USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Pomona Valley, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the valley who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 38
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DAVID C. CROOKSHANK
In the life of this successful citizen of Pomona are illustrated the results of perseverance and energy, coupled with strict integrity. Men possessing the fundamental characteristics to which he is heir have ever been regarded as bulwarks of the communities in which they have lived, and Pomona has been most fortunate in having among her citizens so many real builders and public-spirited men. Born January 10, 1851, in Butler County, Pa., David C. Crookshank is a son of William and Jane A. (Hayes) Crookshank, farmer folk, both now deceased. Twelve children were born to this worthy couple, five boys and seven girls, all reaching maturity but one.
The eighth child in the family, David C. received a common school education and gained a practical knowledge of agricultural work on the home farm; his two brothers were in the Civil War, and David had
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to stay at home and help his father, remaining thus engaged until twen- ty-two years of age. He then married and went to Michigan, where he learned the carpenter's trade, and in a few years engaged in manufac- turing sash and doors and interior finishings, and also was in the lumber business, later becoming manager of a furniture factory employing some 300 men.
January 1, 1904, Mr. Crookshank arrived in California, and first located in Ocean Park, where he engaged in real estate, building and selling. After two years there he moved to Los Angeles, and remained there one year. In 1907 he located in Pomona. One year previous to that he had traded his Ocean Park property for the Ambrosia grove of forty acres in Pomona.
Since 1894 Mr. Crookshank has been associated in business with F. L. Somers, and almost all of his enterprises since that date have been in partnership with this old-time friend and business associate. They bought the M. L. Sparks tract of 150 acres at La Verne, fifty acres of it fruit, and sold all but eight acres of this property, one of the choicest bits of acreage in Southern California. Later he formed a private company and purchased the Seth Richards orange grove of 450 acres, and improved 150 acres of this, known as the Mesa tract. Later the company went out of existence and with Mr. Somers he bought the remainder of the tract and they still own this acreage. He has bought and sold numerous ranches, putting them in good condition and selling at an increased price. He was the first man to sell orange land at $2000 per acre; this same land is now held at a refusal of $5000.
Probably one of the largest contracting firms in Southern Califor- nia, the two partners have built many large buildings, both in Pomona Valley and elsewhere; they erected some of the buildings of the Sol- diers' Home at Sawtelle; many of the Pomona College buildings, and are now engaged in building the Women's Building for that insti- tution ; and have built many large buildings in Los Angeles and vicinity.
On February 11, 1873, occurred the marriage of David C. Crook- shank and Mary A. Unger, the ceremony taking place in Butler County, Pa., and two children bless their union: Mrs. Clara J. Steele of La Verne, and Mrs. Mary Ethel Elder of North Pomona. One grand- child, Carnes, brings sunshine to their lives. Mr. Crookshank is a Republican in politics, and in religious belief he is a Presbyterian. Fraternally he belongs to the Masons.
Prominent in most of the associations which have helped in the building up of the Valley, Mr. Crookshank is a charter member of the La Verne Orange and Lemon Growers Association, and has been presi- dent of the company since it was formed; maintaining one of the finest packing plants in the state, this organization in its beginning shipped 250 cars of citrus fruits, and now sends 1500 carloads over the roads to their different destinations. He has been a member of the San An- tonio Fruit Exchange, and a director in the Southern California Fruit
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Growers Exchange, also a director in the Orange Products Company. As a director in the Fumigating and Supply Company of Pomona, the Lemon By-Products of Corona, and the Fruit Growers Supply Com- pany of Los Angeles, Mr. Crookshank takes an important part in the fruit industries in this section of the state, and has, since his first locat- ing in Pomona, been a factor for progress and an incentive toward the amalgamation of the citrus growers' interests for mutual benefit. Gifted with the faculty for seeing into the future as regards the growth and expansion of a district, he has given of his time and influence with that end in view and has done as much as any one man for the advancement of Pomona Valley along these lines, the backbone of its prosperity. Mr. Crookshank was one of the organizers of the Chamber of Com- merce, is a charter member, served as president one year, and has been a director since the start of the organization.
In the midst of his business cares Mr. Crookshank has found time to devote to the social and educational upbuilding of the community and has been active in Y. M. C. A. work, in donating and collecting for the new building in Pomona, and in various other ways has shown his public spirit and broad humanitarian ideals.
ELMER W. HART, L.L.M.
A gentleman of broad education and special scientific accomplish- ment who has come to devote his attention and experience to the many and important problems of citrus growing, is Elmer W. Hart, L.L.M., who was born in Racine, Wis., on February 8, 1863, the son of John S. and Susan (Hawkins) Hart, both natives of Meredith Village, N. H., who migrated to Racine, where John S. Hart was a successful woolen manufacturer. Enjoying the balmy climate of South- ern California, he was in his later years accustomed to spend each winter in Pasadena. During this time the wisdom of his judgment caused him to purchase an orange orchard, in the culture of which he took much pride. His demise occurred in Pasadena in February, 1901, his estimable wife having preceded him to the Great Beyond several years before, the mother of six children, four now living, of whom our subject is the fourth eldest.
Elmer W. Hart was educated at Racine Academy, after which he entered the George Washington University, Washington, D. C., from which he was graduated with the class of 1889, when he received the degree of Master of Laws. Following that excellent preparation, he practiced his profession in Chicago. He had made several trips to California to visit his aged parent and then in the fall of 1900, on account of his father's serious illness, he came again to be with and cheer him. Having enjoyed the climate and country more and more each time, he concluded to locate here and after his father's
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demise, he took up his residence in San Dimas and began the growing of citrus fruits, in which he has been so successful, applying the same zeal that characterized him in his profession, resulting in his becoming one of the best-posted men in the care and cultivation, as well as the marketing of oranges and lemons. He came to own two orchards, which he sold in 1909. This left him free to fulfill a cherished desire of visiting Europe, so with his wife, he spent two years traveling in the British Isles, as well as on the Continent. After his return, he again purchased an orange ranch and since August, 1911, has resided on his present place on Cienega Avenue. He has thirty acres devoted to citrus fruit and having applied the latest and most approved meth- ods, he has obtained results commensurate. As a result of his general experience in this field and in the locality, Judge Hart has come to have great faith in San Dimas and its promising future. His influ- ence for progress is recognized, and at present he is the president of the San Dimas Orange Growers Association as well as the San Dimas Fruit Exchange. To this latter position he was elected when the Exchange was organized in 1912, at the same time being elected by the Exchange as representative to the California Fruit Growers Ex- change with headquarters in Los Angeles, and was by them in turn elected a member of its board of directors. In the deliberations of this body he is active, deeply conscientious, working for the growers' interest and doing all he possibly can to build up the citrus industry of the state of his adoption.
Judge Hart has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Esther Grey of San Francisco and the daughter of John Grey, a mer- chant of that metropolis, to whom he was wedded in 1902, and who died on January 15, 1918; while for his second marriage he chose for his companion, Miss Stella Lucas of Kansas City, an accomplished and attractive woman.
Mr. Hart was made a Mason in Home Lodge No. 508, F. & A. M., Chicago, from which he was demitted and he became a charter member of San Dimas Lodge, F. & A. M .; he is a member of Pomona Chapter, R. A. M., Chicago Consistory, thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Masons, and Al Malaikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Los Angeles. He is a past exalted ruler of Pomona Lodge of Elks and is a popular member of the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles.
His veracity and integrity are unquestioned and his word once given is as good as his bond. For six years, Judge Hart was special examiner in the U. S. Pension office in Washington during the admin- istration of President Harrison. Being a firm believer in protection, he is an ardent Republican, and is justice of the peace of his district, having accepted the office for the good he may do and not for its emoluments. Judge Hart is an inveterate worker and is never idle, always striving for the greatest good in the cooperation of the fruit
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men. His energy, ambition, as well as years of valuable experience make his advice much sought after and this, coupled with an amiable and pleasing personality, makes it little wonder that he has been selected as a director in an association that has done the greatest good and brought the most wealth to California of any association of its kind. He is a truly good, kind and considerate man, being highly esteemed and much honored, and his example is worthy of emulation.
IRA F. WHITE
The preservation of pioneer history in the state has become more and more valuable as the years vanish into the distance, and the life stories of the men and women who have helped to make it are so woven into the warp and woof of the progress made here within the past fifty and more years that to get the real history of California and her different localities we must write of their early struggles and devel- opment work, carried up to the present hour. It is they who have made possible our present and future prosperity and we are anxious to give them full credit for their achievements.
Ira F. White was born on a farm in Warren County, Ill., Jan- uary 15, 1836, the son of William and Charity (Oglesby) White. The father was a building contractor, and his death occurred when Ira was ten years of age, which made it necessary for the lad to go to work on a farm. In the meantime the family had removed to Iowa, and William White died in Burlington, of that state.
Remaining on the farm until reaching the age of seventeen, Ira F. then learned the trade of tinsmith, in Illinois, and went to Minnesota, and for fifteen years he remained there, going into business for himself in 1861, at Hastings. In 1865 he moved to Owatonna, that state, where he remained for four years. In the year 1869 he came to San José, and for four months he traveled over California, at the end of that time returning to Minnesota, and early in 1870 he engaged in the hardware business in Hampton, Iowa, continuing for eight years.
The West proved too strong a lure, however, and 1878 found Mr. White back in California. He first located on a ranch in the foot- hills near Sacramento and engaged in raising fruit, a pioneer in that industry, and for seven years he remained in that location, then for one year resided in Solano County.
In 1885 Mr. White came to Pomona, and that same year he bought out John Johnson, taking possession on January 1, 1886, under the name of Ira F. White and Son. He was a member of the first horti- cultural society formed in California, joining in Sacramento, and since coming to the Valley has also engaged in ranching, now having dis- posed of his interests in that line. In 1898 he sold out his business to J. W. Wilkinson and Son and has since that time lived retired from
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active cares. The marriage of Mr. White, which occurred in 1868, united him with Miss Mary L. Downing, a daughter of George Downing of Minnesota, and two children have been born to them, Dr. Mabel E., and Alice.
Mr. White has always realized the importance of preserving the early history of this wonderful country, and has taken an especial interest in that of California; he was one of the organizers of the. Pioneer Society in Pomona, which has for its object the gathering together of such history before it is too late, and the society gave their first picnic in 1919, a meeting which is to be an annual affair.
ETHAN H. EARLE
A pioneer of Pomona, both in respect to his long years of resi- dence in this favored section and also in the introduction here of superior workmanship in painting, is Ethan H. Earle, who was born in Dubuque County, lowa, on February 3, 1847, and was reared on a farm while he attended the country schools. When eighteen years old he moved with his parents to Clinton County, Mo., and there, as a young man, took up the trade he has followed ever since, that of house painting. All in all he has been over half a century at his trade, a fact that adds to the interest of his early work in Los Angeles County.
In 1886, at the beginning of the great boom in California realty, Mr. Earle came from Missouri to California, and through excep- tional fortune was at once directed to Pomona, then a small town, but one that had the unmistakable marks of promise, of about one thou- sand people. He has personally witnessed, therefore, all the impor- tant changes of the passing years, and is never at a loss to relate an interesting and sometimes an absorbing experience.
He started to contract on painting and interior decorating soon after his arrival, and his first job was to paint Brown's Hotel, one of the old landmarks of the city, now called the Commercial House, on West Second Street. He also painted many of the homes of the early settlers in pioneer days, and among these were the Armour residence, the James Beckett place, and the L. W. Pierce residence. He also painted and decorated the First Methodist Church. He is the pio- neer in his line in Pomona Valley, and although past seventy-two years of age, he is still very active in his work. Besides the display of his art and craftsmanship in Pomona Valley, Mr. Earle has worked on some of the finest residences in Los Angeles, and has painted a number of houses for J. S. Stewart in Long Beach. He ran a paint store at 122 South Thomas Street for about four years.
Not only have long years been granted this vigorous path breaker, but he has been privileged to rear a large family. In the year 1872 and
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at Cameron, Mo., he married Miss Ellen Smart, a native of Missouri, and by her he has had ten children. Lena became Mrs. John Schu- man and died, leaving eight children; Cora B. died in 1898; Charles W .; Olie died in 1898 ; Nellie has become Mrs. Sidney White and has one child; Maude is Mrs. Riley Gillenwater, the mother of three children; Gertrude is Mrs. Harry Collins; Lela; and Alfred. The oldest of the family died in infancy.
Mr. Earle made a unicycle about thirty years ago and has run it all over the Valley, and in Second Street when the mud was eight inches deep. This was on display in the parade on October 30, 1919, in the March of Progress.
WALTER MOORE AVIS
A rancher who, identifying himself with town life, has come to fill important offices of public trust, and has done much to improve this part of Los Angeles County, is Walter Moore Avis, the extensive farmer who resides on East Holt Avenue. He was born at Lincoln Mills, N. J., on March 24, 1863, the son of Paul Avis, who was a farmer and had a flour mill. He took an active part in politics, and was full of patriotic zeal during the Civil War, but he was too old to serve in the army. A son, Harry M., however, served for four years during the war. Later the father was United States Land Com- missioner. He was of Moravian stock, and his ancestors donated land for the first Moravian church built in New Jersey, still standing at Swedesboro, the oldest church in that vicinity. Paul Avis married Sarah Benezette, a worthy representative of a French Huguenot family that came to America with William Penn. The elder Avis died on March 18, 1896, while Mrs. Avis passed away on June 3, 1891. She was the mother of twelve children, and eleven lived to maturity.
The ninth child, Walter was educated in the public schools and at Bacon Academy; and when he reached the age of nineteen, he engaged in the milling business with his father. In that field he continued until he was twenty-five, and as it was customary in those days to do things thoroughly, and his father was the best of counselors, he profited greatly by the experience. In the spring of 1888, during the height of the excitement over land values and their appreciation, due to the sudden "boom" in California, Mr. Avis came to the Golden State, and for a year he located at San Diego. Attractive as the extreme South- land proved to be, he saw in Pomona a still more promising field; and the following February he came here. For three years he busied him- self with truck gardening, and then he went into the wholesale produce and fruit trade. He bought in large quantities and rather daringly, and he became the largest dealer in this locality.
On December 21, 1903, Mr. Avis was appointed postmaster of Pomona by President Roosevelt and reappointed in 1907, and in that
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responsible office he served for ten years and ten days, directing the postal affairs of the district in the most economical and yet the most progressive spirit, effecting both reforms and economy. Pomona has been fortunate in her postmasters, but never more so than when Walter Moore Avis was appointed to that department of public trust.
While postmaster, Mr. Avis moved the postoffice from its Second Street location to its present place on Thomas Street, in 1909, and superintended the building of it; thus by moving the postoffice to the side street it opened up a new business district, making a great improvement, since formerly all business had been concentrated on Second Street, thus rounding out the city. Retiring with the esteem and good-will of everyone, Mr. Avis and his wife set out from Pomona in January, 1914, and made a tour of the world, returning in the fol- lowing October. Perhaps as the result of this broadening travel Mr. Avis saw the necessity for a modern hotel and when requested to do so by his fellow citizens, started the desired improvement and built the Avis Hotel. The work was commenced on July 1, 1914, and by January 1, 1915, it had been completed, furnished and occupied at a cost of $100,000-a fine fireproof structure of five stories, including sixty rooms. He has built more business houses than any other indi- vidual and has been the largest taxpayer in the city; among the build- ings are the Belvedere Theater, Avis Block, Postoffice Block, Avis Hotel, and he plans to build one more structure on a lot adjoining the Avis Hotel. He has owned and improved other valuable property. He was one of the original stockholders of the Mutual Building and Loan Association of Pomona and has been on the board of directors for twenty-five years. He has also been a director of the American National Bank for many years.
The day before Christmas, 1901, at Mullica Hill, N. J., Mr. Avis and Miss Abigail Sherwin, an accomplished lady of English descent, were married; and since then the Avis residence has been a center of most acceptable hospitality. Although a member of the Society of Friends, Mr. Avis was active in war work and so did his bit toward the great triumph for universal peace through which the world hopes for much. Mr. Avis has been very prominent in Odd Fellowship; on March 29, 1893, when Odd Fellows Hall was dedicated, he affil- iated with Pomona Lodge No. 246, I. O. O. F. He is also a mem- ber of San Antonio Encampment No. 88, Canton Pomona No. 3, and Heliotrope Rebekah Lodge No. 183. He has devoted much time to the order, has filled all the chairs and had all the honors that could be conferred by the order, including Grand Patriarch of the Grand En- campment of California. He instituted the Canton in Pomona as · well as many subordinate lodges in the Valley. He also holds mem-
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bership in Pomona Lodge No. 789, B. P. O. Elks, and in the Wood- men of the World.
Mr. Avis is fond of hunting and fishing, being a good shot, and when serving as a commissioner, charged with the preservation of State game and fish, he put new game into the country and stocked the creeks with fish, all at his own expense. He has a home in the moun- tains, and so happily combines town and rural life. He organized the Pomona Recreation Club, built the new club house on the Santa Ana River, and has been secretary of the club. All in all Mr. Avis is a very interesting and modern type of citizen.
WILLIAM W. BOWLER
Spending the declining years of a profitable life amidst the orange groves of the Pomona Valley, William Wilson Bowler, octogenarian orange rancher, has lived to see many changes in the United States since he was born in Decatur County, Ind., July 29th, 1835. In those days Indiana and Illinois were frontier states, and when he was a year old occurred the death of ex-President James Madison and that of Aaron Burr-events that seem to belong to the remote past in the history of our comparatively young nation.
Mr. Bowler was reared on the farm and remained at home until he attained his majority, during which time attended the country school. and had three terms at Asbury University, now DePauw University, of Greencastle, Ind. He then began teaching school when eighteen and followed the profession for about twenty years, teaching winters and farming summers. He removed to Clay County, Ill., where for thirty-eight years he farmed with success. He was a member of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, a school director and a town- ship trustee, alternating between the two for nearly thirty years. He was also township assessor and highway commissioner of Harter Township, Clay County, and an active worker in Illinois in the cause of temperance. He was a member of the Sons of Temperance and the Good Templars.
In 1894 he came to Pomona, Cal., and purchased his present place at 1214 East Fifth Street. The place was set to oranges, prunes and peaches. Later he took out the prune and peach trees and planted oranges. He also owns six and one-half acres of alfalfa land in the Chino District.
He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Theresa Dye before her marriage, a native of Ohio, by whom he had three sons, James H., now living in Phoenix, Ariz. ; Robert L. of Escondido, Cal., and Charles E. resides in Pomona, but is a rancher in Chino District. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Alice Downing, a native of Indiana, by whom he had six children, Paul D., who lives in Memphis, Tenn .; Mary T., living at home; Mrs. Julia E. Wilson
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of Tulare County, Cal .; William E. of Phoenix, Ariz. ; Albert G., who lives in Texas, and Eva A., who died in 1909. His present wife's parents were pioneers of Kentucky and descendants of Daniel Boone.
Mr. Bowler has twenty-five grandchildren, three of whom are mar- ried, and three great-grandchildren. He is a member of the Unitarian Church of Pomona. He served on the board of directors of the Irri- gation Company of Pomona. In the twenty-five years that he has been a resident of Pomona Valley his worth has been tested and he is de- servedly respected and beloved by his many friends.
THOMAS A. WILLIAMS
Perhaps no man has done more toward the actual building up of Pomona than has Thomas A. Williams, contractor and designer of high-class residences. His work is in a distinct class by itself and the many beautiful homes he has built in the Valley stand as a tribute to his artistic ability, and competent business methods. He has built approximately 500 homes in Pomona and vicinity, his record at one time being the contracting for one home a week for a year. He was born in Mt. Vernon, Texas, September 2, 1875, a son of John T. and Mary (Stevenson) Williams, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Texas. John T. Williams was a builder and contrac- tor all his life and his field of operations ranged from Texas to Omaha and to California, where he located in 1886. He erected many build- ings and homes in Long Beach during the big boom there, and came to Pomona Valley in 1891 as foreman in the building of the sugar factory at Chino. He bought a ranch east of Pomona, and soon after returned to building operations.
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