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 76
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They would travel from fifty to one hundred miles a day on the railroad motor car, and coming south they fished and prospected and hunted in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They tried to find the famous white deer, which was later shot by another hunter. In the south they explored the San Jacinto Range of mountains, and especially
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old Gray Back Mountain. They were all through the desert in the Beaumont district and saw all the development from barley fields to orchards. With Mr. Sutherland of the water department of the Southern Pacific Railway, they prospected for water for the railroad, trying to find a natural water supply in the San Jacinto Range.
In 1911, Mr. Blatz resigned from the railroad service, and on account of its climate, its fine soil, water and home conditions and educational advantages and churches, he elected Pomona as a place of residence. He had learned the trade of an interior decorator and paper hanger as a boy, at his father's request, since his father thought it best for him to have a trade, and with A. E. Pelton as a partner, he bought out the paint and wall paper store of W. A. Vandegrift. Later, he sold out his interest, and since then he has done contract interior decorating and paper hanging, decorating many of the finest residences in Pomona, among them being the home of D. C. Crook- shank, General Belcher, J. M. Booth and Dr. E. E. Kelly. In such contracts as these his qualities as a natural artist come to the fore.
On July 23, 1892, at Mt. Vernon, N. Y., Mr. Blatz was married to Miss Jennie C. Steele, a native of White Plains, N. Y., and a daughter of the Rev. R. B. Steele, a Yale College graduate and a Presbyterian minister of that city. Through this family connection, Mrs. Blatz is a direct descendant of the Huguenots, and also of Gen- eral Porter and Louis Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. She is a member of the Eastern Star Lodge of Pomona, and of the Presbyterian Church, although Mr. Blatz belongs to the Episcopal Church.
Seven children have blessed this unusually happy marriage. Edgar P. Blatz, now deceased, served for three years in the National Guard, and was with them in the Mexican troubles on the border. He was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant of infantry in the World War, and was an instructor in the Western cantonments in the use of the famous Browning machine gun. He was also an expert shot with the rifle. Later, he was transferred to the aviation corps and was in command of the first All-American squadron of fliers; but he was taken ill and died at Fort Bayard, October 14, 1918. He was a ca- pable soldier, had a thorough knowledge of military matters, and could well have been expected to be heard from; the squadron which he commanded went overseas, and only two out of twenty-four came back. A second son, Alfred, is the manager of the Pacific long distance telephone office at Long Beach. He was a member of the Forty- eighth Field Artillery, but did not reach France. A third son, Clar- ence, is the manager of the Exchange's marmalade house in Pomona, while the other children are Harold, Maxwell, Margaret and Harry.
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C. RALPH CLARK
A successor to his father as proprietor of Clark's Bakery, C. Ralph Clark was born in Des Moines, Iowa, November 30, 1883. He received his education in the public and high school of Pomona, and took a business college course in Los Angeles. On finishing his schooling, he was with his father in the bakery and restaurant for a time, then bought the Idyllwild candy store, which he ran for a short time, then sold and returned to be with his father. With his brother, Frank, he bought out his father's business, in 1913, both bakery and restaurant, in 1914, bought his brother's interest in the bakery, then, in 1917, sold his interest in the restaurant and now gives all his time to the proper management of Clark's Bakery, a first-class establish- ment and well on a par with the up-to-the-minute business establish- ments for which Pomona is noted, employing seven people, with added employees at busy seasons.
The marriage of Ralph Clark united him with Miss Myrtle I. Rose, of Pomona, the ceremony taking place June 4, 1906, and one child has been born to them, Kathryn Lucille.
Besides his business interests, Mr. Clark devotes his time to orange growing, owning his own grove in the Valley. An energetic and public-spirited man, he takes an active interest in the growth and expansion of Pomona, and can be relied upon to do his share in all movements that have for their object the best interests of the Valley. Fraternally he is a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, and the Fraternal Brotherhood. Politically he adheres to the Republican party tenets.
JERE C. BOWDEN
Automobiling is a popular pastime in Southern California. The salubrious climate, fine roads and scenic beauties are conducive to the interests of the auto business, and thousands of automobiles of every size and description are used, and many houses have been established for handling the various popular makes of electric and gasoline cars. Jere C. Bowden, the genial sales manager for the C. R. May Com- pany, Pomona Valley agents for the Buick and Reo autos, and General Motor Trucks, was born at Springfield, Mo., December 18, 1888. He was a lad eight years of age when he came to California with his parents in 1896, and his fundamental education was acquired in the Pomona public schools. He graduated from the Long Beach high school in 1907, attended Stanford University for a short time, and was then sent out on a government surveying expedition. In 1908 he engaged in geological survey for the United States Government in Northern and Central California, following the vocation three years.
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From 1911 to 1916, he was in the employ of the San Dimas Quarry Company, the last two years of that time being in charge of the com- pany's plant. This company got out rock for building boulevards in Southern California. In 1916, Mr. Bowden engaged in the auto- mobile business. He is one of the rising young business men of Po- mona Valley, is thoroughly versed in the automobile business and energetic and enthusiastic over the cars he handles. He is a fine sales- man and is meeting with the success in his business that is his just due.
By his marriage he was united with Miss Ruth Martin, a native of San Dimas, and two children have been born of their union, Wil- liam and Elizabeth. Fraternally, Mr. Bowden is associated with the San Dimas Lodge of F. & A. M. and the B. P. O. E. Lodge at Pomona.
ROY H. CARTER
Among the efficient boosters of Pomona Valley, who have worked for the advancement of all the best interests of this highly favored region, is Roy H. Carter, the proprietor of the motor agency at Sec- ond and Parcells streets, Pomona. He was born in Hendricks County, Ind., on October 16, 1884, and was reared in a farming district where he attended the usual country schools. Later, he topped off his studies at the high school at Plainfield, Ind., and soon after located in In- dianapolis, where he took up newspaper work on the Indianapolis Journal.
Then he went to Chicago and entered the employ of the Chicago Binder and File Company, manufacturers of loose-leaf ledgers, and there he had his first experience in salesmanship, traveling on the road, broadening his knowledge of human nature, and getting familiar with business methods on a large scale. Arriving in Pasadena, in 1908, he embarked in the real-estate business; but ten years after- ward he saw the broader field to be developed in the automotive indus- try and removed to Pomona.
Here, with Fred C. Trickey, he started in the automobile trade in the Overland Garage; and on New Year's Day, 1919, he estab- lished for himself the R. H. Carter Motor Agency. He was ap- pointed agent for the Cadillac and Nash cars, the Moreland truck and the Case tractor, and fortune smiled on him from the first. His success in particular in selling the Cadillac led its company to enlarge his territory, which now extends from the San Gabriel River to Wine- ville. He also sold more Moreland trucks in the past six months in the Valley than did the agents of all other trucks combined; and since three trucks yearly was the average of sales in the Valley before he accepted the agency, his accomplishment in selling over $70,000 worth of that popular make in the first half year of 1919 speaks for itself.
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It is interesting to know that Mr. Carter's choice of Pomona as the best place in which to locate in the automobile business was made only after he had looked well over the entire state. He preferred Pomona on account of its central location, the rich territory adjoining, and the city's growing trade; and because he had great confidence in the Valley and its future. As might be expected, having once cast his lot here, he has become very active in both the Chamber of Com- merce and the Merchants' Association.
At Pasadena on May 12, 1915, Mr. Carter was married to Miss Dorothy Hartman, a native of Michigan and the daughter of Carrol S. Hartman, formerly of Grand Rapids. Mrs. Carter has always been the center of a circle of admiring friends, and shares with her husband his enthusiasm for Pomona Valley.
FRANK CATELLI
The proprietor of the San Dimas Fancy Bakery, a business he established, Frank Catelli was born in the city of Lucca, near Florence, Italy, May 3rd, 1884, and was reared on his father's farm and received a good education in the excellent schools of his native place. Having heard of the opportunities that awaited young men in the land of the Stars and Stripes, he resolved, when sixteen years of age, to migrate to America ; so May 13, 1901, he arrived in New York City, and three months later he made his way to Providence, R. I., where he apprenticed himself to the baker's trade, beginning with a salary of seven dollars a week, and at the end of two years he was receiving fourteen dollars a week. Next we find him in Boston earning eighteen dollars a week until he started in business in a partnership in New Bedford, Mass., but eighteen months later, having heard gratifying reports from California, he came to Los Angeles, April, 1910, and immediately found employment in the Franco-American Bakery at twenty dollars a week, resigning to accept the position of superintend- ent of the Fancy Bakery in Long Beach, receiving twenty-four dollars a week and expenses. This position he filled satisfactorily for a period of three years and only resigned to remove to Tonopah, Nev., where he was superintendent of a bakery, receiving a salary of $110 a month and expenses. However, the climate of California appealed to him so strongly that in eighteen months he resigned to return to the Coast. In 1917 he came to Pomona, where he was employed at his trade. He was made a citizen of the United States in Los Angeles in 1918, and responded to the draft and was accepted and called out, when the armistice was signed and he was not needed for service.
In January, 1919, he established the San Dimas Fancy Bakery, to which he gives all of his time and best efforts, and is meeting with deserving success.
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