History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 217

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

USA > California > San Joaquin County > History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 217

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GEORGE REIMCHE .- A vineyardist of San Joa- quin County who is engaged in the cultivation and further development of his five-acre vineyard near Lodi is George Reimche. He was born at Akaterina, Slav. in South Russia, on July 22, 1855, a son of Peter and Margaret (Laugert) Reimche, both natives also of Russia. They were the parents of ten children, George Reimche being the only son living in Cali- fornia. He has three sisters in North Dakota. The father was a farmer in his native land, and passed away at the age of fifty-six; the mother lived to be sixty years of age.

George Reimche was raised on a farm on the Island of Crem and was educated in the public schools. On September 18, 1873, he was married to Miss Sophia Bechthold, a native of Russia, the daugh- ter of Christ and Carry (Delk) Bechthold. When Mr. Reimche first started to work for himself, he had a small place which he farmed; then he bought about 175 acres in Crem, Russia, which he farmed until he came to the United States. Arriving in the United States in 1893 with his wife and seven children, he bought 160 acres of land in South Dakota, between Parkstown and Menno; later he sold this and went to Marion County, Kans., and bought a home in a colony where the land remained the property of the colony and the house was owned by the individual. Here he remained two years, when he sold his in- terest and went to Alberta, Canada, and took up a claim for 320 acres. This move proved very disas- trous for him. For two consecutive years there were no crops, and Mr. Reimche lost all his savings and his land besides. In 1910 he came to California and bought a five-acre vineyard about three miles east of Lodi. This place he has improved with a comfortable house and suitable farm buildings. Mr. and Mrs. Reimche are the parents of nine children: John, a rancher near Lodi; Christ, in North Dakota; Eliza- beth, at home; Henry, of Lodi; George, in Canada; Lottie, who was Mrs. Boschee, and who died in Can- ada, leaving six children, of whom the youngest, Viola Lottie, resides with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Reimche; and Lydia, Mrs .. Jacob Wagemann; Carrie, Mrs. Fred Wagemann; and Mrs. Kate Wage- mann, all of Lodi. Mr. and Mrs. Reimche have twenty-six grandchildren. Mr. Reimche became an American citizen while residing in South Dakota.

WILLIAM JAMES REYNOLDS .- Among the pioneer families of San Joaquin County is that which now finds a representative in William James Rey- nolds, who have ever borne their part in the building up and development of the county, and all members of the family have been citizens of progress and liberal ideas upon all subjects. He was born near Lathrop, March 31, 1863, on what was known as the Howell Ranch, which adjoined the Elkhorn Ranch, so called from the fact that many elk horns were found on the ranch in early days of pioneer develop- ment. William James Reynolds is the eldest son of Richard Reynolds, born in Indiana, March 20, 1833. His parents migrated to Wisconsin, and there their son was reared and schooled. He married Miss Elizabeth Hall, a native of Grant County, Wis., a daughter of William and Priscilla (Warfield) Hall, the former born near Bowling Green, Ky., and the

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latter in Missouri, and they crossed the plains to California in 1861. Richard Reynolds purchased 160 acres in the environs of East Union, near Lathrop, and the ranch was a well-known landmark of the county. The father passed away in 1915, the mother surviving him until February, 1922.

William James Reynolds received his education in the East Union district schools, then worked on his father's ranch until 1891, when he went to the mines in Mariposa County. He mined and prospected in Fresno, El Dorado, Plumas and Sierra counties for a period of fifteen years, and in 1910 returned to this county, where he has since been employed as tower- man for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company at French Camp.

The marriage of Mr. Reynolds occurred at Merced, which united him with Miss Annie E. Jack, a daugh- ter of William Jack and a granddaughter of Captain Moss, all prominent in pioneer circles of Stockton's early history. William Jack married Elizabeth A. De Laney, who came to California in 1868. Mrs. Reynolds was born at Stockton, but reared and schooled at French Camp. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are the parents of seven children: Annie Elizabeth; Rose M .; Eldridge R .; Edna and Ella are twins; John E .; and William J., Jr. Both Mr. Reynolds and his wife have a wide acquaintance in San Joaquin County, and Mrs. Reynolds takes an active part in civic affairs at French Camp.

FRANK REICHMUTH .- Among the prosperous and enterprising representatives of the agricultural interests of San Joaquin County is Frank Reichmuth and on his fine estate on Lincoln Highway in the vicinity of Lathrop he has given ample evidence of his progressive spirit and up-to-date methods. He was born in Canton Schwyz, Switzerland, March 8, 1884, a son of Joseph and Louisa (Stucker) Reich- muth, both natives of Switzerland and both are now deceased.

Frank Reichmuth had the opportunity only for a limited education, not being able to attend school after his tenth birthday. In 1904 he bade farewell to his native land, taking passage from Havre, France, on the S. S. Britannia for New York, the trip covering a period of nine days. His brother, Joseph, had preceded him to this country and is now a well- to-do and prominent dairy farmer of the Salinas Vel- ley. From New York he proceeded to San Fran- cisco, where he worked for two years driving a retail milk wagon; then he established his own retail milk route and within four years had built up a business that required two wagons, which covered the terri- tory as far as South San Francisco. Disposing of his business at a good profit in 1910, he removed to Knightsen and for the following year and a half con- ducted his first dairy business with a marked degree of success. He then had a splendid opportunity to sell his business, and then located in San Joaquin County on the Oakwood stock farm, nine miles southwest of Stockton, where he was employed as foreman. One year later he purchased a share in the business with Joseph Fassler, and in 1916 they had a herd of 300 milch cows and 450 head of other stock, and the partnership continued until 1918, when Mr. Reichmuth conducted the ranch on his own ac- count, and in 1921 he purchased 170 acres of the original Oakwood stock farm. The same year he purchased the Thomas Thomsen home place, a land- mark of early days, consisting of 205 acres, but he has

since disposed of ninety acres of this ranch and the balance is being rapidly developed into vineyard and alfalfa fields. Mr. Reichmuth has spent considerable money in substantial improvements and has devel- oped a splendid irrigation system. A reservoir con- taining 1,000,000 gallons of water has been con- structed, the water being distributed to the land by gravity flow through concrete pipes. In 1912 Mr. Reichmuth visited his native land, and upon return- ing to the United States spent two months in travel- ing from state to state, in all visiting twenty-four states. In 1921 Mr. Reichmuth again returned to his native land, and was married to Miss Hilda Gyr, daughter of J. Gyr, a prominent and wealthy mer- chant of Canton Schwyz. They are the parents of a baby girl, Cleo, born at Lathrop. Mr. Reichmuth is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce at Lathrop and he enjoys the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and friends. He came to America empty-handed, but taking advantage of the splendid opportunities offered he has worked his way steadily upward to prosperity.

SYDNEY W. REYNOLDS .- A foremost business man and a successful rancher, Sydney W. Reynolds is a native of San Joaquin County and a son of the well-known and prominent pioneer, Edward Rey- nolds. Mr. Reynolds is the proprietor of the Big Store in Ripon and his agricultural activities are car- ried on east of Ripon, where he owns 125 acres de- voted to grapes and olives, and also owns eighty acres of the Reynolds homestead in the East Union district of the county. It is needless to say that Mr. Reynolds has been unusually successful in his career, and not only have his diligent efforts rewarded him in material circumstances, but he has also acquired a position of esteem and public worth among his fellow-citizens and business associates. He was born in the East Union district of San Joaquin County on his father's ranch, June 25, 1877, a son of Edward and Saluda (Campbell) Reynolds, both natives of Wisconsin. Edward Reynolds was born in 1844 and was nine years old when his parents started across the plains to California, members of a party under Captain Cut- ler Salmon, the emigrant train reaching California in October, 1853. Edward Reynolds was educated in the district school, the school being built on a por- tion of his father's ranch. In young manhood he re- turned to Wisconsin for his bride, Miss Saluda Camp- bell, where they were married, and immediately re- turned to California and their home in San Joaquin County, where they became prominent factors in the growth and progress of the community.

Sydney W. Reynolds received a good education in the East Union district school and in 1896 was grad- uated from the York Business College. He grew up on his father's ranch and at an early age showed natural business ability. While still in his teens he was put in charge of the cream station at Cowell switch, which is now the thriving town of Manteca, where for two years he conducted this branch of the San Joaquin Creamery. The business grew rapidly, as did the surrounding country, and at the present time Manteca is the center of one of the richest dairy sections of California. Mr. Reynolds then went to Weiser, Idaho, where he worked as a clerk in the postoffice; six months later he went to Kansas City. Mo., where he entered the employ of the street car company; however, he soon became dissatisfied in the Middle West and returned to California, and was

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employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company on the western division, remaining for a year and a half. About this time, in partnership with his brother, Edwin M., he purchased the store of Eastman & Mc- Kee in Lathrop, and after a partnership of four years our subject bought his brother's share and success- fully conducted the business for another year, when he sold out to J. H. Southwell. In 1908 Mr. Rey- nolds and F. E. McKee made a trip to Ripon with the idea in mind of opening a store, and the result was that they purchased the store of Yaple & Com- pany, the pioneer store of south San Joaquin County, the business having been carried on for forty years. Under the new management, the business grew rap- idly. In September, 1916, Mr. McKee passed away, his interest in the store being retained by his widow and daughter. The store building has been com- pletely remodeled into a modern and attractive estab- lishment and the interior redecorated. The company carries a complete line of dry goods, ready-to-wear women's and men's apparel, fancy and staple grocer- ies, fruits and vegetables.

Mr. Reynold's first marriage, which occurred in Stockton in 1901, united him with Miss Mabel S. Fisher, a daughter of John Fisher, pioneer of San Joaquin County. One daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, Eleanor Lucile. Mrs. Reynolds passed away in 1910. In April, 1913, Mr. Reynolds was married to Miss Bird J. Garrett, youngest daugh- ter of William Garrett, deceased, a pioneer resident of Ripon and prominent as a Calaveras mining ex- pert. Mr. Reynolds has never missed an opportunity to support all movements and measures for the progress and development of the Ripon section. He is vice-president of the First National Bank, a prom- inent member of the County Fair Association board, the Ripon Merchants Association, and since 1906 has been a member of the I. O. O. F. of Ripon.

RIPON HOSPITAL .- With but one thought in mind, the greatest good to the greatest number, Dr. N. B. Gould in 1920 established the Ripon Hospital, an institution that has increased in usefulness with each passing year. This institution is located one mile west of Ripon on the Ripon Road and is the former residence of Thomas Hughes, which has been completely remodeled at a cost of $20,000, with the most modern and up-to-date surgical department of any hospital in this section of the county. Beautiful and spacious grounds surround the buildings and the thirteen acres included in the hospital property is de- voted to the raising of fruits, vegetables and poultry for use in the hospital; besides there are tested dairy cows that furnish milk and butter for the patrons of the institution. Paul L. Ness, a pharmacist of Ripon, is associated with Doctor Gould in this worthy un- dertaking. The efficiency with which the work of the hospital is carried on and the manner in which the patients are cared for were due to the capability of the head nurse, the late Mrs. Whitney, formerly of St. Helena, Napa County, who died in 1921, whose position was then taken by her sister, Miss Etta Evans, who came from the Emergency Hospital, Salt Lake City. Miss Evans has a corps of six able as- sistants, and the hospital is a model of sanitation and cleanliness, and the patient entering this hospital is assured of the most kindly and best of professional treatment. Those competent to speak with authority assert that Doctor Gould's knowledge of materia medica and surgery, backed by a broad general fund

of information in every sphere of thought, bespeak for him many years of professional usefulness, and as head physician and surgeon of the Ripon Hospital he has found his greatest field for service to his fel- low-man. Associated with Dr. Gould since 1919, is Dr. R. W. Brace, who was lately discharged from the army after overseas service as an army surgeon in France with the commission of major. He is a spe- cialist in X-ray and a very successful practitioner.

RIPON UNION HIGH SCHOOL .- In midsum- mer, 1910, when the old Ripon Board of Trade was young and full of enthusiasm, and its members cast- ing about for something to do for the town and com- munity, two citizens, meeting at the postoffice, one said to the other: "Why can't we have a high school here?" The other replied promptly and confidently, "We can, if we go after it." So a plan of campaign was talked over, and in 'a very short time a petition was drawn up and circulated, and after a sufficient number of signatures were secured, an election was held in August, a high school board was elected and the Ripon Union high school district was organized and ready for business in just one month. This broke all previous records for speed in such matters in San Joaquin County and is a good example of community boosting. The school was opened on September 1 in Odd Fellows Hall, rented for the purpose, with one teacher and fourteen students. Another teacher was added just after the holidays in 1911. Odd Fel- lows hall being a very unsatisfactory place to con- duct the school, the board called a bond election for the purpose of buying and building a suitable high school building to cost $22,500, part of which was to be rented to the Ripon grammar school, as that school at that time was in need of better quarters. The election was held on April 22, 1911, but failed to carry, and this same proposition was put up to the voters of the district a second time, on June 1, 1911, and also failed to carry.

During this year a holding committee was formed to acquire and hold land for the schools, and said committee, being backed by the people and the bank, built a temporary high school building, and school was opened in that building at the commencement of the fall term, September 1, 1911, the high school board renting the place from the holding committee, and adding a room and a teacher as the growth of the school required, until 1916, when the building contained five rooms and five teachers were em- ployed. The rent paid to the holding committee hav- ing reached a sum sufficient to pay the cost of the building and grounds, the property was deeded to the high school district. Also at this time, it appearing to the board that the time was ripe for a new and modern building, so imperatively necessary, that the board decided to call and did call the third bond election, which was held on June 1, 1916. It is to the credit of the high school board and the progres- sive spirit and generosity of the people that the elec- tion was successful, and bonds for $27,000 were voted and sold, and the building was started in August, 1916. It is a beautiful, modern, up-to-date building that will stand as a monument to the progressive spirit and enterprise of the people and an inspiration to the youth of the land to aspire to higher and better things. The Ripon high school is generally recognized for its ability and thoroughness and its graduates are admitted direct to the State University.

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CURTIS M. ROBBINS .- Well known in the newspaper and real estate fields, in both of which he has made an outstanding success, Curtis M. Robbins is now connected with the firm of Hodgkins & Bar- nett, pioneer dealers in real estate of Stockton. A native son of this city, Mr. Robbins was born on August 6, 1891, his parents being Henry E. and Mary T. (Marshall) Robbins, the latter a native of Cali- fornia. The father, who was born in Utah in 1852, came to Stockton when a young man; he was a brickmason by trade and later he became a brick and cement contractor, erecting many of the business buildings in Stockton, among them the Hubbard, oc- cupied by Lauxen & Catts furniture store, the brick extension to the Sampson Iron Works, the first Fair Oaks school, the Santa Fe depot, and many others, continuing in this line until his death in 1908, sur- vived by his wife and four children: Mabel C., a resi- dent of Stockton, but who has been teaching in Hon- olulu; Estelle, the wife of Reed D. Bush, of El Dor- ado, Kans .; Percy, deceased, and Curtis M., of this sketch. Henry E. Robbins was prominent in Ma- sonry, being a member of Morning Star Lodge No. 68, F. & A. M., of which he was master in 1887, high priest in 1884 of Stockton Chapter, No. 28, R. A. M., and a Knight Templar.

The youngest of his family, Curtis M. Robbins at- tended the Lafayette school and graduated from the Stockton high school in the class of 1911. He soon entered the advertising department of the Stockton Mail, and later with William E. Schei he published The Voice, a weekly paper. He then was with the advertising department of the Stockton Record until he enlisted for service in the U. S. Navy during the World War. He was stationed at Mare Island as a first-class yeoman, and after the war he returned to Stockton and resumed his duties on the Record. His success as a salesman there brought him to the at- tention of Hodgkins & Barnett, one of the old estab- lished real estate firms of Stockton, and he was of- fered a post with them, which he accepted, taking up his work in April, 1920, and he has been most suc- cessful in his operations in the realty business.

Mr. Robbins was married at Stockton to Miss Louise Fanning, a native daughter of San Joaquin County, and they have a son, Richard Marshall Rob- bins. Like his father, Mr. Robbins is active in Ma- sonic circles, and is a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 68, F. & A. M., is venerable master of Stockton Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., belongs to Ben Ali Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. at Sacramento, the An- teros Club, and is a director of the Kiwanis Club.

HENRY P. RONKENDORF .- Born on Decem- ber 25, 1880, Henry P. Ronkendorf first saw the light on Roberts Island, the son of Peter and Catherine (Schlutter) Ronkendorf, whose life stories are nar- rated elsewhere in this historical work. He attended the public schools, was graduated from York's Acad- emy, and in 1900 entered the University of California. Three years later he left college to take a position in mining at Hodson's, in Tuolumne County, and there he spent some fourteen months in practical mining engineering. In 1904, he left California for Germany to enter the famous Mining Academy, founded in 1765, at Freiberg, and in November, 1910, after successfully finishing the prescribed course in engineering, received the M. E. degree.

On his return to the United States, he prepared actively to take up his professional work, and was

due to go on an expedition to Mexico, in December, 1910, the object of the organizers being to develop the copper mines of Old Sonora; but on account of the unstable government then in charge in that coun- try, the plan was given up. Since then, Mr. Ronken- dorf has remained at home with his aged parents, and for the past twelve years he has made a reputa- tion for himself as a successful Delta rancher. He is a member of the Farmers' Exchange Bureau of Cali- fornia, and in 1921 and 1922 all his farm products were successfully marketed through that agency at Oakland.

Mr. Ronkendorf has long been known for his abil- ity as a marksman, his skill having been developed in his youth, and probably this has had much to do with the final organization, in a most successful manner. of the Roberts Island Rifle Club, which is affiliated with the National Rifle Association of America. In 1917, Peter Ronkendorf gave the land for the erec- tion of a club house, and in 1917 and 1921, a modern indoor and outdoor range was completed there, four miles from Stockton. The annual shoots are held, as always, in the Club's ranges, for the Roberts Island Rifle Club are now the proud possessors of the most complete indoor and outdoor range of any in the state of California, if not in the West. After having served as secretary, for ten consecutive years, Henry Ronkendorf resigned, in 1922; but he has been re- tained as a member of the board of directors. As a member of the rifle team of 1920, our subject at- tended the national match in the East, and he was one of the boys that helped to bring the champion- ship back to the Golden State.

PETER RONKENDORF .- An experienced, suc- cessful California farmer, Peter Ronkendorf is the proprietor of some 278 acres on Roberts Island, the eldest, in fact, of Delta pioneer farmers still living in that part of San Joaquin County. He has endured and survived four terrible floods, the first overwhelm- ing him in 1880, the second in 1884, the third two years later, and the last in 1893, when it was hoped the land would no more be inundated. Due to seri- ous breaks in the levee, the entire middle division of Roberts Island was submerged, and cach of the three latest floods swept away practically everything our subject had, save his home and personal effects.

Peter Ronkendorf was born in Holstein, Germany, on January 12, 1842, the son of Peter and Olga (Abel) Ronkendorf, both natives of Holstein and prominent and well-to-do agriculturalists. There were five children in the family, Joachin, Ann, Elizabeth, Maria and Peter. His country has always been fam- ous for its schools, hence he received a good train- ing. His common-sense schooling was such as to direct his attention to agriculture, and he early went to work on the farm, remaining at home, helping his parents until he was twenty-seven years of age. Then he decided to break away, not only from his home, but from his native land, and so sailed from Ham- burg on the S. S. "Teutonia," reaching New York on October 15, 1869, after a tempestuous voyage of fif- teen days. A fellow-traveler on this journey was the late Henry Lehman, who also came to California and for forty years was a neighbor in San Joaquin County. Young Ronkendorf first went to Illinois, where he remained for seven months; and when he pushed on to the greater West, he traveled over the newly-constructed Union and Central Pacific rail- roads, arriving in the Golden State on July 7, 1870.

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While in San Francisco, he was stricken with ty- phoid fever, from which he did not recover for several months. Then he heard of a chance for a young man on a tract of land in the Delta of San Joaquin County, owned by Henry Frewert, who was willing to sell at reasonable terms. He reached this county in December of the following year, and here he has since lived, toiled and prospered. In 1888, he bought 125 acres from the Glascow Land Company, having previously carried on market-gardening for a few years with Henry Lehman, but that partnership was dissolved in 1878; and thereafter he added to his holdings, so that by 1893 he owned his 278 choice Delta acres. The home place was originally settled by Henry Frewert, who had lived in a cabin on the bank of the river.

From the start, Mr. Ronkendorf had a hard, uphill pull, but by perseverence, he finally won out, despite the hazards of early Delta ranching. He well re- members the time when he made trips to Stockton in rowboats across the flooded wastes, embarking from his very door; but as soon as the water receded, he drove his team on the top of the levee to French Camp, paying a toll for the use of that road going into Stockton. As far back as 1879, he used the Studebaker wagons, and he still has one of the or- iginal vehicles, which has given such satisfaction through all the intervening busy years. He laid out the park about his comfortable home and planted the beautiful trees which have since grown to enormous size-among them twin fan palm trees, now over seventy feet in height, and many tall Italian cypress trees. In 1886, Mr. Ronkendorf set out a plot of ground and planted shade-trees, since called River- side Park; and this place has long been famous as a picnic grounds. Public-spirited to a high degree, Mr. Ronkendorf, in 1893, on the completion of the high- way bridge at this point, donated the land needed for the section of the county road.

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 217

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660