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 60
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Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Waters, six living- Harriett, Lucile, Doris, Arthur Clay, Helen and Paul Woodrow Waters; George Howard and Muriel died in infancy. The family attends the First Christian Church, in which Mr. Waters took his uncle's place as leader of the choir.
BERNARD G. STEINRUCK
Any man is entitled to a pride in his achievements when through his own efforts and ambition he has advanced from the bottom round of the ladder to a position of authority and trust. One of these in Pomona is Bernard G. Steinruck, district superintendent of the Southern Counties Gas Company. B. G. Steinruck was born in Burlington, N. Y., November 1, 1881 ; when nine years old he moved to Pueblo, Colo., and there attended the grammar and high schools, finishing with a course in civil engineering. He became associated with the engineering department of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, at Pueblo, remaining there until 1905, when he came to California, first locating in Los Angeles, and was with the Baker Iron Works there for a short period.
In 1910, Mr. Steinruck moved to Monrovia and there entered the employ of the Southern Counties Gas Company, starting at the very bottom with a pick and shovel. In 1917 he came to Pomona as assistant district superintendent, and on March 3, 1919, became dis- trict superintendent of the company, a rapid advance and one which only ability and devotion to his employer's interests could bring to pass.
With most of his efforts devoted to the business under his man- agement, Mr. Steinruck finds time to take part in the social life of the community, to which he brings the same enthusiasm and genuine quali- ties that he has shown in his business career. He is a member of Po- mona Lodge No. 789, B. P. O. Elks, of the Knights of Pythias, No. 107, and the Woodmen of the World, No. 722, and is a popular figure with his associates in a community where sterling qualities of mind and
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heart are more thought of than in most. Mr. Steinruck is a member of the Episcopal Church; while in Pueblo he was a singer in the choir.of the Holy Trinity Church, and while a resident of Monrovia he was vestryman of the Episcopal Church of that town.
The marriage of Mr. Steinruck united him with Elsie P. Tucker, a native of Ohio, and two sons have blessed their union, Ned and Lyle, both born in California.
JOHN O. SHEWMAN
An ever alert and experienced fire chief of whom any town might well be proud is John O. Shewman, head of the Pomona Fire Depart- ment. He was born at Petrolia, in Ontario, Canada, on October 28, 1872, the son of Carlton M. Shewman, a native of Canada, who had married Elizabeth Harrison and brought his family to Pomona in 1884, when he bought an orange grove of ten acres on White Avenue, commencing there at the height of the famous boom in land. He was really a California pioneer, for he had visited the Golden State for the first time in 1850, when he tried his luck at mining, later returning east by way of the Horn. He came here, in fact, a second time, traveling by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and once more returning home. After his third trip, he remained, and in time followed the nursery business in Pomona Valley, where he made a specialty of walnut trees. After an active and useful career, he died in 1916.
John followed the shoe business in Canada, and when he came to California engaged in printing with his brother, opening a shop at Los Angeles. Returning to Pomona, he worked for the A. S. Avery Shoe Company; but having seen four years of service in the Los Angeles Fire Department under Walter Moore, he early entered on his twenty-five years as a member of the Volunteer Firemen, and so it was natural enough that, in 1916, he should be appointed fire chief of Pomona. Since taking office, he has never failed to prove his efficiency and supreme fitness for the responsibility reposed in him.
A stirring incident in the history of the department well illus- trates this. A carload of cotton from the Imperial Valley, some of the bales of which had evidently been tampered with and "loaded" with phosphorus, took fire in the night of January 16, 1918, on its way west, near Colton, and after it had been rushed to Pomona, and sidetracked here, the Pomona Fire Department tackled the job and in two hours had the flames under such control that only $175 worth of damage was done, although car and cargo were valued at $7,500. So well was the matter handled that Popular Mechanics illustrated the story in a special article.
The Pomona Fire Department, now so fortunate in its leader- ship, was organized in 1884 in the creation of Hose Company No. 1,
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which had a cart, hand-drawn, and some 750 feet of hose, two inches in diameter. A fire district was formed, a special tax levied, and ap- paratus bought and a fire house built. In 1889 a hook and ladder company was formed. In 1892, another reel and more hose was bought and a company organized from among the members of the Pomona City Guards. In 1895 a Holloway Chemical Engine was purchased, having a thirty-five double-gallon tank, and in 1895 the department was reorganized under the statutes of California. In 1903 seventy-five volunteer men were in the department, and no company of volunteer firemen in the state made a better showing both on dress occasions and when the laddies got down to the real work for which they were organized. In 1914 an American La France combination hose and pump was bought and two years later a Moreland city service truck. In October, 1918, a new Brockway combination hose and chemical engine and 1,000 feet of hose were added. At this writing, in 1919, there are five paid men, consisting of three drivers, a mechanic and a fire chief ; and fifteen call men, with a first and second assistant chief and a secretary ; and five hundred feet of new hose have been added, making it in many ways one of the best-equipped departments of the size on the Coast.
At Pomona on May 6, 1894, Mr. Shewman was married to Lena Earle, a native of Missouri and the daughter of E. H. and Ellen Earle. She died in 1907, the mother of eight children. Carl is in San Diego; Frank is a member of the Eighth United States Infantry and is now in France; Harry and William are at school; and there are Ellen, Bessie, Lena and Maude.
Mr. Shewman belongs to Lodge No. 246 of the Odd Fellows, both the Encampment and the Subordinate Lodge, the Woodmen of the World and the Maccabees, in which he has reached all the chairs. He attended the Grand Lodge the last two sessions and thus worthily represented both his order and his town.
JOHN G. ROBERTSON
In the growth of the modern civilization it is the boy reared on the farm that gives new impetus and furnishes the enthusiasm and vim necessary to the successful business life of our cities.
John G. Robertson was born in Delaware County, N. Y., October 4, 1845. At the age of fourteen, like many another youth, he wended his course toward the great metropolis of our country, New York City. Later he located at Belle Plaine, Benton County, Iowa, where he was engaged in a general store. He was prominent in the civic life of the place, served as city trustee, was trustee of the Congregational Church in that city, and for ten years was a member of the Belle Plaine fire department. He came to Pomona for his health November 30, 1890.
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The Packard Orange Grove Tract was then being set out and he pur- chased nine and one-half acres in this tract, five acres of which had just been set out to trees by Mr. J. E. Packard. The remainder of the property Mr. Robertson set out himself. Forty men were employed in grading, laying out and planting the Packard Tract and their camp was located opposite Mr. Robertson's ranch. In the early days part of the ranch was in deciduous fruits, later these trees were taken out and orange trees planted. Mr. Robertson's ranch is a fine producer, both as to quality and quantity of fruit, and bespeaks the good care bestowed upon it.
He married a native of the Pine Tree State, Miss Louisa Wass, who was born in Machias, Maine. Of their three children, Helen L. is at home; George W. of the United States Navy served on the steamship Nevada during the World War; and Jane C. is a teacher at Glendale, Cal.
Mr. Robertson is a charter member of the Pomona Fruit Growers Exchange, was one of the first men to sign up to the association and was a director for many years in the institution. He was director in the Packard Orange Grove Water Company. In his religious convic- tions he is a member of the Congregational Church, and fraternally is a charter member of Pomona Lodge No. 246, F. & A. M .; also be- longs to the Chapter and Commandery in Pomona, and to the Modern Woodmen of America. Both he and his wife are charter members of the Pomological Club of Claremont and Mrs. Robertson and daughter Helen are prominent members of the Woman's Club and of the Order of Eastern Star at Pomona.
EDWARD MYRON WHEELER
Among the representatives of California who are natives of the Green Mountain State is numbered Edward Myron Wheeler, the able manager of the San Dimas Orange Growers Association. He was born May 7, 1872, in South Hero, Grand Isle County, Vt., and is the son of Henry O. and Elizabeth ( Martin) Wheeler, natives, respec- tively, of Vermont and New York. The father was educated at the University of Vermont and while there the Civil War broke out and he enlisted as a private in the First Vermont Cavalry, rising to the rank of captain in the same regiment. At the Battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded, taken prisoner and sent to Libby prison, afterwards being exchanged and returned to his command. After the war was over he completed his college and law course and practiced his profession. In addition to being an attorney, he was superin- tendent of schools at Burlington, Vt., until 1913, when he removed to San Dimas, Cal., where he resided until his demise in 1918. His widow survives him, still making her home at San Dimas.
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In a family of five boys, Edward Myron is the oldest child. He received his education in the grammar and high schools of Burlington, Vt., and then spent one and a half years in the University of Vermont, and in 1892 came to San Dimas, Cal., where he engaged in citrus grow- ing for a number of years. He then became associated with the San Dimas Water Company in the capacity of manager, remaining with the company seven years, from 1898 to 1905. He was next in business at Long Beach for one year, when he removed to Tulare County, where he followed orange growing for a period of four years, after which he returned to San Dimas and became manager of the San Dimas Orange Growers Association in 1910.
In San Dimas, on May 17, 1900, Mr. Wheeler was married to Mrs. Susie C. Bowden, born in Arkansas, of whom he was bereaved in 1917, leaving two daughters, Elizabeth and Zoe Louise.
In national politics Mr. Wheeler favors the principles of the Re- publican party. Fraternally he was made a Mason in San Dimas Lodge, F. & A. M. Although still on the sunny side of life's prime he has achieved a substantial position financially and socially in the community and is adding prestige to an honored family name. He gives his influence and active cooperation to all worthy objects, is deep- ly interested in the citrus industry and the general development of this section of Southern California.
DAVID C. W. PORTER
How many and interesting are the links between the Old World and the New, especially, perhaps, between America and Scotland, is shown in the life story of David C. W. Porter and his family connec- tions. He came to Pomona Valley at the beginning of the new century, and he has since become one of the well-known ranchers.
He was born in London, Ont., Canada, on March 12, 1872, a son of John and Margaret (McMahan) Porter, naturalized American citizens, and there grew up amid surroundings calculated to develop the best that was in the lad. His education was obtained in Canada and the United States. Urged on, however, by a wandering disposi- tion, he set out on an extensive tour of the States, and finally arrived at Colton, Cal., in 1901. For three years he was foreman of the Cali- fornia Portland Cement Company of Colton, but in 1906 he removed to Spadra and became superintendent of the F. L. Spalding Rock and Gravel Quarry. During the building of the highways in Los Angeles County in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913, a large quantity of the rock came from the Spadra quarry.
In the fall of 1918, Mr. Porter settled on his home ranch on West Holt Avenue, near Union, taking charge of a five-acre orange grove formerly owned by his wife's father, James Young. Under his skilful
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direction this ranch has become more than ever a good producer, yield- ing in 1919 not less than 2,500 boxes. Mr. Porter is a well-known Mason, and belongs to Pomona lodge, chapter and council.
On August 16, 1911, Mr. Porter was married to Violet Young, a native of Scotland, and the daughter of James Young, now deceased, who was born in Brechin, in that same country, and died at Pomona on February 25, 1918. He married Euphemia Russell, a native of Glamis, Scotland, by whom he had eight children, five of them still living. James Russell lives at Pomona ; David is at Dundee, Scotland; William is in Edinburgh; Victor is at Pomona, and Violet is Mrs. Porter. For forty years James Young was employed in the jute mills at Dundee, Scotland, starting in as an oiler and rising to be foreman of the plant; but with his wife and children he sailed from Scotland on April 17, 1907, and on the same date, eight years later, Mrs. Young died at Pomona. On coming to Pomona on June 22, 1907, he bought an orange grove of five acres on West Holt Avenue, which he im- proved, making of it a fine home place. He also came to be a man of affairs, and was a director in the Orange Grove Tract Water Company.
Mr. and Mrs. Porter have two children, James Alexander and John Russell.
MISS ALICE B. RING
An artist of recognized ability both in Europe and the United States, Miss Alice B. Ring, whose studio is located at 225 East Pasa- dena Street, Pomona, Cal., is a native of Hampden County, Mass. Her education was acquired in the public schools of her native state and supplemented with a course in that time-honored institution, Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, from which she graduated. She then be- came an art student at the Art Student's League in New York City and from there went to that artists' Mecca, Paris, where she studied under such famous masters as Julien Dupré, Benjamin Constant and Jean Paul Laurens. She also studied miniature painting in Paris with Madame Marie Laforge. She maintained a studio in Paris and her pictures in oil were exhibited in the Paris salon several seasons, and also at smaller exhibitions in France.
Returning to her native country, she located at Cleveland, Ohio, where she had a studio for a number of years and where she also ex- hibited her paintings. Her pictures were on exhibition at the Panama- Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco in 1915. She visited Pomona in January, 1913, and ever since has passed her winters in this delightful winter resort, where she maintains a fine studio.
In this age of idealism almost every artist originates a style of his own and the correctness or incorrectness of it is very much de- pendent upon whether it pleases or not. Miss Ring is an artist of
Mr & Mrs M. A. Hanson.
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unquestioned technical ability, and her lofty conceptions are worthy of the ideas they embody in their beauty of form and color. As an artist she has met with deserved success among those who appreciate art for art's sake. During her sojourn abroad she visited Holland, and her out-of-door scenes in that picturesque country, especially the sunlight effects, are exceptionally fine, the perspective and atmospheric effects being especially well rendered. She is a member of the Woman's Art Club and College Club of Cleveland, Ohio, and also a member of the Art Club of Paris, and has served on several art committees. She is a member of the Ebell and Shakespeare Clubs at Pomona and the Po- mona Valley College Club, and has made a place for herself in the affectionate regard of her large circle of friends and acquaintances.
HARRY AND MARIE A. HANSON
An up-to-date, enterprising couple who have accomplished much in the field of business in which they have embarked, that of high-class undertaking, are Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hanson, whose establishment is at 415 North Garey Avenue and may well be regarded as one of the creditable institutions in the city. Mrs. Hanson's maiden name was Marie A. Moyer, and she was born in San Francisco, a member of a French pioneer family.
At the age of fifteen she started to learn undertaking with J. F. Jory of Stockton and Oakland; and in 1900 she married Mr. Hanson. He was born at Flemington, N. J., on August 17, 1874, and attended school in New Jersey until he was fifteen, when he left home and became a rover. In 1893 he arrived on the Pacific Coast, and for many years he followed the sea, signing up with sailing vessels, going to Japan and even taking a voyage of nineteen months to the Arctic Ocean, where he wintered on Hirschel Island, in latitude 74. His father was an undertaker in New Jersey, and he had learned the busi- ness from him. He also went to Clark's School of Embalming in Newark, N. J.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson settled for a while in Prescott, Ariz., where he was with the Fairbanks-Morse Gas Engine Company. In 1910, however, they came to Pomona and bought out the Justin E. Patterson Undertaking Parlors on East Second Street, and when the business grew, they moved to their present location. There they have remodeled the house, erected a chapel and garage, and now have one of the most modern establishments in the Valley. They enjoy a good patronage because, first, of their superior service, and then of the appreciation of the public they seek to serve and please. Their equipment includes an ambulance, a hearse, a casket wagon, and two touring motor vehicles. They also conduct a branch parlor at Chino. Mrs. Hanson personally embalms all women and children.
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Both Mr. and Mrs. Hanson enjoy that enviable good-will and esteem of their fellow-citizens that always results from a reputation for public spiritedness and a willingness to "boost" the home locality. Mrs. Hanson is a member of the Ebell Club and the Woman's Relief Corps, as well as the Rebekahs, while Mr. Hanson belongs to Lodge No. 789 of the Elks, the Woodmen of the World and the Odd Fel- lows, being affiliated with Lodge No. 246. Mrs. Hanson is an expert in art embroidery and in millinery, having been an instructor in those branches in the New York Young Women's Christian Association, and may always be found favoring any art movement for the com- munity. Husband and wife thus do what they can to promote civic life in Pomona, and are active in social life.
FRANK B. PORTER
In view of the fact that California heads the list of states for the large number of its automobiles, and that there is hardly a family these days that does not manage to have some make of auto, it is not strange that the rubber tire business is a profitable and growing industry.
The proprietor of the Pomona Tire Company, Mr. Frank B. Porter, with headquarters at 421 West Second Street, Pomona, Cal., has had twenty-three years of practical experience in the rubber indus- try, and is thoroughly conversant with the business in all of its various branches and an expert in his special line. He was born at Waterbury, Conn., February 16, 1879, and received a good education in the public schools of his native state, which he attended until he was fourteen years of age, when he started to fight the battle of life on his own behalf.
At seventeen he entered the employ of the Goodyear Manufac- turing Company of Naugatuck, Conn., and engaged in making rubber boots and shoes. He was next employed at Hartford, Conn., by the Hartford Rubber Works in building auto and bicycle tires, and after six years in their employ he went to the Cleveland, Ohio, branch of the Fisk Rubber Company, where he engaged in the same line of work. From Cleveland he went to the Cincinnati, Ohio, branch of the same company, and in 1912 came to Pomona, Cal., where he organized the Pomona Tire Company, of which he is sole owner. Since 1913 he has been the wholesale and retail distributor of the Diamond tires in Pomona Valley. All the Diamond tires sold in the Valley pass through his office, and he does the largest business and is the largest individual tire dealer in the Valley. He also does vulcanizing and carries a line of auto accessories.
In his domestic relations he was united in marriage with Emily Knoff, a native of Germany, who came to America at the age of thir- teen. Three sons have been born of their union, Russell, Donald and Earl.
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The prominent position Mr. Porter has attained in the commercial life of Pomona Valley is due to his sound business judgment and the habit of extensive advertising. He has found by experience that advertising pays and is a conspicuously successful example of the man who pursues that course in his business policy. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and a Yeoman.
FRANK M. SHIRK, M.D.
Happy in the attainment of a well-deserved position of honor and influence among the medical fraternity of Pomona Valley, Dr. Frank M. Shirk, the untiring scientist of La Verne, may well claim a share of the credit due to, and ungrudgingly given, the medical fraternity of this section for having made one of the most charming portions of California more than ordinarily attractive as a place of residence and longevity. He was born in Grundy County, Iowa, on July 5, 1871, and grew up on a farm, while he attended the county schools. Later, carrying out his desire for a higher education, he graduated from the Central Medical College at St. Joseph, Mo., finishing his studies there in 1896 with the degree of M.D., and later he took post-graduate courses in the eye, ear, nose and throat at the Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, and after that additional post-graduate research at the Eclectic Medical College at Los Angeles.
Beginning his practice, he served the community of Lincolnville, Kans. While living there, in 1900, he was married to Zuletta Ryan, a native of Alva, Cass County, Nebr., and they have five children : Paulina and Lola, both attending La Verne College; Miriam, Chester and Maurice. After practicing in Lincolnville for four and a half years he removed to Lost Springs, in the same state, where he prac- ticed for eleven years. While there, he was appointed by the county a special physician for the indigent, and so, in addition to his normal practice, was able to accomplish much good for those of suffering humanity who could not command the means to be otherwise helped. In 1911, he came to California and passed the required examinations set by the state board; and in 1914 he commenced to practice at La Verne.
Since 1916 Doctor Shirk has been the breeder of registered, high- grade Toggenburg milk goats. His stock is known as "The Sunkist Milk Goat Herd," and at the present writing he has ten head of regis- tered and several unregistered goats. He buys or sells for anyone de- siring to dispose of or purchase any class of goats or kids. At his exhibit at the Milk Goat Show in Pomona he took first prizes on Sun- kist Jessie and Sunkist Munson and second on Sunkist Shodybar and Sunkist Lela. He was one of the organizers and is now vice-president of the board of directors of the Citrus Belt Milk Goat Association of
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Southern California, for his study of goats and experience have made him an authority on the subject. He advocates in particular the use of goat's milk, on the ground that it is far superior in richness to that of cows, and that it is more easily digested, requiring only one-third of the time, and not causing constipation ; while it is next to mother's milk for the raising of infants with weak stomachs. Goats are also much freer from tuberculosis than are cows, and that is a reason of the greatest importance for preferring the one milk to the other.
California has more milk goats than any other eight states to- gether, and Southern California leads the state. The first goats of this class were imported into New York, and San Diego was the first to start the industry in California. There are three breeds of milk goats, the Toggenburg, the Saanen-a pure-white in color, imported from Switzerland-and the Anglo-Nubian, imported from Nubia to England, and mixed with the native English goat, giving it the above name. There are at present several hundred of these in the Pomona Valley alone, and some produce eight quarts of milk daily. Indeed, experiments have been made showing that eight goats will give twice as much milk and cost no more than one cow, so that a gallon of goat's milk can be produced at approximately eight cents. Compared with cow's milk, that of goats is richer in fats and sugar by about one per cent. Goats are very docile and like to be patted, on which account it is plain that rough handling makes them timid and nervous, and that their milk is less valuable, and may even be harmful to an infant under those conditions.
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