USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 71
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On the 29th of May, 1901, in Bellevue, Idaho, Mr. Floed was married to Miss Metta Wright, a native of Missouri and a lady most widely known and highly honored in Idaho. She was formerly school superintendent in Blaine county and has been very prominent in democratic circles. To Mr. and Mrs. Floed have been born two children: Hickory Carter, seventeen years of age, recently appointed to the United States Naval College at Annapolis; and Frances Margaret fourteen years of age, who is a freshman in the Boise "high school.
Through his newspaper activity Mr. Floed has become widely known and has had not a little to do with molding public thought and opinion in Boise and the surrounding country, especially in regard to political problems.
WILLIAM G. BIERI.
William G. Bieri, secretary and treasurer of the Thatcher Realty Company of Rexburg is a native of the city in which he makes his home and in which he has won a creditable position as a business man. His birth occurred on the 14th of March, 1892, his parents being Gotlieb and Verena (Hunziker) Bieri, who were natives of Switzerland and came to America in early life, settling first at Logan, Utah. After a few months they removed to Rexburg, Idaho, where the father engaged in contracting, having learned the carpenter's trade in his native coun- try. He has since been a contractor and builder of Rexburg and has contributed
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much to the substantial development of the town. His wife passed away in June, 1917.
William G. Bieri was reared and educated in Rexburg, supplementing his public school training by study in the Ricks Academy. He afterward worked for the H. Flamm Company for five years and subsequently spent two and a half years on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Switzerland and Germany. Following his return home he entered the employ of the Rexburg State Bank as bookkeeper and later was made teller, occupying that position until the 9th of August, 1919, when he purchased an interest in the Thatcher Realty Company, of which he became the secretary and treasurer. He has thus gained a place among the leading real estate men of the city, the firm conducting an ex- tensive business and negotiating annually many important realty transfers.
On the 3d of November, 1917, Mr. Bieri was married to Miss Mildred Hart- man, of Salt Lake City, and they occupy an enviable position in the social circles of Rexburg, their home being the abode of warm-hearted hospitality. In addi- tion to his property interests in Rexburg, Mr. Bieri owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Teton county, which he homesteaded. He has always been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in which he is now an elder, and he is secretary and treasurer of the Rexburg second ward Mutual Improvement Association. He belongs as well to the Rexburg Athletic Club and to the Rexburg Commercial Club and is keenly interested in all the projects of the latter organization for the benefit and upbuilding of the city. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and his energies upon his business affairs.
DON C. DRIGGS.
With many phases of Teton county's development and upbuilding Don C. Driggs is closely associated. He is the vice president of the Teton National Bank and proprietor of Hotel Driggs in the town which was named in his honor and, moreover, he is an influential factor in the moral progress of the community as president of the Teton stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Utah numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred at Pleasant Grove, November 20, 1864. He is a son of Benjamin W. and Olivia (Pratt) Driggs, who are mentioned in connection with the sketch of B. W. Driggs on another page of this work.
Don C. Driggs spent ,his youthful days in his parents' home at Pleasant Grove, Utah, and supplemented his early education, acquired in the common schools, by study in the Brigham Young University at Provo. He then turned his attention to merchandising and was connected with his father in mercantile interests until 1888, when he removed to what was then Bingham county, Idaho. On his arrival in this state he opened a general merchandise store in connection with M. W. Pratt, and also filed on land, where he engaged in farming and stock raising and further extended the scope of his activities by operating a sawmill. Every avenue in business that was opened seemed to call him. He established the first creamery and in 1895 he founded the town of Driggs, which was named in his honor. He platted his land and sold town lots and became the first postmaster of the town, serving under Grover Cleveland. He was also the first mayor of the town, estab- lished the first bank in Teton county, known as the Driggs State Bank, and later converted it into the First National Bank. Of this institution he was the cashier for seven years. He was the organizer of the Teton National Bank, which opened its doors on the 1st of November, 1919. He became vice president of the institu- tion, which was capitalized at $35,000 and of which F. J. Drake became president. with C. T. Manville as cashier. In addition to his other and varied business activi- ties Mr. Driggs has become extensively engaged in farming, which he carries on under the firm style of D. C. Driggs and Sons. They operate six hundred acres of land and are extensively engaged in cattle raising, with which business Mr. Driggs has been identified since his removal to the state. In 1917 he purchased the Driggs Hotel and has since been its proprietor and host. He is likewise the vice president of the Teton Realty Company and the vice president of the Teton Abstract Com-
DON C. DRIGGS
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pany. He secured the right of way from Ashton to Driggs, a distance of thirty- seven miles, for the Oregon Short Line Railroad in 1912 and he has at all times heen ready to aid and cooperate in any plan, movement or project that has had to do with the development, settlement and improvement of this section of the country. He was associated with the Teton Coal Company, now the Idaho Coal Mines Company, and secured the right of way for the tracks to the mines.
On the 3d of July, 1889, Mr. Driggs was united in marriage to Miss May Robison and to them were born nine children: Lewis L .; Vida, who is the wife of. Van B. Brinton, of Victor, Idaho; Ellwood W., a student in the University of Utah at Salt Lake City; Douglas H., who is also attending the University of Utah at Salt Lake City; Golden K., Junius F., and Virginia, all of whom are in school; Erma, who passed away in March, 1902; and Don C., Jr., whose demise occurred on the 21st of November, 1898.
Mr. Driggs has ever been keenly interested in public affairs and has been very active in support of all plans and measures for the general good. He votes with the democratic party, is a member of the state central committee and was a delegate to the democratic national convention which was held in St. Louis in 1916. He served as county commissioner of old Fremont county in 1899 and in 1898 was county treasurer of that county. He was elected the first state senator from Teton county and occupied that position for one term, serving in 1917, He belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in 1898 filled a three months' mission in the northwestern states. In 1901 the Teton stake was organized and Mr. Driggs was made president and has so served to this time. He is likewise one of the trustees of the Ricks Normal College at Rexburg. He was made bishop of Driggs ward at the time of its organization. He stood loyally for every interest of the government during the period of the World war. He was county chairman of the federal food administration, was a member of the County Council of Defense and likewise aided in putting the county over the top in all of the Liberty Loan drives. His activities and interests have been wide and varied, his labors have been a potent force in public welfare and in the material progress of the community and on the list of leading citizens of this district his name stands high.
HARRY H. RUNYON.
Harry H. Runyon, the vice president and manager of the White-Runyon Shoe Company, a concern that does an extensive retail shoe business in Idaho, operating two stores, one in Boise and another at Buhl, is a native of New Jersey, having been born in Perth Amboy, that state, on the 2d of March, 1885, his parents being George D. and Melvina (Lewis) Runyon, both of whom are yet living. The ancestry in the paternal line is traced back to Vincent Rognon, a French Huguenot who came from France in 1665 and settled in New Jersey. His grave is only seven miles from Perth Amboy. He spelled his name Rognon, but later the spelling underwent several variations, such as Ronnion, Runnion, Runyan and Runyon. George D. Runyon, father of Harry H. Runyon, was formerly a wholesale and retail lumber dealer but is now president of the Perth Amboy Publishing Com- pany, publishers of the Perth Amboy Evening News. To him and his wife were born three sons and two daughters. A brother of Harry H. Runyon is L. Parker Runyon, who follows merchandising at Buhl, Idaho, while the other brother, Vincent Runyon, the youngest of the three sons, who served in Europe with the American army of occupation, is twenty-one years of age and is now in the advertising business in New York city.
Harry H. Runyon was reared at Perth Amboy and the public school system of that city afforded him his early educational privileges. He passed through consecu- tive grades to the high school and afterward completed a course in the Hacketts- town Collegiate Institute of New Jersey. Later he spent two years in the State School of Mines of the University of Utah at Salt Lake City. This covered the years 1906 and 1907. In the fall of the latter year he came to Idaho and filed on land in the Twin Falls tract near Buhl and established himself in the real estate business in Buhl. In 1912, however, he removed to Boise, where he has since been prominently identified with the retail shoe trade. For several years he was
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associated with his father-in-law, the late D. C. Wallace, who conducted a store under the name of the Wallace Shoe Company at No. 804 Main street. Upon the death of Mr. Wallace in 1914, Mr. Runyon became the manager of the business and in 1917 he and others organized and incorporated the White-Runyon Shoe Com- pany, which took over the business of the Wallace concern .. Of the new company Clarence H. White, the well known Chautauqua man of Boise, is the president. Mr. White, however, has other large business interests and therefore does not give his attention to the shoe trade but leaves this to the care of Mr. Runyon, who is in full charge and who has made the establishment of the White-Runyon Company the leading one in Boise. In the conduct of the business he is actuated by a most progressive spirit and has made his establishment the leading footwear store of the city, appealing to every class of trade. The most fastidious can here supply their wants and everything needed for everyday wear in shoes and by workers is found in this store. The trade of the house has constantly grown until it has assumed extensive proportions and Mr. Runyon has also extended the scope of the business by establishing a branch house at Buhl in 1918. He is a member of the National Shoe Retailers' Association and frequently attends its conventions.
On the 22d of November, 1910, Mr. Runyon was married to Miss Laura Rosalie Wallace, a great-great-niece of Daniel Webster, and a native of Naperville, Illinois. She was educated at Mount St. Joseph Academy in Dubuque, Iowa, from which institution she was graduated in 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Runyon have two children: . Virginia Wallace, born October 17, 1911; and Robert Vincent, born October 27, 1914.
Mr. Runyon is a member of the Beta Theta Pi, a college fraternity. He also belongs to the Boise Commercial Club, of which he is a director, and he likewise has membership with the Boise Rotary Club, with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church and takes an active part in its work. He has never been active in politics, however, and in exercising his right of franchise casts his ballot for the candidates whom he regards as best qualified for' office. His associ- ations and membership connections at once indicate the breadth of his interests and the trend of his activities. He is a most loyal supporter of Boise and her welfare and is keenly interested in all that pertains to her upbuilding and development, giving his hearty cooperation to every movement that has for its object the further growth and improvement of the city. He has been a most earnest sup- porter of the Chautauqua and has been foremost among those who have assisted in the Red Cross and Liberty Bond drives.
HENRY I. ADAMS.
Among the county officials of Fremont county is numbered Henry I. Adams, who is serving as county assessor, with office in St. Anthony. He is numbered among the native sons of Utah, his birth having occurred in Richmond, that state, on the 24th of January, 1887. He is a son of George and Almira (Bair) Adams, the latter a native of Utah, while the former was born in Wales, whence he was brought to America by his parents when but three years of age, this being in 1854. The family home was established near Columbus, Ohio, where they remained for three years, and then drove across the plains with ox teams to Utah, settling near Lehi, where they resided for five years. Their next removal brought them to Idaho, the father taking up a homestead near Hayden, which he improved and culti- vated until 1889. In that year he sold the property and purchased other land in Fremont county, which he has since tilled, converting the place into rich and pro- ductive fields. The mother is still living.
Henry. I. Adams was reared and educated in St. Anthony, being hut two years of age when his parents took up their ahode in Fremont county. He was one of a family of eight children, the others being: George; Maude, who died in 1901; William; Clem; Leo; Benjamin; and Ray. After spending the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof Henry I. Adams started out in the business world with the firm of Fogg & Jacobs, general merchants, with whom he continued until June, 1913, when he engaged in the grocery business as a partner of J. G. Thompson. They continued together for nine months, at the end of which time
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Mr. Adams sold his interest in the business and became a partner in the' firm of Fogg & Jacobs. About the same time he also built four houses for rent. He bas since sold three of these but still retains one. He also retains his interest in the Fogg & Jacobs Mercantile Company and thus remains an active factor in com- mercial circles, while at the same time he is proving a capable official. He is also secretary of the Independent Oil Company of St. Anthony.
In 1918 Mr. Adams enlisted for service in the World war and was stationed at Vancouver as posting clerk in the quartermaster's office. While there he was elected to the office of county assessor. On the 13th of December, he was dis- charged, returning home on the 19th of the same month, and on the 13th of January, 1919, he took the office of county assessor, in which he is now serving. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is noble grand, and also to the Modern Woodmen of America: Politically his support has always been given to the republican party, which finds in him an earnest worker.
BASH L. BENNETT.
Bash L. Bennett, county assessor of Jefferson county and a resident of Rigby, where he is closely associated with public and business interests, was born at Fontanelle, Iowa, May 30, 1874, a son of Gordon N. and Lovey J. (Wright), Bennett, the father being originally from the Empire state and the mother from North Carolina.
Gordon N. Bennett was one of the sturdy pioneers who began the development of the great central west, for he established himself upon the then virgin soil of Iowa, in the county of Adair, in 1849, and there bought a farm, becoming one of the first settlers of the community. He immediately set to work with the limited equipment of the pioneer and soon developed his land into a well improved farm, which he cultivated until 1884, when he went to Nebraska. There be purchased a farm and operated the same until 1894, when he disposed of it and came to Idaho, settling in what is now Jefferson but then Fremont county. There he bought land and farmed the rest of his life, which ended in November, 1904, bis wife, Lovey J. Bennett, surviving until January, 1915.
Bash L. Bennett spent his early life in Iowa and Nebraska, where he received his early training in the local schools. He remained with his parents, giving them valuable assistance in the development of their agricultural interests, until he became of age. He accompanied them when they came to Jefferson county, Idaho, in 1894. Later he struck out for himself, buying a farm in this county which he developed and operated until 1909, when he disposed of it and removed to Market Lake, Jefferson county, where he engaged in the real estate business until 1915. In that year he came to Rigby, where he and his family have since made their home. He is still interested in farming, however, and gives supervision to a tract of one hundred and sixty acres which he still owns.
Mr. Bennett's activities are not confined to agriculture for he is closely associ- ated with local business and legal affairs. In January, 1915, he was admitted to the Jefferson county bar and has since carried on a successful practice of law, being now a member of the firm of Bennett & McCall. He is also secretary of the Idaho Title & Loan Company and is a stockholder in the Beet Growers Sugar Company, the Gem State Furniture Company and the Jefferson Title & Abstract Company, all of Rigby.
In politics Mr. Bennett is a stanch republican and for a number of years he has done valuable work in his party's local organization. Even before Jefferson county was established, he was closely associated with the public and political inter- ests of the community, for he was deputy assessor to Fremont county when this section was included in the aforementioned county. After the organization of the government of Jefferson county, his previous experience and his efficiency in the administration of a public trust so recommended him that he was appointed county assessor in November, 1913. So ably did he perform the duties of the office that his fellow citizens have reelected bim annually. Furthermore, he has been the recipient of other offices of trust at the hands of his neighbors. While he was a resident of Roberts, Jefferson county, he was elected a member to the first town board. He is now serving bis second term as member of the city council of Rigby,
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of which he is chairman. For six years he served as school director and was for four years United States commissioner. It can well be said in summary that Mr. Bennett in the performance of the onerous duties of public office has been dominated by a strict sense of justice and right as he sees it, which have met the approbation of his fellow citizens.
It was in December, 1897, that Mr. Bennett married Alice E. Williams, and to them have been born eight children, who are in the order of their births: Gordon, Hope, Everett, Carroll, Burton, Mabel, Bernice and Robert. Both the father and mother are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they are rearing their children according to the tenets of their religion. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett take a proper interest in the social affairs of Rigby, and they give their closest attention to the best interests of the community.
HARRY H. BRYANT.
Harry H. Bryant, senior partner and founder of the firm of H. H. Bryant & Son, dealers in automobiles and automobile accessories and supplies in Boise, also sales agent for Boise and vicinity for the Ford Motor Car Company of Detroit, has been a resident of the capital for the past five years, having removed to this city from Seattle in 1913. Impaired health had caused him to leave Detroit, Michigan, in 1908 and establish his home in Seattle, where he was captain of different coastwise steam- boats. He was born in Detroit, August 5, 1871, a son of Melvin and Martha (Bench) Bryant, both of whom have passed away. The father was born in Vermont and made farming his life work. The mother's birth occurred in Sheffield, England. They were married in Greenfield, Michigan, and both passed away in Detroit, the mother at the age of seventy-two years and the father when he had reached the eighty-second mile- stone' on life's journey.
Harry H. Bryant was reared in his native city and supplemented the public school training which he there received by study in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His textbooks were put aside, however, when he attained his majority and for several years thereafter he was connected with steamboating on the Great Lakes. During the eight or ten years thus occupied he filled practically every position from that of cabin boy up to engineer and captain. His health became impaired, however, and he decided to try a change of climate and sought the salt air of the Pacific coast. Ac- cordingly in 1908 he made his way to Seattle, where he completely regained his health. He went to that city on crutches, suffering from rheumatism, and weighed but one hundred and twenty-one pounds. He is now robust and in excellent health, and his weight is now one hundred and ninety-five pounds. Mr. Bryant is a brother-in-law of Henry Ford, the noted motor car manufacturer of Detroit, Mrs. Ford being Mr. Bryant's eldest sister. At the request of Mr. Ford, Mr. Bryant came to Boise in 1913 to take charge of the Ford motor agency at this place, conducting the business under the firm style of H. H. Bryant & Son, his territory covering Boise and seven Idaho counties adjacent thereto. The firm of H. H. Bryant & Son owns one of the largest and best motor car plants in Boise and also the land on which the plant stands. Their building is one hundred and fifty by one hundred and twenty-two feet and is located at the corner of Eleventh and Front streets. It is a two-story concrete building cover- ing the whole lot and was completed in August, 1917. It is today one of the largest and best equipped garages in the west and represents an expenditure of about eighty- five thousand dollars. The entire plant is owned by Mr. Bryant and his son, Melvin B. Bryant. The firm sold thirteen hundred and seventy Ford cars in the year from August 1, 1916, to August 1, 1917. In addition to the passenger car they also sell the Ford motor truck and Fordson tractors.
At the age of twenty-one years, in Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Bryant married Miss Nellie Pierce, who was born at Redford, Michigan, a daughter of Alvin Pierce and a niece of Franklin Pierce, the manufacturer of the Pierce-Arrow motor cars. Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have two sons, Melvin B. and Harry H., Jr. The former was born in Detroit, August 31, 1894, and was in the service of the government as a marine archi- tect in the shipyards at Seattle during the World war. He holds a license as a steam- boat engineer. Harry H. Bryant, Jr., born at Detroit, April 30, 1903, is a student in the public schools of Boise. The elder son was the only marine architect engaged on government work from all the state of Idaho. He had two years of submarine
HARRY H. BRYANT
MELVIN B. BRYANT
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training before the United States entered the war. He learned his trade of marine architect with the Seattle Construction &. Dry Dock Company of Seattle and on the 25th of April, 1918, he received a highly complimentary letter from Chairman Edward N. Hurley of the United States shipping board. On the 19th of July, 1918, he married Miss Emma Louise Bucklin, of Port Blakeley, Washington, the youngest daughter of Nathan and Martha Bucklin, pioneers of the Puget Sound, arriving there in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Bryant have a little daughter, born November 29, 1919, in Boise. In that city they now make their home, owning property at 1814 North Eighth street.
In religious faith H. H. Bryant is an Episcopalian. He belongs also to the Boise Commercial Club and he is a member of the Boise Limit Club, an organization com- posed of one hundred members, all of whom have purchased a thousand dollars worth- the limit-of War Savings stamps. Since the close of the war Mr. Bryant is planning to turn the motor car business over to his two sons and engage extensively in farm- ing in the state of Idaho, already owning land in Canyon county. He is a firm be- liever in the west and its opportunities and is eager to avail himself of the advantages offered for agricultural development.
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