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 56
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Lewis N. Smith was educated in the public schools of Vermont and Townsend Academy, and left home at the age of nineteen to engage in clerking in a store, first in Wilmington, and then Chicopee and Springfield, Mass., and later went to Troy, N. Y. In the latter place he went into business for himself and remained there for eight years. From there he went to Worcester, Mass., and finally, in the fall of 1898, came west, first locating on a ranch one mile west of Claremont. In 1900 he came into Claremont, and has since that time been engaged in the citrus industry here. He now has an orange grove west of town.
The marriage of Mr. Smith, on March 14, 1866, united him with Miss Elizabeth Wardwood, born in Worcester, Mass. After a wedded life of fifty-three years, he was bereaved of his faithful wife, July 18, 1919. They were the parents of one son, William L., a civil engineer by profession. Mr. Smith is a member of the Congregational Church, and has held various offices in the church body, being treasurer when the edifice was erected. Fraternally, he was made a Mason in Chic- opee Lodge, in Massachusetts, in 1861, and now is a member of Clare- mont Lodge No. 434, F. & A. M. In civic affairs he has been a mem- ber of the Claremont board of trustees, and was the first president of the board when the city was first organized. A man of civic pride and progressive views, he has been active in the advancement of Clare- mont and vicinity, and is respected and esteemed in this section where he makes his home.
MARK H. POTTER
A man of vigorous activities, who knows how to persevere and to give his courage, his strong will and unusual energy to the accom- plishment of whatever interests hin, to whatever he plans to do, Mark H. Potter is a fine example in that phase of his sturdy character. His breadth of interests, wise counsel and efficient execution have greatly aided in the upbuilding of Pomona and the surrounding fertile Valley, and his patriotic labors for the welfare of the community as a whole and the development of its natural resources are worthy of praise and emulation.
Mr. Potter is a native of Minnesota, born in Lanesboro, Fillmore County, October 15, 1878. When a youth of sixteen, in 1894, he came to Pomona, but later returned East tó finish his education, which had been under way there. On his return to Pomona, he interested himself in real estate, and he bought, developed and sold a number of orange groves in the Valley, at the same time carrying on a general life and fire insurance business.
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Mr. Potter put upon the market four of the leading subdivisions : Alvarado Court, the Kenoak Drive Tract, the Lincoln Park Tract and the Antonio Heights Tract, in all of which some of the finest residences in Pomona have been erected; and he was instrumental in the erection of the three leading business buildings in the city, and the only ones with elevators installed. He organized the company for the Pomona Valley Hospital and superintended the construction of the build- ing, together with the architects, Davis & Higgs, and he secured the bonus which assured the construction of Hotel Avis. In 1910 Mr. Potter was instrumental in building the Pomona Investment Company Building at the corner of Thomas and Third streets, and also handled the old Congregational Church corner, and in doing this he headed the syndicate which bought the church property, moved away the building and erected the present improvements in its place. His keen foresight enabling him to see far into the future and to properly appraise the present, Mr. Potter has proved a most important factor in bringing Pomona to its present place of importance in the state, and that in a remarkably short time, as the growth of cities is reckoned. To such men as he should be given due credit for the real and lasting things accomplished during their allotment of time.
The marriage of Mr. Potter, which occurred December 20, 1904, united him with Minnie L. Peck, and one daughter, Madeleine, has been born to them. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masons and the Elks of Pomona.
QUINCY A. BULLA
The ideal conditions surrounding Pomona, educationally and socially, as well as the climate and physical attractions, have brought to the Valley many who have searched the state through for their homesite and future dwelling-place. Their active and successful busi- ness operations in Eastern states have enabled them to enjoy the re- mainder of their lives in hospitable California, and here they reap the fruits of their years of industry. Among these Quincy A. Bulla is prominent in local affairs in the Valley. Born in South Bend, St. Joseph County, Ind., September 21, 1848, he was raised on a farm and received his education in the country schools of that locality, and spent two years at Notre Dame University. In 1868 he removed to Iowa, and settled near Des Moines, where he engaged in farming. In 1886 he came further west, to Nance County, Nebr., and there farmed three-fourths of a section of land until 1903, which year marks his arrival in Pomona.
Far-sighted and with keen business acumen, Mr. Bulla at once saw the wonderful opoprtunities here in the Valley, and his loyalty to this section has never wavered since first taking up his residence here. While living quietly and enjoying the peace and beauty of his
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surroundings, he has interested himself in business affairs as well, and is a director and one of the organizers of the Home Builders Loan Association of Pomona, and is also a stockholder in the Pomona Manufacuring Company.
The marriage of Mr. Bulla united him with Miss Lorind A. Ritter, a native of Indiana, December 15, 1868. They were the parents of six children, all deceased. They attend the Unitarian Church, and enjoy the esteem and friendship of all who come in contact with them in their many years of life in the Valley. It is such citizens as these who have helped to bring Pomona to its present place in the sun.
JOSEPH O. LUSSIER
A business man not only keeping pace with, but leading the spirit of commercial enterprise in San Dimas is Joseph O. Lussier, pro- prietor of the Groceritorium on Bonita Avenue in that town. The word Groceritorium was originated and coined by himself. He was born in Woonsocket, R. I., on July 31 of the year celebrated as the rounding out of our first century of independence. His father, Francis Lussier, was born in Bordeaux, France, and came to Woonsocket, R. I., when a young man. There he married Miss Lulu Pippin, who was born in Quebec of an old French-Canadian family. He was engaged in the bakery business in Woonsocket until his death in 1884, when Joseph was eight years of age. Soon after this the mother inigrated with her family of four small children to St. Paul, Minn., and here Joseph received his education in the public schools.
In 1896 Mr. Lussier came to California, and after visiting a number of places in the state, located in San Dimas the same year; here his first work was the agency and delivery of the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle. He covered his route of thirty-three miles on a bicycle and took in the district of San Dimas, La Verne and Charter Oak. Later he completed a course in the Riverside Business College and after graduating he entered into partnership with J. O. Enell and bought out the Torrey Grocery store at Lordsburg, now La Verne. Purchasing the interest of his .partner, he conducted this for a while alone; but at the end of six years he sold out his business to W. H. Poston & Company, who conducted a chain of grocery stores in Pomona Valley. After selling out he was manager for Mr. Poston for two years at La Verne and a year in his San Dimas store. He then went to Los Angeles and entered the employ of the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Company as a solicitor.
Returning to San Dimas in 1910, Mr. Lussier bought out the grocery store of J. E. Schneider, with Walter Holst as a partner, and together they conducted business under the firm name of Lussier & Holst. In two years' time he bought out his partner and the firm was
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
dissolved, and Mr. Lussier has since been conducting the business alone. In January, 1918, he established the Groceritorium -- a new system very popular with the buying public, where the customer helps himself and pays as he goes out. On account of the popularity en- joyed by the new method, Mr. Lussier has been able to build up a large and flourishing trade. In return, he has grown very loyal to Pomona Valley, and one always to be counted upon for supporting every sensible movement making for the progress of the whole com- munity.
In August, 1900, at Riverside, Mr. Lussier was married to Miss Lulu Goodwin, a native of Illinois, the daughter of Dr. J. W. Good- win, a pioneer physician of Pomona. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lussier, Joseph is the eldest and is a student at Pomona College; and there are Warren, Jack and Raymond. One son, Charles, is deceased. Mr. Lussier belongs to San Dimas Lodge No. 114, I. O. O. F., and in politics is a Republican. Mrs. Lussier is a member of the Wednesday Afternoon Club and in religious matters is an ad- herent of the Christian Church.
KIRK W. THOMPSON
A public-spirited, progressive native son who is particularly well posted on the past history and growth of Spadra and vicinity, and is therefore often consulted as to fact or future prospects thereabouts, is Kirk W. Thompson, who was born in that town on September 8, 1877, the son of Joseph W. Thompson, a native of Indiana, who married Sarah Jane Justice, like himself a Hoosier, and with him now deceased. In 1852, when he was eight years of age, he crossed the great plains with his parents, and located at El Monte, in Los Angeles County, where he was reared and educated, growing up on a farm. As a young man he followed farming and teaming, and later he came with a brother, Elbridge R. Thompson, to Azusa, in 1885, and there engaged in farming.
From his sixth to his nineteenth year, therefore, Kirk Thompson was reared in Azusa, attending the Azusa schools and working in the orange groves. Now, for a number of years he has been in the employ of the Phillips family on the Louis Phillips ranch at Spadra, and he has seen many changes in the Valley. Looking backward, he has the supreme satisfaction of realizing that he, for one, has been instru- mental in bringing some of the changes about.
Popular in social circles, Mr. Thompson is nowhere a greater favorite than with the Knights of Pythias, being a member of the Pomona Lodge, where he has passed through all the chairs ; he also be- longs to the Fraternal Aid. He is public spirited and has done his bit during the period of the recent crisis and distress in the United States, and in relation to the Great War.
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WILLIAM I. T. HOOVER, PH.D.
Prominent among the faculty of La Verne College, Cal., of which institution he is Dean and occupies the chair of philosophy, is Prof. W. I. T. Hoover, well known in college and educational circles.
He was born at Dayton, Ohio, March 8, 1869. The foundation for his future education was laid in the country schools adjacent. His academy and college education was acquired at Mount Morris ( Illi- nois) College; Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio; DePauw Uni- versity, Greencastle, Ind., from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1894, and subsequently the degree of Master of Arts pro merito; and later the degree of Doctor of Philoso- phy from Central University.
He taught philosophy in Manchester College, Indiana; Bridge- water College, Virginia, and Blue Ridge College, Maryland; at the last institution he had the honor of remaining when the trustees de- cided to enlarge the institution and secured a new charter from the state legislature in January, 1910. He was very active in the de- velopment and advancement of this college in various ways, one of which was the securing from the state legislature of a perpetual annual apportionment of $5,000. The college has received other important favors from the state of Maryland. Professor Hoover was solicited for the presidency of this and three other institutions of like character, which he thankfully declined, and was asked by the trustees of Blue Ridge College thrice to return and accept a professorship in it.
Having been offered a professorship in La Verne College, he resigned his position in the East and arrived in California September 3, 1912. He is active in the Church of the Brethren, being one of its ministers, supplying the pulpit on various occasions, and is a lecturer of note in the conventions of his church and is frequently called to deliver special addresses in the various churches of his denomination and occasionally in other denominations. He is also active in Sunday school work, teaching an active, growing Men's Bible class ; served two years as first vice-president of the Los Angeles County Sunday School Association, and is still a member of the executive committee of the State Sunday School Association; he is also active in local and county Y. M. C. A. work. During the period of the war he visited Camp Kearny at various times, giving addresses and taking college students down who gave entertainment for the soldiers.
His marriage united him with Miss Carrie M. Yundt of Illinois, and they have become the parents of two sons and two daughters : LeRoy Y., who is a B.A. graduate of La Verne College, and Roscoe M., the two being in partnership in the poultry and fruit business at 950 East Franklin Avenue, Pomona. Roscoe M. served eighteen months as a volunteer (being only eighteen years old at the time of his
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enlistment December 1, 1917, at Camp Kearny) in the United States Army. His enlistment was in the Signal Corps, being rapidly ad- vanced to a first-class sergeant. He was later sent to France, and just as he was being sent to the battle front the armistice was signed. Be- fore entering the army he had for two years been manager of the Evergreen Pigeon Lofts at La Verne, which lofts contained 3,000 pigeons of both utility and fancy breeds. He is a member of the Los Angeles Tumbler Club of fancy pigeons. He has also served, while stationed at Camp Kearny, as pigeon judge in their annual summer exhibition. Vera, the youngest, is a college freshman this year in La Verne College. Last year she won the freshman scholarship offered by the trustees to the one meeting a very high standard of scholarship in the graduating class of the academy. The other daughter died at the age of nine and one-half years.
In his scholastic attainments, genial disposition, strong and per- suasive as a public speaker, noble in character, progressive in all his activities, Doctor Hoover is making a strong impression upon the growth and development of La Verne College.
WILLIAM E. FUNKHOUSER
The popular constable of San Dimas, William E. Funkhouser, was born in Champaign County, Ill., January 1, 1872. He was edu- cated in the public schools, and at the age of eighteen, in 1890, went to North Platte, Lincoln County, Nebr., and engaged in ranching with his father. He also conducted a garage at one time, and was employed by Uncle Sam as mail carrier on one of the rural routes. Politics was also among the things that engaged his time and attention, and he was at one time road overseer, and deputy assessor, and in 1910 took the census for the United States Government.
He came to San Dimas in the fall of 1912 and entered the em- ploy of the R. M. Teague Nursery Company. He was also night watchman at San Dimas, and September 1, 1917, was appointed con- stable. He is now under civil service appointment. Among various occupations at which he has been employed, he ran a tractor, working among the orange groves of the district. At present, besides filling the position of constable, he is again one of the trusted employees of the R. M. Teague Nursery Company.
His marriage united him with Miss Lillie Stone, a native of Indiana, and they are the parents of ten children. Clarence W., who is with the Stewart Fruit Company ; Evelyn is Mrs. Thomas Boddy of San Dimas ; Grace, Glenn, Nellie, Doris, Ruth, Marie, Fern and Jack. Fraternally he is associated with the Modern Woodmen. He has made a very efficient officer and is a respected citizen of his commun- ity, enjoying the high esteem of a host of friends and acquaintances.
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WILLIAM S. ERCANBRACK
A descendant of sturdy Holland forefathers, William S. Ercan- brack was born in Johnstown, Montgomery County, N. Y., July 11, 1827. He followed the sea as a young man for two years; then, on March 15, 1859, went to McHenry County, Ill., and for many years was prominent in civic affairs there; served as road commissioner for twelve years, and as a school director the same length of time; he was also sheriff of McHenry County for several years and during his entire residence there was active in politics.
In. 1887 Mr. Ercanbrack removed to Sheldon, Iowa, and farmed there for five years. In the spring of 1893 he came to Pomona ; here he bought his orange grove and engaged in the citrus development work so prevalent in the Valley at that time, his grove having just been planted, and he brought it to a state of productiveness and devoted his time to its development, and since his death, August 19, 1904, this work of improvement has been continued and the ranch kept in splen- did condition by his widow. Mr. Ercanbrack had been a Mason of long standing, having joined the order in Hebron, Ill.
He was twice married, and by the first union was the father of five children: Charles, of Santa Barbara; Mrs. J. V. Aldrich, of Rich- mond, Ill .; William, of Elburn, Ill .; Mrs. William Cole, of Jennings, La., and George, of Los Angeles. Mr. Ercanbrack's second marriage united him with Matilda Tresmer, a native of Wisconsin, and she has carried on the horticultural work started by her husband in a most efficient and capable manner, the grove, on East Kingsley Avenue, a finely improved property, showing the care which has brought it to its present thriving condition.
FRANCIS CLARK EELLS
A man of increasingly important affairs, who has found time in a life of exceptional activity to devote some of his best energies for the benefit of others, and who therefore may reasonably claim to have made his career one of double fruitfulness, is Francis Clark Eells, the well-known grower of citrus fruits and alfalfa, and a director in the Mountain View Fruit Association. He was born at Virginia City, Nev., on January 20, 1879, and is the son of George Nelson Eells, born at Delhi, N. Y., who came to California around Cape Horn in 1852. He engaged in mining in this state and in Nevada; and in Virginia City, in 1863, married Miss Mary Clark, who had reached California in the early fifties. Both father and mother became prominent in the musical circles of Virginia City and had much to do with the development of that live municipality. In 1884 George Eells came to Pomona, his family joining him in 1887. The parents are now both deceased.
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Francis Clark Eells was educated, therefore, in the public schools of Pomona and grew up in the fields of agriculture, water development and banking. At the age of eighteen he entered the employ of the Consolidated Water Company, and when twenty-two he was made a director and office manager of the company, a position he filled ably and well for about one year, when he was elected cashier of the Savings Bank and Trust Company of Pomona. After five years he sold his interest in the bank and became an investment broker, being a partner in the firm of Bradley & Eells. In twelve years this firm has sold more than $9,000,000 of Pomona Valley property, and he has thus been instrumental in the agricultural development of the Valley as well as in the improvement of residential subdivisions and the advancement of realty values. He has taken a very active interest in civic affairs, including the preparing of the present city charter, has participated in the different war activities and assisted in the erection of the splendid Congregational Church edifice and the new Y. M. C. A. building.
A stanch Republican of very broad, non-partisan views as to local matters, Mr. Eells has always worked for good government and an enlightened, free America for progressive Americans. This energetic endeavor in behalf of social and political uplift is rather natural, con- sidering that the Eells family dates back to the seventeenth century, when certain forbears settled in the central part of New York state. George Nelson Eells came to California by way of Cape Horn, and had a very eventful voyage, for smallpox raged on the ship, and he was one of the volunteer nurses to help care for the stricken. The Clark family, that of the mother, dates from the second trip of the Mayflower, and they are known in history as influential in the de- velopment of New England colonial life, the mother having been born and educated in Boston.
At Pomona, on March 6, 1907, Mr. Eells was married to Miss Ethel May Howard, who was born in Pomona, and grew up and was educated here, and is active in all things pertaining to the best welfare of the city. Two children have blessed this union: Howard Clark Eells and Edith Frances Eells.
A Sunday school teacher in the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Pomona for the past nineteen years, Mr. Eells has been in charge for twelve years of the important boys' work known as the Boys' Brigade, and to him is due the chief credit for the brigade's remarkable success. In this important post he has proven a wonderfully efficient officer, but his work has not stopped there, for he has made every member of the brigade his personal friend, and in such an exceptional relationship has sought to promote the highest welfare of the members.
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FRANK FLETCHER PALMER
Thanks to the exceptional number of "moving spirits" in Clare- mont-for some persons not only have the initiative to move them- selves, but are also most effective in inducing others to follow where they lead-this beautiful interior town has developed in recent years at a far more rapid rate, and on broader, safer lines than most new cities of the West; and prominent among her citizens noted for both aggression and progression, is Prof. Frank Fletcher Palmer, the pro- ficient principal through whom the Claremont high school has been raised to a high state of efficiency. He was born at Ainsworth, Wash- ington County, Iowa, on September 18, 1880, and his parents were Abraham L. and Nancy ( Potts) Palmer. His father was a minister in the United Brethren in Christ, and passed to his eternal reward, leav- ing an enviable record for hard, unselfish toil to redeem his fellow- men. Mrs. Palmer is still living, the mother of six children, among whom Frank was the youngest child. He began his education in his home town; but when he accompanied his folks to California in 1892, he entered and graduated from the preparatory department of Pomona College, in 1903, and from Pomona College in 1908, when he re- ceived the degree of A.B.
Taking up teaching as a profession, Mr. Palmer became principal at San Dimas, but after a year, moved to Claremont, and here he has worked to develop the high school since 1909, although actual organi- zation did not take place until 1910. Since that time he has been its principal. To him in particular is much of the credit due for a new high school building; and the present structure, of which the citizens are so proud, was erected in 1911, at a cost of approximately $65,000. About 125 pupils are enrolled; while the commodious structure, such an architectural ornament to the town, is large enough to accommodate double that number. All its provisions evidence the trained mind of Professor Palmer and those associated in carrying out this great trust for the present and future generations.
At Upland, on March 27, 1909, Mr. Palmer was married to Miss Grace Greenleaf, a native of Indiana, and the daughter of C. A. Greenleaf. She is an accomplished lady, also attractive for her intel- lectual gifts, and was before her marriage a teacher of public school drawing. Four children have blessed this fortunate union-Nancy be- ing the eldest, Fletcher the next, Allan the third, and Elizabeth the youngest. The family are members of the Congregational Church. Professor Palmer is a Republican, but he is too large-minded to be limited to any one party creed, and takes pleasure in casting aside all narrow partisanship in local affairs and working only for the good of the community in which he moves and thrives. Quite safely may one make the prediction that the educator, Frank Fletcher Palmer, will yet be heard from in larger and still more influential fields.
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HARRY H. HINMAN
Among Pomona's wide-awake and successful business men is the manager of the firm of E. Hinman & Son, Harry H. Hinman. Mr. Hinman was born at Cambridge, Henry County, Ill., November 9, 1886, and is the son of Elliot and Nora (Nolan) Hinman. His parents came to California in 1891, and of their three children Harry H. is the youngest. He received a liberal education in the public and high schools of Pomona, then entered business with his father at Po- mona. The father died November 7, 1917, and the son continued to conduct the business, which is prospering under his administration, and he has eight people in his employ.
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