USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 40
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ADOLPH LEVI.
A history of the business development of San Diego and of the men who have influenced and promoted it would be incomplete without mention of Adolph Levi, who is the proprietor of one of the leading real-estate concerns in the city. He was born in Austria in 1858 and is a son of Bernard and Anna Levi, natives of that country. He came to San Diego with his parents when he was a small boy and his education was received in the public schools. His career has been closely connected with the development of the city and his activities have been contrib- uting factors in its growth. After completing his studies he started in the real- estate business in a modest way and by hard work and constant application built up one of the leading enterprises in this line in the city. His patronage increased gradually as his ability and real knowledge of property values became more widely known and it has now assumed gratifying proportions.
When Mr. Levi was well upon the road to prosperity in America he returned to his native country and there married Miss Elinora Schwarz, by whom he has
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two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom are married and reside in San Diego.
Mr. Levi is a member of the Israelite Congregation and a stanch adherent of the faith of his fathers. His public spirit, which is unquestioned, never takes the form of political activity but is rather directed along quiet lines of business advancement. A devoted husband and father, he prefers his home life to fra- ternal relations and finds his truest happiness in his wife and children. Through- out his entire career he has proved himself a reliable and trustworthy business man and a public-spirited citizen, while in his professional and social relations he commands the respect and friendship of many by reason of his possession of those qualities in his character which awaken warm personal regard.
CALVIN S. BOND.
One of the most beautiful as well as one of the most valuable ranches in Mission Valley is the property of Calvin S. Bond. He owns forty acres well improved and finely equipped and in its management has given special attention to its attractive appearance, although he has not in any way neglected the prac- tical details of his farming and dairying. He was born in Douglas county, Kan- sas, May 16, 1870, a son of Enos and Emily (Roher) Bond, and there grew to manhood, acquiring his early education in the public schools. This was supple- mented by a four years' course at Lane University in Lecompton, Kansas, and by one year at the Iowa Agricultural College at Ames. When he began his active career he engaged in cattle-raising and dairying and with these he has been connected during the entire period of his business career. For five years he ran a separator and made butter in Kansas and Missouri and saved his money until he was able to purchase land. He bought property in Wabaunsee county, Kan- sas, to which he added from time to time until he controlled twelve hundred acres, which he conducted as a cattle ranch until 1908. In this way he became familiar with the details of farming and stock-raising and with the best methods of carrying on the work of a large agricultural enterprise, so that when he came to California he was an expert and practical farmer. He made his first journey to this state in the fall of 1908 and spent a few months in the southern part before he decided to locate in Mission Valley, near San Diego. On the Ist of February, 1909, he purchased his present ranch of forty acres, which he has since greatly improved, it being today considered one of the most beautiful places in this part of the county. Mr. Bond has erected an attractive residence, fine barns and out- buildings, all pleasing and harmonious in design, and has installed the equipment necessary in the conduct of a model farm. This includes an electric pumping plant, which furnishes him with water for irrigating purposes, and many other conveniences and accessories. Mr. Bond was the first man in the valley to raise alfalfa on a large scale and he is still interested in its cultivation, which together with his stock-raising and dairying forms one of the principle sources of his income. He has a fine herd of fifty Jersey and Durham cows and his dairy products are of a high quality and command a ready sale, for everything about his place is known to be in a clean and sanitary condition. He carries on an
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extensive retail business along this line, operating two wagons to deliver milk and cream in San Diego. In addition to his ranch in California Mr. Bond owns a valuable seven hundred acre farm in Wright county, Missouri.
In 1900 Mr. Bond was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Schade, a native of Kansas and a daughter of George and Mary (Fix) Schade, pioneers in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Bond have three children, Ross, Ray and Pearl, all of whom were born in Kansas. He gives his allegiance to the republican party and was trustee of his township for four years in Kansas. Although he has not taken an active part in politics since coming to California, his support is given to all progressive measures and his cooperation can always be relied upon to further those interests which are of genuine worth in the community.
DURELL F. GLIDDEN.
Durell F. Glidden, who has made the city of San Diego his home since 1910, has in that short space of time built up a gratifying law practice and also serves as deputy city attorney. He has built up his success upon a wide and varied experience in his profession which he has gained in various parts of the country and which is founded upon a thorough knowledge of the letter of the law and legal principles. Mr. Glidden was born in Clarendon, New York, June 12, 1850, and is a son of Oliver and Adeline L. (Coy) Glidden. When he was only three years of age his parents removed to Paw Paw, Michigan, in 1853, where Durell F. Glidden attended the public schools until 1868, after which he entered upon a course of study in Hillsdale College, graduating therefrom with the class of 1873. The legal profession seemed to have a particular attraction for him and this decided him to embrace it as his life work. He began reading law with the firm of Richards & Barnum at Paw Paw, old established lawyers of that city, with whom he remained for four months. He then removed to Jackson, Michigan, and continued in the study of law with Judge Goulds until he was admitted to the bar in February, 1875, returning to Paw Paw at that time. In that city he engaged in the practice of his profession in partnership with Mr. Jackson under the firm name of Jackson & Glidden and continued in this relation until the following year, when he went to Big Rapids, Michigan, and practiced law there for eleven years or until 1887, building up a gratifying clientage in that time. As he was entrusted with cases of more and more importance his experience widened and in the latter year he sought a wider field for his talents and removed to Detroit, where he followed his profession until 1901. The attractions which the far west held out decided him, however, in that year to remove to Tucson, Arizona, and he successfully engaged in that city in law practice until 1910 with gratifying financial results. In that year he came to San Diego, California, and he has since been active here. The extent of his practice speaks for itself. That he enjoys the public confidence is manifest by the fact that he has been called upon to serve as deputy city attorney, which position he fills at the present time. On the organization, in 1911, of the Federation of State Societies he was chosen president, a position which he still holds.
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Mr. Glidden was married on December 22, 1875, in Edwardsburg, Michigan, to Miss Lynn Van Antwerp, a daughter of Simon and Louisa (Hewitt) Van Antwerp. Two children have been born of this union: H. Coy, thirty-two years of age, assistant manager for the Butterick Trio Advertising Company, of Chi- cago, Illinois ; and Grace Lynn, assistant supervisor of music and drawing at the State Normal School of San Diego. Mr. Glidden supports the democratic party and takes an active interest in the political life of the nation. In his fraternal rela- tions he is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias, in which latter organization he has served as supreme representative. He enjoys the esteem and confidence of all those with whom he has come in contact and has made many friends since taking up his residence in this city.
WALTER J. LITTLE.
Walter J. Little, manager of the planing niill owned by M. A. Graham, was born in San Francisco, May 23, 1863, and is a son of Francis and Mary Little. He attended the public schools of his native city until he was thirteen years of age and then secured employment as a mill hand in the planing mill operated by Wilke & Moore. He worked in this capacity until he was twenty-three years of age and gained valuable experience in details and methods of operation and laid the foundation of his future success. After working at various occupations until 1890 he purchased a mill of his own and met with a gratifying degree of success in its management until 1906, when it was destroyed in the San Francisco fire. Soon afterward, however, Mr. Little purchased another mill and continued in the planing mill business until 1911, when he disposed of his holdings and came to San Diego to accept the position of manager of the mill operated by M. A. Graham.
Mr. Little married, in San Francisco, on December 31, 1886, a Miss Neely, and they became the parents of six children. Fraternally he is prominent in the Masonic order, holding membership in the Knights Templar. His political alle- giance is given to the republican party but he is never active as an office seeker, although intelligently interested in the welfare of his city. He is recognized in San Diego as a man of high moral character, industrious and enterprising, and he has won that prosperity which has its foundation in persistent, honorable and intelligently directed labor.
GUST BRELIN.
For twenty-three years a builder of San Diego, Gust Brelin needs no intro- duction to the readers of this volume for while engaged in the construction of many of the important business blocks and dwellings of the city he has also built up for himself a reputation which places him among the prominent representatives of his field of activity. He was born in Sweden, April 8, 1864, and his life is another illustration of the opportunity which the new world holds out to its
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adopted citizens. His parents were Anderson and Britta Brelin, also natives of Sweden, in which country their son Gust spent his early days, his education being acquired in the public schools there. After crossing the Atlantic he became a resident of Ashtabula, Ohio, and soon afterward took up farming, which he fol- lowed for a time in that locality, and then removed to St. Paul, where he spent six years in work at the builder's trade gaining a comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the business during that period. He afterward removed to Los Angeles where he spent three years in the same line and at the expiration of that period came to San Diego, where he has now lived for twenty-three years. He has gained a well merited reputation as one of the leading builders of the city, having erected some of the largest mercantile houses as well as some of the most commodious and beautiful residences of this part of the state. He com- bines utility with beauty of design and his efforts have been an element in the adornment and improvement of the city.
In 1888 Mr. Brelin was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Anderson and they have become the parents of three sons. The parents are affording their children excellent educational opportunities, one son being now a student in Cornell University of Ithaca, New York, another of the University of California while the youngest son is still a high-school student in San Diego. Realizing the difficulties with which he had to contend through the lack of educational training Mr. Brelin is determined that his children shall not meet the same obstacles, realizing that the intellectual training that he can provide them is better than any monetary advantages he can give them. He stands as a stanch champion of the public-school system and of all progressive movements which are looking to the betterment of San Diego and southern California. He is indeed a public- spirited man and one whose worth is widely recognized. Sterling qualities have made him popular in the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in both of which he holds membership, and he is also identified with the Building Exchange.
THE BISHOP'S SCHOOLS.
Among the educational forces of southern California are found The Bishop's Schools of San Diego and La Jolla, of which Mrs. Charles E. Bentham is the principal. These schools, upon the Scripps foundation, were established by the Rt. Rev. Joseph H. Johnson, S.T.D., first bishop of Los Angeles, in January, 1909, and were incorporated in March of the following year. The two schools are under the same board of trustees with the same principal and the same special assistants. The San Diego school has been established for pupils living either permanently or temporarily in San Diego or its vicinity, and accommodates only day pupils. Its grounds cover an entire city block on First street between Quince and Redwood streets, where has been erected a school building of reinforced concrete, fireproof and sanitary. It is built around three sides of an open court, has French windows, opening into the garden while a covered arcade and ample grounds afford unusual opportunities for study in the open air.
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The home department of The Bishop's Schools is in La Jolla, twelve miles from the center of San Diego. This is primarily a boarding school yet day stu- dents living in the vicinity are admitted. Miss E. Virginia Scripps gave for the boarding school several acres of land, the site commanding a rare view of sea and hills. In addition to rooms for thirty pupils there are commodious living rooms and a classroom building, all attractively and suitably furnished. A mod- ified form of Mission architecture was used in the erection of the buildings and the scheme of construction emphasizes simplicity, proportion and sincerity.
The standards of the school are very high. Its founders recognize that fit- ting a girl for life involves a constant care in matters of virtue, purity, truth- fulness and simplicity and that ethical and spiritual culture as well as intellectual growth should be the foundation for every woman's character. A home influence is one of the predominant features of the school and there is ample provision made through systematized exercises and outdoor pleasures for the physical as well as the mental and moral development of the pupil. The junior school includes instruction in primary and intermediate classes and boys as well as girls may become day pupils. In the college preparatory course the students are fitted for entrance to the leading colleges of the country. There is also an English class and music class and the various languages are taught. In fact the course of instruction is most comprehensive and thorough in the scope which it pro- poses to cover. The corps of instructors include those who are especially quali- fied for the branches which they teach and all are under the direct leadership and management of Mrs. Charles E. Bentham who is a graduate of the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology. She is a lady of marked culture and her excellent ability enables her to carefully direct the interests of the girls, to study the needs of individual pupils and to plan out the course of work so that the best results are obtained. The spiritual interests of the school aside from the moral teach- ing and atmosphere, are under the immediate guidance of the Rev. Charles E. Bentham, a graduate of the Berkeley Divinity School of 1900.
JOHN A. BORGH.
John A. Borgh, well known in Spring Valley as the owner of the Mount Helix fruit farm, one of the largest, best improved and most valuable ranches in this part of the state, may be numbered among the men who have been forces in shaping the development of San Diego county, where for many years he has been interested in enterprises which directly affect growth and progress. He was born in Sweden on the 22d of July, 1858, and acquired a limited education in the public schools of that country. As a boy he learned the butcher's trade and followed it in Stockholm, Sweden, until he came to America in 1885. He was skilled in his work and in consequence found no difficulty in securing a good position, entering the employ of Libby, McNeill & Libby in Chicago. Afterward he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and there worked in the interests of the Minneapolis Provision Company. When he resigned this position he went to Portland, Oregon, and thence to Alaska, finally returning to the United States and settling in the state of Washington, where he worked for some time at his
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trade. From Washington he went to Lewistown, Montana, and there developed a valuable coal mine, which he owned and operated. At one time he had forty men upon his payroll and was one of the successful and prominent mine owners in that vicinity. He realized a large profit from the sale of this enterprise and when he had disposed of it returned to Portland, Oregon, and invested in a fruit and berry ranch just outside the city limits. In 1904 he came to San Diego and purchased property on the corner of First and Grape streets. Upon this he built an apartment house as a speculation and, this venture proving lucrative, he bought another building of the same kind, which he remodeled. Since that time he has always been more or less interested in San Diego real estate and has some valuable holdings in that city. In all of his business deal- ings he has proven himself able, resourceful and farsighted and his sound judg- ment and energy have been important features in his business advancement. After he left San Diego he went to Bostonia, where he purchased a thirty-one acre ranch, which he developed as a lemon orchard. He eventually sold this property and came to his present ranch in Spring Valley, owning at the present time one hundred and sixty-six acres of fertile and productive land. He has forty acres in lemons and oranges, gathering abundant harvests every year. Mr. Borgh has spent over ten thousand dollars in improvements upon his place, where he has installed a fine electric pumping plant and all the necessary equipment for a modern fruit ranch, a part of which has been divided and sold in small tracts.
In 1893 Mr. Borgh was united in marriage to Miss Anna Buxton, a native of Sweden, and both are well known in Spring Valley, where they have a wide acquaintance and many friends. The family residence in San Diego is 753 Irving avenue. Mr. Borgh is a member of the Knights of Pythias, having joined that organization in Lewistown, Montana, and politically supports the republican party. He is one of the most able business men, prosperous ranchers and extensive landowners in Spring Valley, identified with its growth and develop- ment and well known as an active, alert and public-spirited citizen.
A. C. GRIFFITH.
A. C. Griffith, who is giving his attention largely to the care and supervision of two fine ranches in San Diego county, is numbered among the enterprising citizens of San Diego whose success is a result of well directed effort. A man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, his pronuunced business ability and excellent management have brought him from a humble position to a place in the front ranks of successful men. Mr. Griffith was born in Montgomery county, Virginia, on the 20th of June, 1866, and is a son of S. H. and Mary Elizabeth Griffith. His parents moved to Shelby county, Missouri, in 1874, and there Mr. Griffith attended public school until he was sixteen years of age, after which he worked upon his father's farm until 1886. In the latter year he came to Cali- fornia, settling in Ramona, San Diego county, where he purchased a ranch, which he operated until 1892. He then moved to El Cajon and there operated a one thousand acre ranch, which he rented. After two years he moved into the city of San Diego and obtained a position with the Pioneer Truck Company.
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Something of the compelling force of his ability and personality may be seen in the record which he made during the years of his connection with this concern. He began as a teamster at forty dollars per month and worked his way upward steadily, winning promotion after promotion until he finally became president of the company and owner of a controlling interest in it. Largely through his management and well directed efforts the business done by the concern increased greatly in volume and importance. When he began, the Pioneer Truck Company had twenty-two horses and five wagons and when he sold out his interest in December, 1911, they were employing sixty men and had one hundred and twenty-five horses, six auto trucks, seventy-five wagons besides busses and a large warehouse. Since Mr. Griffith has sold out his interest he has confined his attention to the management of his two ranches, one at Foster, San Diego county, where he has two hundred and fifty acres planted in alfalfa, and the other at Jamul, comprising four hundred acres.
Mr. Griffith married, in Shelbyville, Missouri; on December 18, 1885, Miss Blanche Flack, and they have two children: De Witt, aged twenty-one, who is attending high school; and Alma, aged twelve. Mr. Griffith is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and the Fraternal Brotherhood, and his religious views are in accord with the doctrines of the Christian church. He gives his allegiance to the republican party and, while he takes an active interest in political affairs, he has never been a politician in the usually accepted sense of the term. He is never neglectful of the duties of citizenship, however, and his influence has been a tangible force for good in the community.
H. CULBERTSON.
In a history of the development of the fruit-growing industry in southern California it is imperative to mention H. Culbertson, who has been one of its greatest individual forces and is at the present time an authority upon every- thing relating to scientific fruit cultivation. Those things which are of importance and benefit to his fellow citizens or which directly affect the .prosperity of his neighbors receive his ready indorsement and intelligent support and he is num- bered among the real builders and promoters of El Cajon valley.
Mr. Culbertson was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, December 24, 1850, and grew up on his father's farm. After completing the usual course in the pub- lic and high schools he entered Hanover College at Hanover, Indiana, and then went to Lancaster county, Nebraska, where he entered the State University, pursuing a course in scientific agriculture. He did such able and practical work that upon his graduation he was offered a position as teacher in the department of horticulture and held this position for eight years. Thoroughly equipped by training in some of the best schools the United States affords and by natural ability along agricultural lines, Mr. Culbertson came to El Cajon valley in 1886. It is impossible to estimate the value of the work he has done since that time in spreading a more general knowledge of the science of fruit cultivation, for he is a forceful and convincing talker and a lecturer of note. These things aid him materially in making his knowledge more generally effective, for he has
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spoken before farmers' institutes in every part of the state and before the Cali- fornia State University on subjects relating to irrigation and the economic use of water, and the pruning, care and cultivation of fruit trees, on which he is considered the most reliable authority in the state of California. His work along this line received the recognition and indorsement of the United States govern- ment, when in 1904 he was employed by the agricultural department to journey through Texas lecturing on better and more economic methods of irrigation. Mr. Culbertson is an efficient surveyor and an expert civil engineer and has found this knowledge invaluable to him in his work in El Cajon valley. He puts his theories and knowledge to practical use in his cultivation of his own fruit ranch of forty- one acres, which he has developed and improved along scientific lines for over twenty years and which is today one of the finest and most productive in the valley. His property was a grain field when it came into his possession and there was not a single tree upon it. Mr. Culbertson cleared the land and set out trees, planted a vineyard and in other ways made substantial improvements. At first he had ten acres in strawberries and fine groves of orange, lemon, pear, peach and plum trees. At the present time he has five acres in strawberries which have yielded as high as twenty thousand boxes to the acre for eight months. He has three acres in grapes and four in alfalfa. His ranch is equipped with all the necessary modern labor-saving machinery, being provided with three electrical pumping plants and three inches of flume water for the purpose of irrigation. It stands today as an example of the value of science and of systematized knowl- edge in the cultivation of the soil and is a worthy monument to the work and energy of a skilful, able and progressive man.
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