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 42
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Now, with a record for long and successful undertakings, such as anyone might be proud to point to, Mr. Klein lives retired, the owner of a finely-developed five-acre ranch on East Franklin Avenue, which he has planted to walnuts and peaches. Formerly this tract consisted of ten acres ; but he disposed of half of the property, and finds plenty to occupy his time in the intelligent care he gives the re- mainder.
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When Mr. Klein married, he took for his wife Emma Harnisen, a native of Illinois and an admirable woman, who has been his com- panion and helpmate, and who attends with him the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Eighteen years ago he joined the Knights of Pythias. Pomona may well be congratulated on such an enterprising, broad-spirited citizen as Philip Klein, who has often congratulated himself that he cast his lot in the Pomona Valley.
IRA L. NEIBEL
What superior intelligence, clear foresight and the wisdom to choose the right field of endeavor, the field for which one is by natural inclination and personal gifts most fitted, and then to work that field with bold but conservative enterprise, and a patriotic desire to advance as far as possible the development of the state's resources, and par- ticularly the section in which he makes his home; what these activities can accomplish is exemplified in the life of Ira L. Neibel, one of the prominent developers of Pomona Valley. During his lifetime he was one of the largest real estate operators in the Valley, and with his partner, E. G. Bangle, put through some of the most extensive deals ever made in this section, running into the millions, and with far- reaching results in the upbuilding of all lines of industry. Mr. Neibel was a native of Ohio, born near Dayton, June 19, 1873; his father, Frank, and mother, Mary (Klein) Neibel, now both deceased, came to Pomona Valley and settled on a ranch near Chino, in 1892. Ira L. worked on the home ranch in his youth, and later ranched on his own land in the same locality, for two years ; he rented additional land and raised grain and fruit.
Mr. Neibel later engaged in the real estate business in Pomona, and in 1912 formed a partnership with E. G. Bangle, under the firm name of Neibel & Bangle, and the partners became very active and very successful in their development operations. Mr. Neibel was also an orange grower in the Valley, and in buying and selling property became a fine judge of values in this vicinity, his advice being sought by many prospective purchasers.
The marriage of Mr. Neibel, December 25, 1901, united him with Blanche A. Day, a daughter of E. M. Day, one of the early set- tlers in the Valley, and three children were born to them : Franklin E., Clemett L. and Mildred V. In fraternal circles Mr. Niebel was very active in the Knights of Pythias, and Mrs. Neibel, a most excellent helpmate to him, has also been active in that order, has been through all the chairs in the auxiliary order, the Pythian Sisters, and is now Most Excellent Chief. Since her husband's death, which occurred Sep- tember 25, 1915, she has acquired a ten-acre peach orchard at Phila-
tra Lee Neilel
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delphia and Towne avenues, and has been very successful in develop- ing her property, and has proven herself a woman of resource and enterprise. She was a member of the Red Cross committee, and dur- ing the World War and Red Cross drives was one of the lieutenants.
FRED R. LEWIS
Whoever labors to secure the development of his section of our great commonwealth, striving to bring out its latent resources, who seeks to promote the cause of justice and in the course of a useful life advances, directly or indirectly, our commercial, educational and agri- cultural growth, he it is who earns a place as a public benefactor and is entitled to mention in the pages of history. Such is the character and such the record of Fred R. Lewis, one of the early pioneers of Pomona and one to whose determination, perseverance and energy not a little of the city's development may be attributed.
Born in Russell, Mass., August 18, 1866, Fred R. Lewis is the son of Alexander H. G. and Elizabeth (Russell) Lewis; the father was a business man in Springfield, that state, and was deputy sheriff of Hampden County for many years. He answered his country's call during the Civil War, and enlisted in the Thirty-first Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and served during the war. Both parents are now deceased.
The eldest of two children born to his parents, Fred R. Lewis received his education in the public schools and high school in his native state, graduating from the latter in Springfield, Mass., in 1884. In the interval before coming West, he followed the general merchan- dise business, then made the trip to California, in 1890, and located in Pomona. For three years after his arrival he followed horticulture, after which he engaged in the implement business with Phil Stein, on the northeast corner of Second Street and Garey Avenue. In this busi- ness he continued for thirteen years, and during this time the two men joined forces in forming the Pomona Implement Company, in 1907.
Besides his business and personal interests, Mr. Lewis from the beginning of his residence here took an active part in the upbuilding of the city. The company erected their building on the southeast corner of Garey and Second, with a 105-foot front, at a cost of $7,000, now occupied by the State Bank. Mr. Lewis also was inter- ested in erecting other business blocks, some of the finest property in the city, among them the Lewis Apartment House, a modern brick building on East Second Street.
In 1906 he sold out his business interests, and in 1907 became identified with the Pomona Valley Ice Company, and on the resigna- tion of Frank Johnson, in 1909, was made superintendent of the com- pany. Many modern improvements have been put in since that date,
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among them a cold storage warehouse built, the factory itself having been built in 1906. They employ from twenty-five to fifty men, accord- ing to the season, and are fully equipped with everything pertaining to a modern and thoroughly managed ice and cold storage plant.
The marriage of Mr. Lewis, which occurred on April 7, 1917, united him with Mrs. Eleanor ( Coffin) Garcelon, widow of Dr. Frank Garcelon. Fraternally Mr. Lewis is a Mason, holding membership in the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of Pomona, of the Los Angeles Consistory and Al Malaikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is a past master, a past high priest and a past commander. In business circles he is active in the Chamber of Commerce. Since his first residence here he has been connected with the Pilgrim Congregational Church.
Fond of outdoor life, Mr. Lewis takes his greatest pleasure in horseback riding and other like recreation, and is a man of wise and broad vision, as is always the case with lovers of nature. Farsighted in future possibilities for Pomona Valley, he has stood a ready worker for even greater advancement than the past twenty years have shown in this favored spot, and among his fellow citizens has always been regarded as one of the moving spirits of the community.
HARRY MISHLER
Since 1887 Harry Mishler, veteran of the Civil War and Cali- fornia pioneer contractor and orange grower, has been identified with Pomona, and has witnessed its growth from a small village to its present thriving proportions.
He was born at Johnstown, Pa., September 10, 1842. Reared on a farm, he attended the country schools, and when the Civil War broke out enlisted September 10, 1862, in Company D of the One Hundred Forty-second Pennsylvania Regiment, Volunteer Infantry. He served under Colonels R. B. Cummings, and A. B. McCalmont and was a member of the Army of the Potomac and served under Generals Grant, McClellan, Burnside and Meade. He took part in many of the great battles of the war and his regiment suffered the loss of more men than any other Pennsylvania regiment. Mr. Mişhler participated in the Battle of Gettysburg, picked up the flag and carried it out, and was promoted to the rank of corporal for bravery. He was wounded at Chapin's Farm, and after being discharged from the hospital in Baltimore, received his honorable discharge from the Army, being among the first six at Baltimore. After the war he re- turned home, and in 1869 went to Springfield, Mo., where he followed the trade of carpenter. He was a member of the John Matthews G. A. R. Post at Springfield.
In 1887 he came to Pomona, Cal., where he engaged in the con- tracting business. He erected the First Methodist Church and other
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buildings and homes in Pomona, and purchased the four-acre orange grove on East Fifth Street, his present home. He rebudded the trees and has raised many fine crops of oranges on his ranch.
His marriage, January 14, 1869, in Pennsylvania, united him with Sarah Withrow, a native of Pennsylvania. The children born of their union are: Grace M., a teacher in Lincoln School, Pomona ; Mary, deceased, who married Albert Moore and left two children, Clyde, who served with the United States Army in France, and Mildred; Bertha, also deceased, who was a teacher in the kinder- garten school at Pomona, one of the first kindergarten schools estab- lished in the state of California; Anna, now Mrs. Phillips of Del Norte County, Cal. ; Ralph, a mining engineer in Mexico; Harry, who resides in Los Angeles, Cal .; and George, a carpenter, who lives at West Hollywood, Cal.
Mr. and Mrs. Mishler are members of the Methodist Church, and Mrs. Mishler has been an active member of the ladies' aid and the foreign missionary societies of the church. Mr. Mishler is past senior and junior vice-commander of Vicksburg Post No. 61, G. A. R., at Pomona.
ALVIN RAND MESERVE
A pioneer of California since the early fifties, and also one of the first settlers in Pomona Valley, Alvin Rand Meserve can rightfully be called an upbuilder of the state, and more particularly of that portion of it enclosed in this beautiful Valley, and that part called Southern California. A man of strong character and convictions, which he inherited from his New England ancestry, he upheld the best interests of each community in which he made his home and had the foresight to see where the real interests lay for future posterity. Born June 23, 1833, in South Gorham, Maine, Mr. Meserve is a son of Samuel and Hanna (Green) Meserve, both ardent workers for the temperance movement.
In 1852, at the age of nineteen years, Alvin R. made the long journey to California, and in Sacramento he found employment as a clerk in the wholesale house of Crocker Brothers. Later he was with his brother, William H., who was in business in the little mining town of Prairie City. His marriage, at Sacramento, united him with Eliza- beth Holser, the daughter of a '49er, the ceremony taking place in 1860, and the young couple left for Santa Cruz in 1865. In that city Mr. Meserve engaged in the mercantile business and also gave his time to civic affairs, serving as county treasurer of Santa Cruz County for four years.
In September, 1874, Mr. Meserve, with the Rev. C. F. Loop, purchased 2,200 acres of land from the descendants of Ygnacio Palo- mares, the property being thereafter subdivided into the Meserve and
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Loop Tract. In February, 1877, Mr. Meserve moved with his family to this tract of land near Pomona, and used for a residence the old Palomares adobe ranch house. For the next nineteen years he became a part of the rapidly-growing settlement and was identified with the development of its horticultural resources as well as taking a prominent part in all movements for upbuilding the Valley generally. In 1896 he left for Los Angeles and became horticultural commissioner, con- tinuing in that office until his death, his knowledge along that line of development work having been found most valuable to the various horticultural enterprises in the southern part of the state. His death, which occurred February 7, 1912, at the age of seventy-eight, came at the end of a broad and useful career, and the influence of such men as he has given to our state its present place in the sun.
Of the four children born to this pioneer couple, three are now living : Harry W., now living at Brawley, Imperial County ; Edwin A., an attorney of Los Angeles; and Bessie, the wife of C. E. Sumner. Elmo R., the youngest son, died at forty-two years of age.
WILLIAM REID
Among the pioneers of Pomona Valley, the late William Reid is well remembered. Possessed of the sterling attributes of his Scottish ancestry, he was a man of integrity and upright, moral character, pro- gressive in his ideas, respected by friends, neighbors and acquaintances.
He was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, July 21, 1839, and was a blacksmith by trade. In his earlier life he emigrated to Owens Sound, Ontario, Canada, where he followed the trade of blacksmithing twenty years. In 1887 he came to Pomona, Cal., and for a short time continued his trade in his new environment and in Puente. He after- wards purchased an orange grove on Orange Grove Avenue, in the Packer Tract, and became a successful grower of oranges, taking great interest in his grove, a part of which he planted himself. He was one of the original signers of the Pomona Fruit Growers Exchange.
He married his first wife in Scotland, who before her marriage was Miss Ellen Patterson. She bore him two children, Mrs. J. E. Adamson of Pomona and W. A. Reid of Riverside. His second wife, whom he married January 24, 1895, and whose maiden name was Elizabeth Adamson, came to Pomona in 1889. She was a widow when she married Mr. Reid, and was Mrs. Elizabeth McCarter of Ontario, Canada. She had two children by her first husband, Gordon A. McCarter of Ontario, Cal., and Mrs. Mashmeyer of Pomona.
Since Mr. Reid's death, which occurred in 1906, his widow has demonstrated her ability as a good business woman in the success she has achieved in managing the ranch. She has many warm friends and is active in Red Cross work. Mr. and Mrs. Reid were identified with the Christadelphian denomination.
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CHARLES C. HUFF
Among the most enterprising and progressive citizens of La Verne, one who has always been a prime mover in advancing the best inter- ests of the community in all its civic affairs, is Charles C. Huff, who for fifteen years, at different periods, has been a member of the Board of Trustees of La Verne, and at one time served as its chairman, an office equivalent to that of mayor.
Mr. Huff is a native of Iowa, a state whose sons have always contributed largely to the upbuilding of every California community in which they have settled. He was born in Clarence, Cedar County, on Christmas Day, 1864, but was reared near Waterloo, Blackhawk County in that state. He is the son of James and Maria (Clark) Huff, natives of Sullivan County, Ind., where they were married, and soon afterwards migrated to Iowa and were early settlers of Cedar County. After some years engaged in merchandising, James Huff became agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad at Cedar Rapids. In 1892 he quit railroading and came to California, locating in Pomona. His death occurred in La Verne in 1906; his widow, who survives him, makes her home with her son, Charles C., and is now eighty-nine years of age-the head of five generations. Of their nine children four are living. Charles C., the next to the youngest, was fortunate in receiving a good education in the schools of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He also took a course in the Cedar Rapids Commercial Col- lege where he learned telegraphy, and after graduating he became a telegraph operator and station agent for the old B. C. R. & N. Railway Company, now a part of the Rock Island System. He was also inter- ested in different business enterprises, among them an original stock- holder in the Waterloo State Bank and a director of same, as well as owning a half interest in a brick block in that city. He was agent at different cities for the above railroad company until he came to Po- mona, on July 3, 1897.
After coming to the Golden State, Mr. Huff engaged in orange culture for a year and a half, when he disposed of his place and pur- chased a ten-acre walnut grove on A Street, La Verne, where he still makes his home. His trees are now twenty-five years old and produce a large crop. At one time he was in the poultry business and raised as many as 1,500 chickens at one time, but eventually gave it up and engaged in the egg business on a large scale. For the past eighteen years Mr. Huff has been buying eggs from the poultry raisers of Pomona Valley and successfully shipping them to the large mining camps of Arizona. His business has now grown and developed until he now ships on an average of 3,000 dozen weekly. Each egg is carefully packed in a separate compartment of a cardboard carton, which is stamped with Mr. Huff's private brand, "Queen Brand," and each egg is also stamped "C. C. Huff," and guaranteed strictly fresh.
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Always ready to give generously of his time and energy toward the improvement of the community, Mr. Huff has taken a great in- terest in civic affairs, and during his term as chairman of the Board of Trustees of La Verne he was instrumental in having a number of the streets paved, a fire house built and a fire truck installed, and a munici- pal water plant constructed, which has lowered the water rates, to the great satisfaction and benefit of the general public. At present he is chairman of the police and fire commission. Politically he is a Re- publican and a very active member of the party; in early days he served as a delegate to both county and state conventions and at one time was a member of the County Republican Central Committee.
Fraternally he is very prominent and is past exalted ruler of Pomona Lodge No. 789, B. P. O. Elks, and past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias, and was special deputy grand chancellor of Northern Iowa for one year. Mr. Huff was made a Mason in the Waterloo, Iowa, Masonic Lodge, of which he is a past master. After coming to California he demitted and is now a member of Pomona Lodge No. 246, F. & A. M. He is a member of Pomona Chapter No. 76, R. A. M., of which he is past high priest; a member of Southern California Commandery No. 37, K. T. in Pomona and past commander of Ascalon Commandery No. 25, K. T., at Waterloo, Iowa; he is also a member of the council in Pomona; is past patron of Waterloo Chapter No. 128, O. E. S., Waterloo, Iowa, and at pres- ent a member of the Eastern Star Chapter in Pomona, and a member of El Kahir Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A firm believer in cooperation in community affairs, Mr. Huff is a mem- ber of the El Monte Walnut Growers Association. He is now among the oldest business men in this section and is held in the highest esteem in La Verne for his sterling qualities of citizenship and the beneficent influence he has exerted in civic affairs.
MRS. MARY JANE PALLETT
There are still some of the pioneers of the Pomona Valley living to recount the early days when there were no towns or flourishing orchards in what is now the Valley except Spadra and a few scattering houses at Lordsburg, when the entire section was given over to the stock business and was covered with sagebrush and bunch grass. One of the interesting pioneers is found in Mrs. Pallett, now living at Big Rock, Los Angeles County. She was born in Utah, on July 7, 1854, the daughter of William and Sarah Ann ( Prigmore) Whitfield, pio- neers of California who came from Dallas County, Texas, via the Utah route. Mr. Whitfield was born in Tennessee, moved to Arkansas when he was ten years old and there attended school in a log school- house fitted with slab benches and with a dirt floor. He remained in
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Arkansas until he was eighteen and then went to Dallas County, Texas, where he followed farming and stock raising and where he was married to Sarah A. Prigmore, a native of Missouri, who went to Texas with her parents when she was a small child. Mrs. Whitfield was the daughter of Joseph Prigmore, a '49er in California, having come from Texas to mine for gold in the new El Dorado. He went back to Texas in 1852, well satisfied that California held better pros- pects than did the Lone Star State. He disposed of his holdings and with his family and other relatives started overland with ox teams for the Golden West in 1854. Mary Jane Whitfield was born on Green River and the family continued their journey and arrived in Scotts Valley, where the father engaged in mining, later moving to Contra Costa County, where the Prigmores and Mr. Whitfield en- gaged in ranching for a time. They sold out and returned to Texas and bought cattle and horses and began the stock business on a large scale until the Civil War broke out, when Mr. Whitfield enlisted and served in the Confederate Army till the close of the conflict, when he once more turned his face towards the West, and arrived in Southern California, where he made his home until he passed away, on October 31, 1915, aged eighty-four years. His widow died two years later, on November 13, 1917, when in her eighty-fourth year. They settled first at Cucamonga, where the family raised grapes, peaches and prunes, then on account of old age Mr. Whitfield sold out and lived at Spadra and then bought a home in Rivera to live retired. This pioneer couple had nine children, five of whom as living, as follows : Mary J., Mrs. Pallett, of this review ; Lucinda, Mrs. Lewis M. Mont- gomery of San Bernardino; William C. Whitfield of Grass Valley, Ore .; Lee, Mrs. William F. Haag of Rio Brava, Cal .; and Belle, Mrs. Harry Milner of Inglewood.
Mary J. Whitfield attended school in Texas and California and remained with her parents until her marriage, on May 24, 1876, at Rivera, Cal., to James R. Pallett. He was born in Tennessee in 1850, and received a common-school education in the schools of Tennessee, Missouri and California, whither he came with his people when a young lad. The family settled at Rivera, where the elder Pallett and his three sons owned the largest walnut grove in the state. The father and two of his sons sold out and went to South America.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pallett they made their home in Rivera for a time, then bought a ranch at Big Rock, Los Angeles County, and moved there and engaged in the stock business until the death of Mr. Pallett in 1891. They had three children: George W., who resides with his mother on the ranch; Annie May, who married Thomas A. Williams of Pomona and is now deceased; and James Thomas, who is married and has a daughter, Lorraine. He lived four years in Arizona, but is now in California. Mr. Pallett
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was a Democrat in politics, was a very public-spirited man and one who made and retained friends.
Mrs. Pallett tells many interesting incidents of pioneer days when she lived with her family at Spadra; she remembers the country that is now dotted with cities and towns when the land was covered with sagebrush and cattle roamed at will over the Valley, and when there were no roads, nothing except trails leading from one ranch to another. One incident she mentions is of a man who came to their home, after working for the Southern Pacific Railroad and was returning East, to have some of his laundry done by the Whitfield women. He was short of cash and offered to deed to Miss Whitfield two lots he owned in the Pomona townsite (the present site of the Salt Lake depot and tracks), and which was refused because they did not know where the money was coming from to pay the taxes. Little did she think that those lots would have become so valuable in time. Such incidents as these make history valuable to posterity.
WILLIAM H. KILER
An interesting pioneer of Pomona, who saw hard service in the Civil War and was thus the better, equipped to stand the trials of an early orange grower working amid conditions largely experimental, was the late William H. Kiler, who was a native of Greene County, Ohio, where he was born on May 12, 1846. Although he enlisted only four months before the close of the great struggle between the North and the South, he did his duty to the last, decisive hour, after which, returning to the paths of peace, he took a course in a business college at Pittsburgh, Pa. Then he conducted a general merchandise store first in Wadesburg and later in Harrisville, Cass County, Mo., withdrawing to become a merchant in Colorado Springs, Colo.
During 1885, when prosperity was everywhere on the increase in California, Mr. Kiler came out to Pomona and bought eleven and three-tenths acres of raw land in the Kingsley Tract, where he set out peaches, pears and apricots, supplanting the same later with oranges. This grove Mrs. Kiler assisted her husband to lay out and plant, and she still owns the property and manages the business.
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