USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume III > Part 31
USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume III > Part 31
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Mr. Arth was reared and educated in the old Buckeye State and early gained practical experience in connection with farm industry. He con- tinued his residence in Ohio until 1882, when, as a sturdy and ambitious young man of twenty-three years, he made his way to South Dakota and filed entry on a homestead in Potter County, his marriage having there occurred somewhat later. He gave himself vigorously to the develop- ment and cultivation of his land, which he reclaimed from the raw prairie, and he made on the farm the best improvements consonant with his some- what limited financial resources. Mr. Arth continued his residence on his
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South Dakota farm until 1891, when he sold the property and came with his family to Redlands, California. The day after his arrival he pur- chased ten acres of land on Pioneer Street, between Texas and Orange streets, and for this now splendidly improved and valuable property he paid $2,500. On the tract he proceeded to plant olive and apricot trees, but these he later removed, to utilize the ground for the propagation of Navel oranges. On the day which marked his purchase of this property Mr. Arth also bought lumber and other materials for the construction of a modest house on the place, as well as for the building of a small barn and shed, the latter structures being used as a temporary habitation for the family until the house could be completed, and only one night having been passed in a hotel. Later Mr. Arth erected on the place the attractive modern house which continues the residence of his widow, who proved his devoted companion and helpmeet in his earnest labors to establish a home and win a position of independence. With increasing financial resources Mr. Arth gradually added to the area of his land hold- ings and continued to plant more orange trees. After setting out six acres to oranges he became impressed with the thought that the orange- growing industry might be overdone in this section, and he ceased increas- ing the area of his orchard. He soon discovered that the supply of California oranges did not meet the trade demands, and he therefore proceeded to plant the remainder of his land to oranges. He was a con- servative but very successful grower, and make close study of the best methods and policies for insuring maximum yields.
In the earlier period of his residence in San Bernardino County Mr. Arth added materially to his income by acting as caretaker of orchards owned by others, and this enabled him to finance his individual operations. In this way he had charge of the Hinckley olive grove of 140 acres, and for a term of years he had charge of the Brockman ranch of 150 acres, which he operated on shares, this place having been devoted principally to the raising of peaches and apricots at that time, but he later set out for the Brockman Company an eighty-acre orange grove, in the supervision of which he continued several years. In these years he added to his own holdings, but scrupulously avoided the incurring of heavy indebtedness and refused to speculate in any degree. Mr. Arth was essentially loyal and public-spirited and served effectively as a member of the Board of Trus- tees of the village of Redlands prior to the securing of a city charter. He was independent in politics, was affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and was an active member of the Congregational Church, as are also his widow and children.
In the year 1883, in Potter County, South Dakota, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Arth and Miss Elizabeth C. Rausch, who likewise is a native of Port Washington, Ohio, where she was born November 11, 1861. Mrs. Arth has a wide circle of loyal friends in San Bernardino County, is a zealous member of the Congregational Church, as previously noted, and she was formerly an active member of the Pythian Sisters. In con- clusion of this memoir is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Arth.
Peter Arth, Jr., eldest of the four children, was born in Potter County, South Dakota, June 25, 1885, and was reared and educated at Redlands, California, he being now one of the prosperous orange-growers of this district and a director of the Redlands Co-operative Fruit Associa- tion. He is affiliated with Redlands Lodge No. 186, Knights of Pythias, and Redlands Lodge No. 583, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is not only a substantial producer of oranges on his own land, but
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has also conducted numerous speculative transactions in the buying and selling of orange groves, and is a liberal citizen and progressive business man. On the 14th of June, 1911, he wedded Miss Alice Bloomberg, who was born in the State of Kansas, March 19, 1889, and who was three years of age when her parents came to California and established their home at Redlands. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Arth have four children, whose names and respective dates of birth are as follows: Leona Elizabeth, June 17, 1913; Helen Christine, May 19, 1916; Barbara Edna, July 16, 1918; and Peter (III), March 19, 1920.
Fred Arth, the second son, was born in Potter County, South Dakota, February 20, 1887, and after the removal to California he continued his studies in the Redlands school until his graduation in the high school. He has been closely associated with orange-growing from his boyhood days, and his first independent venture was the purchase of eighteen acres of land on Pioneer Street, for a consideration of $2,500. He set this to orange trees, and to finance his enterprise he raised vegetables between the rows of young trees and by the sale of the same added mater- ially to his income. He constructed his own irrigating flume, in the build- ing of which he hauled rock from the river. He has been a successful speculator in orange groves, in which he and his brother Peter have main- tained effective partnership relations. One of their early speculations was the buying of a ten-acre grove for $7,000, their cash payment having been only $500, and on the subsequent sale of this property they netted $2,000 each, the sale having been made for $11,000, a crop having been taken off, which paid all expenses for the ten months the place was owned by the brothers. In 1912 Fred Arth had twenty acres of orange trees one and two years old, and three acres of seven-year-old trees. He bought an additional ten acres, but in the big freeze of 1913 fully two-thirds of the young trees froze to the ground, which loss was augmented by the destruc- tion of the entire crop by the frost. Before the next crop was ready for the market Fred Arth expended fully $5,000 in the work of retrieving these orange groves, as his faith in the orange industry remaining unim- paired. Fred Arth utterly refused to consider or entertain a feeling of discouragement when other growers viewed the outlook with alarm. Thus he purchased during a season when many others were discouraged. In 1917 after the heat had ruined the orange crop of the district, he purchased ten acres for $11,000, and from this grove a single crop later sold for $9,000. On this place is a house valued at $11,000, and yet local banks refused to extend a loan on the security thus offered in a certain hot year that menaced production, a policy which the banks followed also in cold years. Mr. Arth and his brother had confidence in the future, and in their operations in connection with orange culture they have met with substantial and gratifying success. At this present writing Fred Arth is the owner of 100 acres of oranges, and is a director and vice president of the Crown Jewel Packing House. He married Miss Katherine Yost, who was born December 15, 1888, and who is a daughter of Charles Yost, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Arth have four children: Russell Frederick, born September 13, 1916; Donald Peter, born June 12, 1918; Charles Robert, born January 31, 1920, and the baby, born February 12, 1922.
Minnie, the elder daughter of the honored subject of this memoir, was born January 30, 1889, and is a graduate of the Redlands High School. On June 25, 1914, she became the wife of Dr. Howard G. Hill, who was born in London, England, and who is a representative young physician and surgeon at Redlands. Dr. and Mrs. Hill were members of a party
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that set forth to make a trip around the world, and they were in Germany at the outbreak of the great World war. It was only by resorting to all manner of expedients and making utmost haste that the party were able to escape from Germany before its borders were closed, two days after the company passed out of that country. It was on this trip that the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Hill occurred, in the City of London, England. They have four children: Howard Arth, Ruth Gail, Harold Merrill and Herbert.
Edna, the youngest of the children of the late Peter Arth, Sr., was born at Redlands, November 4, 1891, and is a graduate of the Redlands High School. She was a member of the same party as her sister in essay- ing the trip around the world, as noted above, and encountered the same harrowing experiences in fleeing from Germany and returning to the United States only a short time before the war put a stop to passenger traffic across the Atlantic. On the 6th of November, 1919, Miss Edna Arth became the wife of Edward G. Gleitsman, of Dover, Ohio, and they now reside in Redlands, Mr. Gleitsman being a successful orange-grower in this district. Mrs. Gleitsman and her sister are popular factors in the social life of Redlands, and the former is an active member of the local Contemporary Club.
RUFUS E. LONGMIRE. Those who now come to San Bernardino County can have no real idea of the conditions prevailing when the pioneers, among whom were Rufus E. Longmire and his family, located amid what was then practically a sterile wilderness. Irrigation was practically unknown in its present high state of development, dirt ditches being the only means of watering the soil, and the walls of these frequently broke through, resulting in a loss of the moisture so sorely needed. Citrus culture was then in its infancy, and had to be carefully studied and experimented upon. The results were so doubtful that it took one with great faith in the locality and industry to dare to risk all in these experimentations, but because there were these brave souls, willing to work and endure, this region has been made into one of the finest and most productive portions of the Golden State.
Rufus E. Longmire, for so many years connected with the citrus industry of San Bernardino County, and for a long period an honored resident of Highland, was born in Tennessee in 1843, and died at High- land, California, February 15, 1919. In 1868 he married Miss Mary E. Shanlever, who was born in Tennessee in 1844, and they settled on a farm in the vicinity of Clinton, Anderson County, Tennessee, and made it their home until 1882, and there their five daughters and two sons were born. In that year a brother of Mr. Longmire returned from the West with such glowing accounts of California and its possibilities and opportunities that these hard-working and watchful parents decided to make the long trip to the Land of Promise, being willing to endure much in the hope of obtaining advantages for their offspring.
Therefore, filled with hope for the future and imbued with the deter- mination to succeed no matter what the hardships might be, Rufus E. Longmire and his devoted wife set out for California. They arrived at East Highland in the fall of 1882, and rented land from the Van Leuven ranch, and lived on it for five years. At that time the region was but little improved, and father, mother and children had to work very hard to get a foothold in the new home. Scattered citrus orchards and grapes were to be found, but there was no concerted movement toward the establish- ment of a sound industry. However, the Longmire family were united in a harmonious whole and worked with a definite object in view, that of
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owning their home, and this they were able to bring about after five years of unremitting toil and the closest of economy. Mr. Longmire bought ten acres on Base Line, now known as the Parsons place, and this he and his family set to orange trees. Theirs was one of the early orchards of this region, and they lived on the place until the orchard was well grown, and then sold to advantage and bought ten acres on Highland Avenue, at Boulder Avenue. Once more they set out the trees that had been raised on the Base Line property, where he had maintained a nursery with profit. The second orchard flourished and was sold, again at a handsome profit, in 1912, following which Mr. Longmire retired from active participation in business, bought a comfortable home at Highland, where the remainder of his life was spent, and here Mrs. Longmire is still residing. She also owns a grove at Rialto, California. They came to San Bernardino County poor people, with their way in life still to make, and when Mr. Longmire retired they were possessed of ample means, and Mrs. Longmire is sur- rounded today with not only the comforts of life, but also many of the luxuries, all of which have been earned through the toil and good manage- ment of the Longmire family.
When the Longmires came to California the eldest child was fourteen years of age, she being Ida, who was born in October, 1868. She married Charles Hidden in 1892, and they have two children: Lloyd, who was born January 21, 1894, is a veteran of the World war, having served as an enlisted man in the artillery; and Gertrude, who is with her parents. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. Longmire, Lassie, was born April 3, 1870, and died August 18, 1889. Mattie, the third child, was born August 13, 1871, and she was married to John P. Coy, inspector of horticulture, and they became the parents of three children: Clifford, who was born December 1, 1898, is a veteran of the World war, in which he served in the aviation branch; Blanche, who was born November 17, 1899; and John, who was born May 9, 1916. Charles, who was born May 30, 1873, lives at Santa Ana, California, and is a real-estate man. He is married and has two children: Lucille, who was born April 1, 1904; and Rufus, who was born February 14, 1907. Kitty, the fifth child in the Longmire family, was born December 1, 1874. She was married to Frank Cram, a prominent citrus grower of Highland, and they have two children: Fred, who was born July 1, 1896, was in the aviation service during the World war; and Mary Elizabeth, who was born May 27, 1900. Maggie, the sixth child in the Longmire family, was born April 25, 1877, and died February 9, 1896. James Longmire, the youngest in the family, was born February 9, 1878. He lives at Highland, is married, and has two children : Donald, who was born January 30, 1916; and Merritt, who was born February 16, 1921. His eldest child, Gerald, who was born November 11, 1914, died in infancy. Mrs. Longmire is very proud of her children and grandchildren, as she has every reason to be, for they are fine people. The sons and daughters are numbered among the substantial residents of the several communities in which they are located, and the grandchildren are showing forth in their lives the results of careful training and the good stock from which they have sprung. When their country had need of them the young men went forth to battle for it, and made records as soldiers which will be cherished by future generations.
GEORGE A. KLUSMAN-Whatever its natural origin and previous train- ing, there is a type of citizenship that represents good service and usefulness in any environment, and a splendid illustration of such type is in the person of George A. Klusman of Cucamonga.
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Mr. Klusman was born in Oldenburg, Germany, November 20, 1879, son of William and Johanna (Stulken) Klusman. William Klusman owned a good farm in Germany and for seven years lived in America, but then returned to his native land, where he died at the age of eighty-two. His wife, Johanna, had died at the age of forty. They had six sons: William, the oldest, now chief engineer of the Union Tool Works at Torrens in Los Angeles; John and Henry, whose careers also belong within the province of this pub- lication ; Charles, who served as a commission officer in the World war and still lives in Germany; George A., and August, who died at the age of eight years. Four of these brothers became Americans, and they came to this country not only to enjoy the advantages of the new world but to make themselves in every sense American citizens, and all of them became naturalized as soon as possible.
George A. Klusman acquired a good education in Germany. During 1900-01 he was enlisted in the Regular German Army in the 91st Division of Infantry. He served six months in Germany and for eighteen months was abroad in China, participating in the allied expedition to quell the Boxer rebellion. His pay while a German soldier was five cents a day. He went back home, was mustered out and for one year was employed in the railway service. He resigned in order to follow his brothers to America, and he reached Cucamonga November 16, 1903. He came here a hundred fifty dollars in debt to his brother John, having borrowed that sum in order to pay the expenses of his voyage. He at once went to work for his brother John at twenty-five dollars a month and board. The next three years were years of hard labor, during which he paid back the hundred and fifty dollars and also saved enough to buy a team of horses. He then leased some land, and since then has been actively identified with agriculture and horticulture, but his big crop and the specialty by which he is widely known throughout this section is potatoes. There is probably no man in Southern Cali- fornia who understands potato culture better than George A. Klus- man. In 1917, when the Government was clamoring for increased food production, his crop amounted to ten thousand sacks. The first land he purchased was twenty acres of untamed soil, and he set this to raisin grapes, intercultivating in the meantime. Here he built a modern home and barn and lived there until he sold the property in 1920.
In 1917 Mr. Klusman bought eighty acres of excellent land on Foot Hill Boulevard. This is the scene of his home today. All the tract is irrigated and thirty acres have been set to lemons and oranges, twenty acres to vineyard, fifteen acres to peaches and fifteen acres to garden and farm crops. On account if its varied produc- tiveness, its beautiful home, in the midst of mountain scenery, and its commodious outbuildings, this is one of the most attractive places along this old thoroughfare. Mr. Klusman still leases a large acreage and uses a great deal of land every season for his potato crop. Among other varied interests he is a stockholder in the Building & Loan Association at Cucamonga. He is affiliated with Lodge No. 98, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Upland and the Foresters. At the age of forty-two he has accumulated a prosperity that would enable him to retire, though his energetic disposition seems likely to keep him in the productive lines of business for some years to come. He was ready with his money and all other influence to aid the Government at the time of the
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World war, is a republican in politics, and a member of the Presby- terian Church.
August 11, 1910, Mr. Klusman married Miss Mary Clarrissa Oliver, who was born at Derry West, near Toronto, Canada, August 11, 1883. She is a high school graduate. They have one son, George Oliver, born October 6, 1915. Mrs. Klusman is a daughter of Josiah and Mary Ann (Carter) Oliver, the father born at the same place as his daughter and the mother born in Brampton, Canada. The father, a farmer, came to Cucamonga, California, in 1905 and had a ranch. He died September 10, 1921. The mother died when Mrs. Klusman was four years old. There were six girls and three boys in the family. Three of the girls married and are living in California, also one of the brothers. One sister and one brother are living in Canada and one sister is deceased.
DAVIS DONALD came to Redlands in 1890, and with his father, D. M. Donald, formed one of the first contracting firms to contribute to the upbuilding of Redlands. He was born in Norwich, Ontario, Canada, May 23, 1865, his father, Daniel McIntosh Donald, being a native of Scotland, his mother, a Canadian. Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Donald came to Redlands in pioneer days, where Mr. Donald's brother was the first Presby- terian minister, the church at that time being where the Kingsbury School now stands.
Mr. Donald, senior, was a well known contractor in Canada, and when his son joined him here they started a business that has lasted over thirty years, and have built many of the finest homes and most substantial buildings in the city, including the A. K. Smiley Public Library, the Pres- byterian Church, the Redlands National Bank, the Columbia Building and many others.
Mr. Donald's wife, Mrs. Agnes McMurchie Donald, followed him to Redlands in 1891, and their two sons, James and Gordon, were born here and received their education in the local schools and the university. Both volunteered for service in the great war. James Donald enlisted Novem- ber 28, 1917, in the Quartermaster's Corps, and was stationed at Fort McDowell, then at Benicia Arsenal, and was discharged May 10, 1919. He is a department manager for Allen Wheaton, and married in Septem- ber, 1920, Miss Clara Brown, of Oregon. Gordon Donald, the younger son, enlisted in the air service December 10, 1917, and was sent to Fort McDowell, then to Kelly Field and Ellington Field, Texas, and lastly to Wilbur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he was an instructor. in aerial gunnery. He was mustered out February 21, 1919, and on October 23, 1920, married Miss Estelle Hurd, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is associated with his father in the building and contracting business, and they operate their own shop, equipped with the most modern wood-work- ing machinery, where they build fine cabinet work, as well as manufacture interior trim and finish for all their own work. They are also engaged in making a full line of concrete brick, blocks and roofing tile for modern fire-proof residence construction.
Mr. Donald has watched the growth of Redlands from a tiny village to a modern up-to-date community, and, like all those who were here in the early days, is a firm believer in the future growth of the city. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the Merchants and Manufac- turers Association, of the Redlands Lodge of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, of the Redlands Rotary Club, and both he and Mrs. Donald are active members of the First Presbyterian Church.
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CORTNER .- Three brothers make up the Cortner Brothers Company. undertakers and funeral directors, whose establishment at Sixth and East Olive streets in Redlands represents the highest degree of service and facilities in their line.
The parents of these brothers were George A. and Kate (Couch) Cortner, both natives of Bedford County, Tennessee. Their father was born in 1838 and their mother in 1844. George A. Cortner was a farmer and a grain dealer, a prosperous business man who spent his active life in Tennessee. He died in 1911, while his wife passed away in 1893.
George and Arthur Cortner came to Redlands in 1902, being followed by their brother Guy in 1904. Reasons of health caused George Cortner to seek the California climate. Arthur Cortner went to work for F. A. Wales in his undertaking establishment at Redlands, and in 1904 the two brothers bought the Wales business, then conducted in a small store on State Street. Appreciating the need of a more commodious place and a better equipped service, they established their Funeral Parlor in 1905, at the corner of Cajon and East Olive streets. The present handsome build- ing occupied by Cortner Brothers is at the northwest corner of Sixth and Olive streets. For over fifteen years, therefore, the Cortner Brothers Company has been in business at Redlands. They were the first firm to realize the need of a modern funeral parlor in the city, and selected their present location on account of its convenience to car lines as well as for its seclusion. In this commodious and well arranged chapel they have sup- plied the needs of all classes.
George P. Cortner was born in Tennessee in December, 1879, and grew up and received his education in that state. Since 1915 he has held the responsibilities of business manager for the University of Redlands. He married Miss Nellie Harmon, a native of Ohio, and they have two daughters, Katherine and Edith.
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