iowa, on the 10th of June, 1891, and is a son of Jerome B. and Etta E. (Erb) Rinehart, the father being now a resident of Pasadena, and the mother having died in this city on the 21st of November, 1918. Jerome B. Rinehart has given many years of effective achievement as a contractor and builder, and has been identified with construction work of important order in various states of the Union. He is now living virtually retired, though he still does more or less building on properties owned and thus improved by himself. He was born at Millersburg Pennsylvania, and his wife at La Grange, Indi- ana, where their marriage was solemnized. Of their three children two are living, the subject of this sketch being the younger of the two. Jerome B. Rinehart built in the State of Georgia, at Fitzgerald, the largest church edifice then south of Atlanta, and he erected also the post office building at Fitzgerald in 1902-3. In this connection he demonstrated to residents of that state the proper method of building on a sand foundation. In his con- struction work Mr. Rinehart handled also important contracts in Iowa and other western states. From Iowa he went to Indian Territory in 1899, but he was driven out by an Indian uprising, and in 1900 went to Pensacola, Florida. In the following year he removed to Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he remained until 1904, when he went to Texarkana, Texas, and the year 1905 recorded his arrival in Pasadena, California, where he has since main- tained his home.
Jay D. Rinehart attended school at Fitzgerald, Georgia, and Texarkana, Texas, and in 1909 graduated from the high school at Pasadena, Cali- fornia. In 1914 he graduated from the College of Social Sciences at the University of California, with the degree of Bachelor of Letters, and in 1916 he received from the law department of this university the degree of Juris Doctor, his admission to the California bar having occurred in May of that year. As a student in the law department of the university Mr. Rinehart was a member of the editorial staff of the California Law Review, 1914-16, and during the last fourteen months was Student Editor-in-Chief. He was there affiliated also with the legal fraternity Phi Delta Phi.
After his admission to the bar Mr. Rinehart returned to Pasadena, and on the 1st of January, 1917, he here entered the law office of Judge John H. Merriam, with whom he formed a partnership in September, 1918, under the firm name of Merriam & Rinehart, which continued until February 1, 1919, when Ralph T. Merriam became a member of the firm and the present title was adopted. This firm controls a large and important law business, con- fined principally to civil and probate practice. In the World war period Mr. Rinehart was a member of the Legal Advisory Board of Los Angeles County, he having been physically disqualified for active military service when the nation became involved in the war. He had received excellent military training while a student in the University of California, and was there captain of the University Cadets at the time of his graduation in 1914. He is a staunch republican, he and his wife hold membership in the First Baptist Church of Pasadena, and he is actively identified with the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Pasadena Bar Association, and the New Century and Optimist Clubs. His wife is a member of the New Century Sorosis. Mr. Rinehart has taken lively and specially helpful interest in the work of the Boy Scouts of America, he being now the popular scout master of the local troop of Boy Scouts, as well as a member of the Pasadena Council of Boy Scouts.
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On the 15th of October, 1920, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rinehart and Miss Gladys Mary Cummings, daughter of Rev. S. W. Cum- mings, D. D., who formerly was pastor of the Ruggles Street Baptist Church in the City of Boston, Massachusetts. He was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pasadena from 1912 to 1920. At present he is a member of the faculty of the University of Redlands, in charge of the department of religious education. Mrs. Rinehart was born at Truro, Nova Scotia, and is of staunch Scotch lineage. She is the gracious and popular chatelaine of her attractive home, at 1311 La Pintoresca Drive, Pasadena.
WILBUR W. BENNETT. Perhaps in no part of the country at the present time are real estate interests more closely or profitably looked after than in Los Angeles County, and this very naturally indicates that the members of the realty boards here are men of business acumen and unflagging en- terprise. Within the past few years great impetus has been given to the business, as capital has been brought in and development has followed, and from the annual amount of business transacted it might be reasonably imagined that a large percentage of the country's home-seeking people had turned their thoughts in this direction. Some of the leading realtors of Santa Monica were experienced in the real estate business prior to estab- lishing themselves in this city, and one who has prospered exceedingly since coming here, is Wilbur W. Bennett, who has pleasant and convenient quarters at. 135 Santa Monica Boulevard.
Mr. Bennett was born at Detroit, Michigan, November 25, 1873, a member of an old and solid family of that city. He attended the public schools, and after reaching manhood was engaged for some years in the sand and gravel business, later turning his attention to the manufacture of stoves and being associated with the Art Stove Company of Detroit. Sub- sequently he sold his stove interests and went into the real estate and in- surance business, in which line of effort he continued in his native city for twenty-three years. He improved a great deal of property there, one of his record achievements being the erection of 146 houses in fourteen months.
Mr. Bennett then came to California, and in 1919 he organized the Orange County Harbor Realty Company at Balboa City, which he sold in 1920 and then came to Santa Monica, where one of his first business acts was the purchase of the Santa Monica Coast Investment Company. He carries on a general real estate and insurance business, including real estate loans, handles both city and suburban properties and is agent for many representative insurance organizations. The volume of his business requires the assistance of six people, some of whom are real estate experts.
Mr. Bennett married Miss Mattie West Skand, who was born at De- troit, Michigan, where her people still reside. Although marked by good citizenship wherever he has lived, Mr. Bennett has never been very active in political life and has always been more or less concerned with large busi- ness responsibilities. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the Greater Santa Monica Club and of the Realty Board, and for many years has been identified with the Order of Odd Fellows.
MISS WINONA GODFREY. One of Los Angeles County's most talented woman writers is Miss Winona Godfrey, author of short stories that have appeared in the magazines of large and general circulation.
Miss Godfrey was born in Marysville, Ohio, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George M. Godfrey, her father of English and her mother of Scotch ancestry.
Miss Godfrey was educated in Seattle, and attracted attention by her literary gifts when a school girl. Her first published stories appeared soon after she left high school. As a short story writer she has an immense following among the readers of such popular magazines as the American
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Magazine, the Red Book, Harpers, Woman's Home Companion, Sunset, and others. A number of her stories are now reappearing in the English magazines. All of her stories contain a human interest element, dealing with love, domestic life, and character. Miss Godfrey is a member of the Authors' League and the Southern California Press Club.
ALBERT E. FLAVELL. There are, perhaps, few young business men in Los Angeles County who in a comparatively short life have had so many stirring personal experiences or trained in business methods in wider fields than Albert E. Flavell, soldier, traveler, diamond miner, importer, ex- porter and broker, and now one of the representative men in the real estate business at Santa Monica.
Mr. Flavell was born in the great City of London, England, December 1, 1884, and his educational privileges in boyhood were those obtained in the city grammar schools before he was sixteen years of age. He was not much older when he enlisted for service in the Boer war and went to South Africa as a private soldier in the 32nd Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, where he served for fourteen months. The war had left him uninjured, but he was young enough to seek further adventure in the strange country in which he found himself. Having been a faithful, loyal soldier, he had no particular difficulty in securing work with the Cape Railroad Company, where his appearance and bearing beyond his years brought confidence, and he was made station master at Falbaugh, Cape Colony, and continued in that position for two years.
No well informed person anywhere in these days lacks knowledge of the great diamond mines of South Africa, and Mr. Flavell had considerable first hand information, for he was stationed not far from the famous Kim- berly diamond fields. It is quite possible that, like thousands of other young men who went to South Africa after the accidental discovery of "a fine bit of crystal" in a mountain stream, had turned the eyes of the world in that direction, he had hope also of some lucky "find," but Mr. Flavell has been more of a doer than dreamer all his life, and very soon after leaving his railroad position he accepted one with the great De Beers Consolidated Mines Company, and for the next six years was em- ployed in the Cape Explosion Works. His next business venture was as import and export agent at Cape Town for all American lines, and he continued in the business for three years.
In the meanwhile disturbances in the country again required strong military measures, and once more Mr. Flavell became a soldier, enlisting as a private under the intrepid General Botha and served six months in Africa, and subsequently in Japan and China and one year in Egypt. After this term of loyal military service was over Mr. Flavell again turned his attention to business, for which he had found himself well adapted. He became identified with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and opened branches at New Orleans, Louisiana and other points, his practical ex- porting knowledge making him very valuable to the company. In 1915 he came to California and established a brokerage business at Los Angeles, and in 1918 came to Santa Monica, with the intention of going into the real estate business, a project he has carried out with a large measure of suc- cess. With remarkable good judgment he purchased properties at Venice and Ocean Park, both improved and undeveloped, and then bought the interests of the Wilshire Realty Company, and his investments and his energy and enterprise have made him a leading figure in the real estate and insurance business. Mr. Flavell handles both city and suburban real estate, and is actively developing his own choice properties, which are sit- uated in the Palisades. An important feature of his business is insurance, which line is well looked after, he being agent for many of the represen- tative organizations of the country, including automobile insurance, public liability and compensation.
Mr. Flavell married, June 14, 1919, at Brooklyn, New York, Miss Caroline May, born and educated in that city, who is a daughter of William
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May, a business man there. Mr. and Mrs. Flavell have two sons, Edgar William and Kenneth John.
Since first establishing his home at Santa Monica Mr. Flavell has shown hearty interest in all that concerns the substantial welfare of the city, readily accepting civic responsibilities and cheerfully co-operating with other prominent citizens in public-spirited movements for the general good. He has become a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Greater Santa Monica Club, and also of the Realty Board of Santa Monica and Ocean Park, an organization that made a fine showing in the recent Realty Convention held at San Francisco. Mr. Flavell has friends and acquaintances in many parts of the world, and to some degree has always been interested in wholesome athletic sports. He is a member of the New Orleans Yacht Club.
HON. GEORGE H. HUTTON, former judge of the Superior Court of the bench and bar of this county, and assisted in laying his locality's foun- dation broad and deep, at the same time giving his best efforts toward Los Angeles County, was for many years a distinguished member of . the establishment of an honest public administration. His nature is both practical and ideal, and founded upon a fine enthusiasm based upon com- mon sense. He was one of the founders of the village of Sawtelle, and has been variously identified with business and civic movements, being at present vice president of the First National Bank of Santa Monica.
Judge Hutton was born at London, Ontario, Canada, August 5, 1870, and received his early education in the public schools of his native place. Later he attended Hamline University, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1890. In 1910 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Law from the same institution. On leaving Hamline University Judge Hutton went to the University of Minnesota, where he was gradu- ated in law in 1893, and in that year commenced the practice of his profession at St. Paul, where he remained until 1895. That year saw his arrival at Santa Monica, where he soon became numbered among the lead- ing members of the bar and built up a large and important practice, being identified with many of the most prominent cases that appeared in the courts. In 1906 he was elevated to the bench of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, on which he served with eminent ability until 1913, in which year he retired from the law. In 1922 he became vice president of the First National Bank of Santa Monica and a member of the Board of Directors. This institution, one of the strong and reliable banking houses of Los An- geles County, was founded in 1903, and Mr. Hutton's fellow-officials are : Dr. C. P. Thomas, president ; George B. Dickinson, vice president ; C. D. Francis, cashier ; V. C. Kebbe, assistant cashier ; and the directors are Mrs. D. G. Stephens, A. W. McPherson and Dr. W. H. Olds. The capital stock of the bank is $100,000, and the surplus and undivided profits, $40,660, the present deposits amounting to approximately $2,000,000. Judge Hutton is a republican in politics, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic Church. He holds membership in the Santa Monica Chamber of Com- merce.
On October 9, 1897, Judge Hutton was united in marriage with Miss Dolores Eggleston, of Chatfield, Minnesota, and they are the parents of one son: Robert E., now a senior student at the University of California.
MISS MARTHA I. CAMMACK. California was one of the first states to confer political opportunities and privileges upon women. But for a much longer time California has been an open door to economic inde- pendence for women with sufficient ambition, energy and enterprise. One who has taken splendid advantage of this open door is Miss Martha I. Cammack of Whittier. She came to California with prac- tically no funds, and by her own efforts has placed herself in the class of wealthy women, achieving such distinctions through her
Marthe &, kammack.
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industry and intelligent management of her citrus fruit groves and other property.
Miss Cammack was born in'Green County, Wisconsin, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bennett) Cammack. Her father was of Scotch ancestry, the named being spelled MacCammack. Elizabeth Bennett was born in Ohio, of English and Revolutionary ancestry. William Cammack was a native of Virginia, and a pioneer in Wis- consin. In addition to farming he carried the Gospel as a minister of the Christian Church in many remote localities. William Cam- mack's mother's father, by the name of Carter, and two uncles fought and died in the service of the American forces during the Revolution.
Miss Martha I. Cammack acquired a public and select school education in Iowa. Her parents moved to that state in 1873. Coming alone to California, she arrived in Whittier October 11, 1889. Two years previously her sister, Mary Katherine Davis, and her brother- in-law, Nele Davis, had reached Whittier. During the first year Miss Cammack worked out, and then, having sold her home in Iowa, she invested the proceeds, only $425, in five acres of land in East Whittier. This land was a portion of an immense barley field. No irrigation ditches had been constructed, and all that region was practically without water. After purchasing this land Miss Cammack continued to work out, buying the trees and having them planted. These trees at first had to be watered with a barrel. From time to time she bought other pieces of land, improving them, and altogether developed twenty- seven acres, of which she still retains twenty-one. She has a five and a six-acre piece in East Whittier, and has ten acres in North Whittier. One and a half acres of her land are planted to Navels, two and one- half acres to lemons and the rest in Valencia oranges. The manage- ment of these properties constitutes an extensive business, and Miss Cam- mack has personally supervised every department and is undoubtedly one of the most successful citrus fruit growers in the state. She is a member of the Whittier Citrus Association and the North Whittier Citrus Association.
For several years Miss Cammack has owned her present home, at 329 North Bright Street, in Whittier. It is the scene of many pleasant gatherings of friends and relatives. Miss Cammack is a member of the College Auxiliary, is an active worker in the Friends Church, and a member of its Foreign Missionary Society.
Her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Nele Davis, came to Whittier in 1887 with a company of twenty of their neighbors. From Kansas City west they traveled with A. H. Pickering. Nele Davis set out one of the first citrus orchards and became a very pop- ular citizen of the Whittier District. He was a very lovable char- acter, who carried the sunshine of his presence into many homes. He was a charter member and one of the organizers of the Friends Church in Whittier. His death in 1908 was sincerely mourned by all the old time and later residents of Whittier. His wife enjoyed equal popularity, and her death on June 22, 1920, was in the nature of a public bereavement.
Miss Cammack has three brothers and three sisters, all residents of Whittier or this district except Samuel Cammack, who still lives in Iowa. Marian Cammack is a citrus grower at Whittier ; William, is a citrus grower and oil owner at Bell; Rachael is the widow of Hamilton Miller, who came to Whittier in 1892; Lillie, is the wife of James McGee, a citrus grower at Whittier.
Her sister Rosa married L. E. Hayes, and they came to the Whit- tier District in 1909. Recently they sold a five-acre grove within the limits of the city, and this tract is being platted and cut up into city lots. They still retain ten acres of walnuts on North Whittier Heights and twenty acres of oranges in Happy Valley. Mr. and Mrs Hayes
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are members of the Friends Church. They have three children : Anna, wife of Edmund Dickman of East Whittier; Florence, wife of Doctor C. L. Taylor, a Whittier physician; and Doctor Kenneth Hayes, an optometrist at Redlands.
CHESTER L. COFFIN. The law is universally recognized as a stern mis- tress, demanding of her followers constant and unremitting service and leading her devotees through many devious paths and intricate mazes be- fore she grants them success at her hands. Naturally the young lawyer who has had a careful preparation before he enters practice, provided he has also the inherent ability, has the advantage over those whose training has been incomplete. Of the younger attorneys practicing at the Los Angeles County bar, one whose ability, predilection and general fitness for his call- ing has been assisted by a thorough course of instruction is Chester L. Coffin, of Santa Monica.
Mr. Coffin was born at Reno, Nevada, October 27, 1889, and there re- ceived his early education in the graded and high schools. Following his graduation from the latter he enrolled as a student at Leland Stanford Junior University, where in 1913 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in the following year was given his law degree of jurist doctor. Mr. Coffin entered upon the practice of his profession at Reno, but after nine months came to Santa Monica and became associated with the law firm of Hutton & Fogel. Subsequently he was admitted as a member of the firm, but left that combination to become identified with Hunsaker, Britt & Cosgrove. On January 3, 1922, he became a member of the law firm of Weber, Crawford & Coffin, accounted one of the strong and successful combinations of the county. He is at present deputy city attorney of Santa Monica. Mr. Coffin is one of the energetic, capable and thoroughly relia- ble lawyers of his community, and devotes himself thereto with increas- ing fervor. He is a general practitioner, being equally at home in all de- partments of his profession, and has been identified with a number of im- portant cases during his career. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and while at college was admitted to membership in the Phi Delta Phi law fraternity, in addition to which he belongs to the Order of Coif, a national law scholar- ship society. He is also a member of the Union League Club of Los Angeles, and has several local civic and social connections. In politics he is a republican, but not a politician.
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