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 69
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In 1907 he was lucky to locate in Pomona, and for six years he clerked in the Orange Belt Emporium. Then, in 1913, he started to learn the electrical business in Pomona with A. J. Pirdy, and when the Pomona Fixture & Wiring Company was formed, he entered their employ and later became vice-president of the company.
On October 25, 1916, with J. Frank Rambo as partner, he bought out the company and as well-mated coworkers, these gentle- men have pulled together ever since, steadily improving the service and increasing greatly the volume of business.
At Pomona, and on April 16, 1911, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Jennie P. Passmore, a native of Iowa, and the daughter of O. C. and Alice E. Passmore, pioneers from Colorado. One daughter has blessed their union, Eleanor. The family attend the First Baptist Church, and Mr. Jones is a member of the Pomona Lodge No. 107, Knights of Pythias, and the Yeomen.
J. Frank Rambo's native place was Des Moines, where he was born on June 5, 1883, and he was educated at the public schools and the Capitol City Business College of that city. He next passed some time on his father's ranch, getting there that agricultural experience and out-of-door exercise that has proven of such benefit to many; and then, for six years, he was with the A. B. Avis Hardware Company, and for three years was accountant with the Pomona Manufacturing Company. As already stated, he became a partner with Mr. Jones in the Pomona Fixture & Wiring Company, and by assiduous applica- tion to the problems in hand, and through his own valuable experience with the trade world, he has contributed his share to making their enterprise a decided success.
Under the impetus given by the new proprietors, the Pomona Fixture & Wiring Company has become the leader in the Valley in the department of its operations. Besides being contractors in elec- trical work, they carry a full line of electrical appliances, and are service station agents for the Westinghouse Electrical Manufacturing Company, while they also represent the Hamilton Beach Manufactur-
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ing Company. They carry electrical auto supplies and electrical wash- ing machines. Experts in their line, they have done the wiring, by contract, for the Avis Hotel and many of the finest homes in Pomona, the College Heights Orange & Lemon Association Plant, in Clare- mont, the Union Ice Company's establishment at the same place, Pomona College buildings, including the library building, while they installed the first ornamental street lighting system at Claremont, and also put in the same in front of the Claremont High School. They did the intricate and elegant work for the Claremont School for Boys, as well as for many elaborate homes in Claremont, the Chino Cannery, the buildings of the George Junior Republic School at Chino and all the work on the buildings of the Diamond Bar Ranch near Pomona.
Such an establishment as the Pomona Fixture & Wiring Com- pany is always a valuable asset to any community, and its worth to both Pomona and Claremont and all Pomona Valley is sure to be demonstrated more and more as the years go by, and these progressive towns continue to be peopled by those who demand the best obtainable service.
Mr. Rambo was married at Pomona on August 16, 1910, to Miss Winifred L. Passmore, the daughter of O. C. and Alice E. Passmore. Mrs. Rambo is a sister of Mrs. Cyrus W. Jones.
HARRY T. BELCHER
Among the far-seeing, promising young men in the Claremont field of finance, whose advice is often sought, and whose influence is felt in both commercial and industrial circles, is Harry T. Belcher, the popu- lar cashier of the First National Bank. He was born at San Francisco on March 19, 1884, the son of Robert T. Belcher, the college profes- sor who married Miss Minnie Tresilian, natives of Bandon, Ireland. Robert T. Belcher was a graduate of Queens University, Dublin, Ire- land, coming to Claremont in 1907, where he has since been one of the professors in Pomona College. Of their family of four children, Harry is the eldest.
Harry T. Belcher studied at the Mt. Tamalpais Military Acad- emy, from which he was graduated in 1894; and then, for eight years, engaged with the Matsons Bank of Montreal in Canada. Returning to the United States and to California in 1906, he accepted a post with the Western National Bank of San Francisco and then with the Citizens National Bank of Los Angeles, in which institutions, working accord- ing to American methods, he had a good chance to show what he could do.
Since 1913 Mr. Belcher has been cashier of the leading institution with which he is at present connected; he has also become a member of its board of directors and has naturally grown to be active in the Clare-
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mont Board of Trade. He is a Republican in national politics, but works for the advancement of good local movements regardless of party calls. During the late war he was naturally very active in the different war drives and served as chairman of the Claremont Victory Loan Committee.
At Claremont, on September 5, 1916, Mr. Belcher was married to Miss Nellie M. Parsons, the daughter of C. M. Parsons and Mary G. Parsons of Claremont, Cal. They are members of the Congrega- tional Church and Mr. Belcher is secretary of the Men's Union; he is also a Mason. Claremont is fortunate in numbering such young men among its advance guard.
PHILIP L. RICCIARDI
An Italian-American, who has succeeded so well through his own ability and industry that he has for years reflected most creditably on the land of his nativity and also on the country of his adoption, is Philip L. Ricciardi, the genial and wide-awake proprietor of Philip's Shoe Store at 290 South Thomas Street. He was born in Sicily on November 10, 1889, attended there the public schools, and at the early age of eight, commenced to learn the shoemaker's trade. He mastered custom shoemaking in particular, and thus equipped, he set sail, in 1908, for the United States.
He came direct to Los Angeles, where he had relatives, and there attended night school in order to learn English. He was for a while in the shoe-repairing department of Wetherby-Kayser, and also in the Bootery, and later he started a repair shop of his own at Seventh Street and Grand Avenue. Still later, with Charles Fass as a partner, he opened a shop at Eighth and Hill streets.
On New Year's Day, 1914, these partners bought out the Block Shoe Repairing Shop on South Thomas Street, Pomona, Mr. Ricciardi coming to Pomona to take charge, while Mr. Fass remained in Los Angeles to take care of the shop there. Later, the partnership was dissolved, and as Mr. Ricciardi stuck to the ship at Pomona, his busi- ness prospered rapidly.
In May, 1919, therefore, he leased a much larger store next door to his old place, and while still carrying on the repair shop, put in a full line of shoes. He has the best-equipped repair shop in the Val- ley, and repairs on the average of fifteen hundred pair of shoes monthly. This item alone may be taken to indicate the extent of his profitable trade.
Like many of his nationality, Mr. Ricciardi is musical; indeed, he is an artist on the cornet. His father was the leader of a band in Italy, and at the very precocious age of nine years, he played the cornet in his father's band concerts. He was also a cornet player in the Seventh Regimental Band, California National Guards, and in 1916
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he went with that regiment for three months to Nogales, Arizona, during the Mexican troubles. Since then, he has been cornet player in the Pomona City Band.
Mr. Ricciardi was made an American citizen in 1918, and is a Yeoman, and a member of the Loyal Order of Moose. He was mar- ried at Pomona, on August 22, 1917, to Miss Beatrice De Caprio, a native of Seattle, Wash., and the daughter of A. and Josephine De Caprio; they have one son, Philip E. Ricciardi. He owns his own home, a comfortable dwelling at 544 East Pasadena Street, Pomona, and he gives a willing hand to the work of the Pomona Chamber of Commerce.
CHESTER J. MORRIS
A man whose enterprising spirit and broad, fair methods of dealing with patrons is clearly reflected in his well-organized business is Chester J. Morris, proprietor of the Pomona Carpet Cleaning and Awning Works, advantageously situated at the corner of Park Avenue and West Bertie Street. He was born in Crawford County, Pa., in the district where the first oil well drilled is located, on November 5, 1883, and when ten years of age the family moved to Jamestown, N. Y., where he attended school. When he was fourteen, he secured employment in a dry goods store, and still later he was in a woolen mill and also the Jamestown Wood Working factory. After ten years, he returned to Pennsylvania, and in the city of Titusville he was for a while an insurance agent; discontinuing which he managed a shoe business there.
On October 9, 1909, Mr. Morris arrived at Pomona, and soon afterward he was given employment by Joseph La May, who man- aged the Pomona Carpet Cleaning and Awning Works. He under- took the work of outside man soliciting trade for the house, and per- haps no experience could have served him better, first to master the details of that commercial line, secondly to learn locality and people, and third to add to his stock of human nature acquaintance, always of such value to a business man. He held that position for four years, and then, for a couple of years, was in the employ of the Munger Laundry.
In June, 1914, Mr. Morris bought out the Pomona Carpet Clean- ing and Awning Works and is now sole owner. Under his skilful direction, the concern has been improved in all of its departments; and the volume of its business has naturally steadily increased. The works not only eradicates the dust from rugs and carpets, but by a scrubbing and sterilizing process, it thoroughly cleans the same, and when the cleansing has been accomplished, the rugs are in a condition almost as good as new. Mr. Morris also makes and installs awnings,
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and as he does all the work in this line in Pomona, he easily controls the whole territory of the Pomona Valley.
At Titusville, Pa., in 1905, Mr. Morris was married to Miss Grace M. Streeter, a native of Pennsylvania and the daughter of Sidney and Emily Streeter, by whom he has had three children: Mildred, Dorothy and Clifford. In his fraternal connections Mr. Morris is a charter member and treasurer of the Loyal Order of Moose, and also a member of the Maccabees. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church.
WARREN PENN
The local dealer for Pomona Valley for Dodge Brothers Motor Cars, Warren Penn, was born at Broken Bow, Custer County, Nebr., on October 12, 1890, and there attended the grammar school, and later had the advantage of two years at the normal school at Peru, Nebr. He entered the railroad shops at Havelock, in the same state, and served as an apprentice to the machinist's trade for two or three years.
On January 21, 1909, Mr. Penn enlisted in the United States Navy, for a term of four years, and for six months he attended the Navy electrical school at Mare Island. He was made chief machin- ist's mate and was appointed to the U. S. S. California, (since sunk,) where he served in the dynamo room. He visited China, Japan, South America, the Philippine Islands, and other interesting and remote places, traveling some 72,000 miles, and in the end ob- tained official papers qualifying him as first assistant engineer, on any ocean steamer in unlimited tonnage.
Following his experience in the Navy, Mr. Penn was located in Los Angeles for six years, from 1913, when he was with the Harold L. Arnold Auto Company, as salesman, and with the used-car depart- ment. On March 15, 1919, he came to Pomona to take the agency of the Dodge Brothers Motor Cars, and he carries a full line of touring, roadster, enclosed, truck and business cars, and maintained a temporary show room in the front of the Opera Garage, until the new quarters on North Garey Avenue were available. This building was erected by Ernest Richter and is the most modern structure of its kind in the entire Valley, and is equipped with every convenience found in the larger garages in any city. The Dodge Brothers cars were the most extensively used of any American cars on the battle fields in France. They were made up for ambulances and truck carriers, and stood the heavy strain imposed upon them under all and varying, as well as extremely trying conditions. A thoroughly experienced mech- anician, Mr. Penn is a distinct asset to the business ranks of Pomona Valley, nor could he find a more promising field for his future oper- ations.
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THOMAS HARRISON
Among the business men of Pomona who have helped to bring the city to its present standard of prosperity, Thomas Harrison is well known as a public-spirited and progressive man of affairs and one who can be depended upon to do his utmost toward the advancement of the common welfare. Born February 4, 1875, in Surrey County, England, his parents were Thomas and Mary (Holmes) Harrison, natives of that country and farmers by occupation. In 1894 the family came to the United States and in this country the father has passed to his reward.
The second of three children born to his parents, Thomas Harri- son was educated in the schools of England. After their arrival in the States, he spent fourteen years with the Lake View Gas Fixture Com- pany, in Chicago. He then came west and spent six months in Los Angeles, a year in Pasadena, and then settled in Pomona, and in De- cember, 1910, the firm of Harrison-Fitch Electric Company was formed, and has built up a successful and far-reaching business, dealing in all kinds of electrical work, fixtures, etc., and success is due without doubt to the reputation for honesty and fair dealing which has been the watchword of the firm since its beginning.
Deeply interested in the progress of his home city, Mr. Harrison has proven himself a valuable citizen to his adopted country and is respected as such throughout the community. He is the owner of ten acres of citrus orchard in San Dimas, to which he gives considerable of his time. He is an ardent supporter of the prohibition cause, and in church affairs is a Methodist.
The marriage of Mr. Harrison united him with Miss Kate May Spansail and two children have been born to them, Marion Elizabeth and Donald Leslie.
EDWARD G. STAHLMAN
An up-to-date brickmaker whose assiduous application to the study of the industry enabled him at length to master all the branches is Ed- ward G. Stahlman, foreman of the Pomona Brick Company. He was born on a farm near Sparta, in Randolph County, Ill., on July 27, 1878, the son of Jacob and Katherine (Nice) Stahlman. His father is still living at the age of seventy-three ; but Mrs. Stahlman, who was the mother of eight children, is dead.
Edward, the fifth child in the order of birth, went for a while to the rural schools and then worked on the farm with his father. He was for a while in the high school; but he left home at the age of nine- teen, and so did not enjoy all of the advantages given to thousands of American youth. His mother had then died, and very likely that fact had something to do with his pushing so far from, home as California.
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At any rate, he arrived in Riverside in 1897, and for two and a half years remained there. He worked at the brick business, and from the first was alert to investigate local conditions. He went to Red- lands, then to San Bernardino, and afterward to Los Angeles, at which places he examined and studied the various clays. and experimented how best to burn them. Some of his time was spent at Huntington Yard, and then with the Independent Brick Company in Los Angeles. He came to Pomona in 1905, and he has been with the Pomona Brick Company ever since.
On July 4, 1904, Mr. Stahlman was married to Miss Myrtle May Morgan, the ceremony taking place at Riverside; and they have four children-Lois, Elsie, Edna and Merton. Mr. Stahlman belongs to the Odd Fellows and to the Fraternal Brotherhood. In politics he is a Republican and is serving on the board of education of Pomona. Although often invited to set himself up in business elsewhere, Mr. Stahlman has found only one place that agrees with him and his health, and that place is Pomona.
JAMES DIXON JOHNSON
No class of men have been more conspicuously prominent in the upbuilding of Pomona and vicinity than the real estate dealers, and a strong proof that the development of the city is enduring is afforded by the growth of its insurance interests.
Among the representative citizens who are engaged in the real estate and insurance business is Claremont's popular city clerk, James Dixon Johnson. Mr. Johnson, who is a native of Pomona, Cal., was born January 31, 1886. He is the son of Cassius C. and Louise A. (Moore) Johnson, who came to California about the year 1881 and settled at Pomona, where they engaged in ranching, and developed water by putting down an artesian well. The senior Johnson pur- chased a tract of land which he afterwards subdivided and called John- son's Home Place, and it is now all in orange groves. He died in 1906. His widow is still living.
In a family of three boys and two girls, James Dixon is the second child. He was educated in the public schools of Pomona and Claremont, graduated from the preparatory school and followed this by a year in Claremont College. He then became a member of a scientific expedition whose field of work was British Honduras, where he remained one year. His father died soon after his return to Clare- mont, and he became successor to his interests in the lumber, real estate and insurance business. He afterwards disposed of his inter- ests in the lumber yard, but continued the real estate and insurance offices, in which he has been successful.
His marriage, October 6, 1908, united him with Miss Evangeline
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Kendall of Long Beach, and they became the parents of three chil- dren : Esther Elizabeth, who died November 14, 1916, at the age of five; Charles Revere and Roger Kendall.
Mr. Johnson has been prominent in the development of the Pomona Valley. In 1912 he purchased a tract of unimproved land one and a half miles north of Claremont, cleared it, developed water on it, and with his brother, C. S. Johnson, set out the first twenty acres of lemons in that section.
In his fraternal associations Mr. Johnson is a member of the Masonic order and has taken the third degree. Religiously he is a member of the Congregational Church. He was secretary of the Claremont Board of Trade for four years and acted as its president one year. He is secretary and manager of the Claremont Improve- ment Company, and is active in Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. work. He was elected city clerk of the city of Claremont in April, 1918, for a term of two years. Mr. Johnson hunts and fishes for recreation, is progressive and public spirited and takes a deep interest in all that concerns Pomona Valley, whose interest he ever has at heart.
BENJAMIN E. CALKINS
An adopted Californian hailing from the Buckeye State, who has brought to his present responsible trade operations considerable com- mercial and governmental experience, is Benjamin E. Calkins, one of the proprietors of the Alpha Beta Store, of the Triangle Grocery Store No. 1, on Second Street and Park Avenue, Pomona. He was born at Toledo, Ohio, on November 11, 1890, the son of Benjamin R. and Matta M. (Plantz)' Calkins, also natives of Ohio, and at- tended both the grammar and high schools of Toledo, getting his preparation for a brush with the great, wide world in the same stim- ulating environment so favorable to many distinguished Americans from that commonwealth.
In 1908 Mr. Calkins came to California and, living at Los An- geles, continued his studies under private instruction and at the Los Angeles Polytechnic, after which he gave instruction in the Wallace private school in Los Angeles. Then he went into business and was special agent for the bottled water of the Mountain Spring Water Company of Riverside County. Selling out in three years, he then became associated with the Union Oil Company as traveling sales- man, remaining with them until March, 1917, when he entered the employ of the Government in the purchasing department of the ship- yards in San Pedro.
Coming to Pomona in the summer of 1918, he bought an inter- est in the Triangle Grocery, and is half owner of the Alpha Beta Store No. 1, located at 480 West Second Street. This establishment
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moved into its new home in the summer of 1919, a headquarters fitted up most attractively-clean, sanitary and inviting.
Besides meat and groceries, there are departments for vegetables, fruit and candy, and all goods are arranged in alphabetical order, from A to Z, hence the name, Alpha Beta. The price is plainly marked on each article, and you select what you wish and pay as you go out. This system has proven very satisfactory with the buying public, and the store, which is one of a chain of eight, is enjoying a high degree of prosperity.
At San Diego on November 20, 1915, Mr. Calkins married Miss Helen G. Hall, a native of San Diego and the daughter of J. P. R. and Charlotte Hall; and they have one son, Bruce Calkins. The family attend the Christian Church of Pomona.
B. CHAFFEY SHEPHERD
No more enthusiastic and unselfish advocate and supporter of all that pertains to both the permanent welfare and the good name of Pomona could well be found than B. Chaffey Shepherd, president of the Orange Belt Emporium, who had charge of a quarter of the city in all the war drives that placed Pomona among the leaders for patriotic, substantial response to the call of the nation. He was born at Brockville, Ont., February 17, 1880, the son of Benjamin Chaffey Shepherd, a manufacturer in his younger day. He married Charlotte Camm, by whom he had four children, Benjamin being the second oldest .* The family came to Ontario, Cal., in 1884, where the elder Mr. Shepherd turned to ranching, developed an orange grove in On- tario, and after he had disposed of this he gave his attention to the San Antonio Water Company, acting as its secretary, until he retired in 1906. He was a Mason, being past master of the Ontario Lodge, and was a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He passed away on June 6, 1919, and his widow and all the children survive him.
Chaffey Shepherd, as he is familiarly called by his many friends and acquaintances, was educated in the public schools of Ontario and from a boy he worked in the Ontario Observer office, and in due time he added the invaluable experience of the printer's trade, so that he was able to serve for three years as the foreman of the Ontario Ob- server. He then took a course at the Woodbury Business College and later went back to Brockville, Ont., where he entered the Collegiate Institute, which he attended until 1901. He then returned to Los An- geles and accepted a position with the Southwest Printers Supply Com- pany, next engaging for two years with the Central Lime Company of that city, for whom he was head office man.
In March, 1905, Chaffey Shepherd came to Pomona, purchased an interest in and became secretary and treasurer of the Orange Belt
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Emporium, continuing the activities of these offices until October, 1918, when he was elected president of the company. Orange Belt Em- porium was started in 1901, and was then incorporated as the King- Steffa Company. In 1903, on the death of Mr. King, it was taken over by the partners, who changed it to the Crawford-Moles Company, and it was continued as such until A. E. Tate and B. C. Shepherd became interested, when the name was changed to the Orange Belt Em- porium. The Pomona Department Store being for sale in 1910, they purchased it, and soon after they moved into their quarters on the northeast corner of Garey Avenue and Second Street, in their present large building, and since then have obtained additional room. The business now occupies a space 90 by 120 feet, the basement also being used for a sales department. The growth of the store has been phe- nomenal and far exceeds their most sanguine expectations, being now the largest store in Pomona Valley. Mr. Shepherd is also interested in citrus culture and owns an orange grove in the Valley and by the same methods and close application that has characterized his manage- ment of the Emporium he is also making a success of ranching. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and has been especially interested in advertising the advantages of Pomona and in welcoming those who come to settle here.
On January 10, 1911, at Pomona, Mr. Shepherd was married to Miss Mary Carmichael Davis, born in Grinnell, Iowa, by whom he has had three children : Benjamin Chaffey 3rd, Philip Davis and Mary Louise. The family reside in the attractive home which Mr. Shepherd has erected in Alvarado Park. In politics Mr. Shepherd is a Republi- can, and in fraternal circles he is a member of Pomona Lodge, No. 246, F. & A. M., and Pomona Lodge, No. 789, B. P. O. Elks.
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