USA > Minnesota > St Louis County > Duluth > Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; their story and people; an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume II > Part 42
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Nels Anderson attended the schools of his native place when oppor- tunity made this possible, but he was only six years old at the time of his father's death, and at the age of twelve years began to provide his own support. He continued to be employed in the timber districts of Sweden until he had attained manhood, and shortly after reaching his legal majority, in 1882, he came to America. He soon made his way to the Marquette Range of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he found employment in the mines, besides which he was for a short period engaged in railroad work. In 1884 he became a pioneer in the mining region of St. Louis County, Minnesota, by establishing himself in the little village of Tower, which was then a somewhat obscure mining camp, with no railroad facilities, so that in proceeding to the town Mr. Anderson completed the final stage of his journey by walking, a distance of about thirty miles. He found employment as a driller in the mines, and continued his headquarters at Tower until 1892, when he removed to Virginia, where he built and conducted the Tower Hotel, on the site of the present Ormonde Hotel. His hotel was destroyed twice, in the disastrous fires that virtually obliterated much of the town, but he met these reverses with courage, continued the business and became one of the valued men of the community. In 1897 he sold his hotel property. In the meanwhile he had become firmly impressed with the belief that Virginia was destined to become a place of importance, and his confidence in its development and progress was such that he here made judicious investments in land in and near the town. From property thus acquired he has platted and developed three additions to the city of Virginia, and through his enterprise and well ordered activi- ties has achieved substantial and worthy success. In the mineral range of northern Minnesota he is widely known, and such is his character and personality that it may consistently be said that his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. He is a Republican in politics, is liberal and progressive as a citizen, and in his home city is affiliated with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is also a member of the S. H. E. F. No. 28, of Virginia. In 1885 Mr. Anderson married Miss Christina Swanson, who likewise was born in Sweden and who came to the United States in 1883.
NORTHERN DRUG COMPANY. While not one of Duluth's oldest concerns, the Northern Drug Company has done much to broaden the prestige of the Zenith City as a distributing center, and is now easily one of the largest drug houses in northern Minnesota.
The company was organized and incorporated under the laws of Minnesota December 15, 1913. The first officials were R. M. Sellwood, LaRue S. Mershon and G. G. Hartley. While there have been some exceptional circumstances and many adversities to contend with, the company has steadily grown. Being close to navigation and railroads, it has certain natural advantages permitting high class service, and even
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with labor shortage and other difficulties has taken much pride in main- taining a record for filling orders the same day as received. The busi- ness is at 14-16 Commerce street, with twenty thousand square feet of floor space in an eight-story building. At the present time seven travel- ing representatives of the house cover the states of Minnesota, Wis- consin and North Dakota.
G. H. Carson, treasurer and manager of the Northern Drug Com- pany, was born at Des Moines, Iowa, January 8, 1877, and during his early life acquired a broadly diversified training and experience in the packing business, wholesale grocery and wholesale baking business at St. Paul. He came to Duluth in 1909, and has had active charge of the Northern Drug Company from the time of its organization.
ALEXANDER ANDERSON is a Scotchman by birth but for thirty years has been an important factor in the building and contracting business at Duluth, and is one of this city's best known business men and most loyal boosters.
Mr. Anderson was born in Scotland January 21, 1865, and was reared and educated in his native country. He came to America alone and first located at St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1887. As a carpenter he was employed at his trade there, also for a brief time at Duluth, then again at St. Paul, and in 1890 returned to make Duluth his permanent home. In 1892 he formed a copartnership with Alexander Gow under the name Anderson & Gow. This firm during the past quarter of a century has handled many of the largest contracts for the building of fine residences. Any number of handsome homes in the East End residential section might be pointed out as examples of their work. They have also built a num- ber of apartment houses and office buildings, and have made a specialty of interior finish for many large office buildings. With a leading part in a business that has of itself been a factor in Duluth's expansion and growth, Mr. Anderson has taken much pride in the marvelous advance of Duluth as a city and commercial center.
For many years he has been active in the Duluth Builders Exchange, and has been associated with a number of local enterprises. He is a member of the Commercial Club, has taken all the Scottish Rite degrees in Masonry, is a member of the Mystic Shrine, the Elks, and Modern Samaritans, and has long been prominent in the Clan Stewart of the Scottish Clans. For the past thirty years he has been a prominent mem- ber of the Pilgrim Congregational Church, and has served as a trustee for ten years.
On March 11, 1890, he married Miss Anna McGillvray, a Scotch lassie. Three sons and one daughter were born to their marriage, and two of the three sons have taken an active interest in their father's work as a carpenter and contractor. Alexander, born in 1892, returned in 1919 from France, where he served as an American soldier. George, born in 1895, is a carpenter foreman in Baltimore. He was in the World war, attaining the rank of sergeant. James, the youngest son, born in 1900, was in training at the Minnesota University. He has taken up the insurance business.
F. A. PHINNEY. In the ranks of the younger generation of business men of West Duluth one who has made rapid strides since his entrance upon the business arena is F. A. Phinney, of the Western Motor Com- pany. Mr. Phinney's career was started early, and in its development he has invaded a number of fields of activity, all of which have con- tributed to his general knowledge and ability as applied to his present
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line of endeavor. He is a native of Stillwater, Minnesota, born June 7, 1889, a son of A. W. Phinney, now residing on a farm in the state of Washington.
Mr. Phinney, a member of a family in which there were four daugh- ters and one son, was educated in the public schools of Stillwater and western Canada, and when he was only ten years old was working on a ranch. For a time some years later he was employed in sawmills, and while thus engaged worked also in the electrical business as a wireman. Coming to Duluth in 1913, he secured employment with the steel plant and later served in the lighting department at Morgan Park under Earl Bradley for two years. At the end of that time he worked for F. L. Kriedler and later Messrs. Kriedler and Phinney formed a partnership under the name of the Western Motor Company. This concern is engaged in automobile repairing and welding, and maintains an auto- mobile livery and a large garage, as well as a live and dead storage, and handles automobile accessories, the plant being located at 529-531 North Central avenue, West. The company is the distributor for Moon motor cars and the Studebaker car. The large garage covers a floor space of 60 by 125 feet, and a welding department and battery service are main- tained. Mr. Phinney bought the interest of his partner, thereby becom- ing sole owner of the business. He is a Mason, also a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow and a member of the West Duluth Commercial Club, the Duluth Automobile Club and the Royal League, and, having descended on the paternal side from Scotch ancestors, maintains membership in the Scottish Clans.
On February 20, 1912, Mr. Phinney was married at Duluth to Miss Loretta Mack, and to this union there have been born two children : Frances Wright and Beatrice Ann. To his superior trade qualifications Mr. Phinney adds the advantages of keen intelligence, broad and general information and a personality pleasing, adaptive and confidence-inspiring. He has many friends and a promising future.
WILLIAM J. ARCHER, senior member of the representative law firm of Archer & Pickering, of Virginia, has been established in active prac- tice in this thriving little city of the Mesaba Iron Range since the year 1910, and the scope and importance of his professional business bears evidence alike of his ability and his secure place in popular confidence and esteem.
Mr. Archer was born on a farm in Clay County, Iowa, June 12, 1884, and is a son of Richard J. and Jennie J. (Ewing) Archer, who now inain- tain their residence at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. William J. Archer was an infant at the time of his parents' removal from the Hawkeye state to Texas, where his father engaged in farm enterprise. The Lone Star commonwealth afforded Mr. Archer his early education, and there he con- tinued his studies in the public schools until his graduation in the high school at Henrietta. In the pursuance of a higher academic education he entered Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and in this institution he completed the scientific course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1904. After thus receiving his degree of Bachelor of Science he was for one year a teacher in the public schools at Lake City, Minne- sota, and later continued his effective pedagogic service in the public schools of Superior, Wisconsin. In harmony with his well defined ambi- tion he finally entered the law department of the University of Minnesota, where he continued his studies until his graduation as a member of the class of 1910, his reception of the degree of Bachelor of Laws having been virtually coincident with his admission to the Minnesota bar. Soon
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after his graduation Mr. Archer came to St. Louis County, where he has since continued in active general practice at Virginia and where he has won secure status as a resourceful trial lawyer and well fortified counsellor. The firm of which he is senior member controls a sub- stantial and representative law business in the Mesaba Range region.
Mr. Archer is a vigorous and loyal advocate of the principles of the Republican party ; he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian Church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, besides which he is an active and valued mem- ber of the Rotary Club in his home city and is the president for the ycar 1921.
August 31, 1915, recorded the marriage of Mr. Archer to Miss Leanore Duff, of Superior, Wisconsin, and they have one son, William J., Jr.
EDWARD ALA has been a resident of the city of Virginia since 1911, in which year he here engaged in the furniture and undertaking business on a modest scale, and the estimate placed upon the man and the service of his establishment is shown in the broad scope and importance of his business at the present time, as well as in the modern equipment and general standards of his place of business, which is not excelled by any establishment of the kind in the city. He has been in the most significant sense the architect of his own fortunes, and in a worthy way has won worthy success, the while he has commanded unqualified popular con- fidence and good will.
Mr. Ala was born in Finland, October 10, 1882, and is a son of Edward and Sophia (Longen) Ala, he being their only child. In 1883 Edward Ala, Sr., came alone to the United States and found employment in the mines at Hancock, Michigan, where he still maintains his residence. Edward Ala, Jr., was reared in his native land to the age of fourteen years and received the advantages of the common schools of the old home community. Shortly prior to his fourteenth birthday anniversary he decided to emulate the example of his father and seek a home in the United States. He accordingly crossed the Atlantic and made his way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where his first employment was as a drill boy in connection with mining operations at Calumet. For nine and one-half years thereafter he was employed in the furniture and undertaking establishment of Mullen Brothers at Ironwood, Michigan, and in this connection gained a thorough knowledge of all details of these lines of enterprise. Thus he was well fortified in experience when, in 1911, he came to Virginia, Minnesota, and engaged in the same busi- ness on a small scale. By close application, effective service and honor- able dealings he has built up a substantial and prosperous business and has secure status as one of the representative business men of this vigor- ous little city, where his circle of friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States as soon as his age and the required provisions made this possible, and his loyalty to the land of his adoption is unequivocal, heightened by his appreciation of the advantages which have here enabled him to gain independence and definite prosperity. He has worked hard to achieve worthy success, and has merited the prosperity which is his. In the vear 1903 Mr. Ala wedded Miss Selma Anderson, and they have one son Harry.
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HARRY A. HALL is identified with the constructive and productive side of Duluth's business affairs, and for many years has been in the painting and decorating business, both as a journeyman and as a con- tractor, and is head of a complete and high class establishment of that kind.
He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1867. His father, J. W. Hall, is still living at the age of eighty-five, a resident of Portland, Oregon. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Infantry and saw an active and arduous service through- out that struggle until it closed in victory. He was with his regiment in the thickest of the fighting at Antietam and also in many other engagements. Following the war he returned home, but his later years have been spent on the Pacific Coast.
Oldest of four sons, three of whom are living, Harry A. Hall acquired his early education in the public schools of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and at the early age of sixteen began learning the decorating trade. He followed that business for several years in Pennsylvania, and then came to Duluth, where he continued his work as a journeyman until 1899, when he set up in business for himself, taking contracts and gradually building up an establishment which now represents one of the leading paint and varnish and wallpaper stores in the city, at 322 East Superior street. Mr. Hall and his service have been in demand for decorating many of the finer residences of the city.
He is a past master of Ionic Lodge No. 186 of the Masonic Order, is a member of the Rotary Club and the Commercial Club, votes as a Republican and belongs to the First Methodist Episcopal Church. August 11, 1890, he married Miss Olive M. Stoner, of Williamsport, Pennsyl- vania, where she was reared and educated. They have four living chil- dren : Ellen, Louise, Catherine and Ralph.
CAPT. THOMAS WIVELL is a practical mining man with a scope of experience that extends from northern Michigan to California. He has been captain in charge of the Meadow Mine at Aurora since 1916.
He was born at Ishpeming, Michigan, April 8, 1885, son of Capt. William and Millesena (McDowell) Wivell, the former a native of Devonshire, England, and the latter of Canada. Capt. William Wivell, who was born in 1849, was brought in 1855 to the United States by his parents, who settled in Hancock County, Michigan. He grew up in a district where mining was the predominant industry, became a miner, and for many years was a mining captain and employed in other capaci- ties. In 1905 he moved with his family to the Range district of northern Minnesota and was connected with the Crosby Mine at Nashwauk. He died at Nashwauk in February, 1914, and his widow is still living there. While at Nashwauk he was honored with the office of village trustee and village treasurer. Of the ten children of Capt. William Wivell and wife there are eight sons, and all now old enough, have identified them- selves with the mining industry and vocation.
Thomas Wivell attended school at Ishpeming, Michigan, and also at Coulterville, California. The family lived in California from 1897 to 1903, Capt. William Wivell being a gold miner there. Thomas Wivell also had some experience in the gold mines of California, was a mine worker in Michigan, but most of his work has been done in the Range country. He was promoted to the responsibilities of shift boss in 1912 and in 1916 was given charge of the Meadow Mine.
He married in 1912 Katharine J. Thomas, daughter of Captain Frank Thomas. They have one son, William. Mr. Wivell is affiliated with
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the Masonic Lodge at Biwabik and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Gwinn, Michigan, and in politics casts his vote independently.
GORDON BROOKS has been one of the live and enterprising business men of Duluth for the past ten years, and as president of the American Lumber and Construction Company has directed his organization in a public spirited way toward solving some of the problems of housing construction in the city.
Mr. Brooks was born in 1889, one of a family of five children, and grew up and received his early education in Duluth. He was one of the first pupils enrolled in the Irving High School. On leaving school he engaged in business in 1909, and his experience and capabilities have been chiefly in the field of contracting and as a dealer in builders' supplies. The American Lumber and Construction Company, which was incor- porated in 1916 and of which he is president, handles all classes of building materials, and also has the facilities and the organization for the erection and sale of homes on the easy payment plan. During the past three years this company has erected between forty and fifty houses, a very important addition to Duluth's building program.
Mr. Brooks is affiliated with Euclid Lodge No. 198, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, is a Scottish Rite Mason, member of Royal League No. 255, the Modern Samaritans, and politically supports the Republican party. In 1908 he married Miss Elizabeth Siddall, who was reared and educated in Canada, being a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Siddall. Her father was a captain on the Great Lakes for forty years and is widely known in Great Lakes transportation circles. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have four children : Fein, born in 1910; Dorothy, born in 1912; Wendell, born in 1914; and Violet, born in 1918. The three older children are all pupils in the Duluth public schools.
WILLIAM M. EMPIE, M. D., has found in St. Louis County, Minne- sota, an excellent field for successful professional activity and service, and is engaged in active general practice at Virginia, where he not only has precedence as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the county but also has the distinction of being mayor of the city at the time of this writing.
Doctor Empie was born on a .farm near the city of Dwight, Illinois, on the 21st day of January, 1888, and is a son of William A. and Winnie (Allison) Empie, the former of whom was born in Grundy County, Illinois, in 1864, and the latter in Ohio in 1866. The parents still maintain their residence on their homestead farm near Dwight, Illinois, and Doctor Empie of this review is the elder of their two children. In the public schools of his native county he pursued his studies until his graduation in the Dwight High School in 1907. He then entered the medical school of Northwestern University, this department of the university being established in the city of Chicago. He was graduated as a member of the class of 1911, and after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he was favored in being able to gain most varied and valuable clinical experience through two years of service as interne in the celebrated Michael Reese Hospital in the city of Chicago. He then assumed charge of the practice of a physician at Ishpeming, Michigan, while that physician was sojourning in Europe. In 1914 Doctor Empie came to Eveleth, Minnesota, where he was associated with the Moore Hospital until June 6th of that year, when he established himself in active general practice at Virginia, which has since continued the central stage of his earnest and successful professional work save for the period of his
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loyal service as a member of the Medical Corps of the United States Army in the period of the World war. He was enrolled as a member of the medical corps on the 18th of October, 1918, was assigned to duty at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, with the rank of first lieutenant, and there he remained until December 24, 1918, when he received his honorable dis- charge. From 1914 to 1918 Doctor Empie served on the staff of the Lemont Hospital at Virginia, and he has been official physician to the public schools of this city since 1917. He holds membership in the American Medical Association, the Minnesota State Medical Society and the Range Medical Society, besides being affiliated with the Phi Alpha Sigma medical-college fraternity. The doctor's personal popularity in his home community needs no further voucher than the statement that when elected mayor of Virginia in 1920 he received the largest majority ever given to a candidate for this office in this thriving and vigorous munic- ipality. He is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the American Legion.
October 5, 1914, recorded the marriage of Doctor Empie to Miss Lucy Sterne, of Ishpeming, Michigan, she having been born at Humboldt, that state. Doctor and Mrs. Empie have a fine little son, Robert J.
JOHN GRANDY. Either as a journeyman carpenter or as a general contractor and builder, John Grandy has been in close touch with the . building situation at Duluth for nearly forty years. Much of the expert skill required for the building program of the city has been supplied by him, and he is one of the oldest contractors in the city and has always taken justifiable pride in the realibility of his performance of all obligations assumed by him.
Mr. Grandy was born in Norway, June 3, 1855, and as a young man acquired a common school education and served a thorough apprentice- ship at the carpenter's trade. He came alone to America in 1881, and located at Duluth, where he was employed as a journeyman carpenter for about nine years. Since 1889 he has been taking general contracts for building work, and his name as a contractor has been identified with the lists of independent business men for thirty years. During that time he has handled contracts for many important buildings. Some of the schools he has put up are the Irving, Jackson, and Cleveland, and his organization built the McKay Hotel, the Frederick Hotel, the Clarendon Hotel, the Astoria Apartment Hotel, the Metropolitan Hotel, besides a large number of the finer residences of the city. He was contractor for a portion of the First National Bank. Mr. Grandy is a stockholder in the First National Bank and the Northern National Bank, and a stockholder and director in the Minnesota National Bank.
He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran Church and of the Sons of Norway and a Republican in politics. At Duluth thirty-two years ago he married Miss Louisa Johnson. Six children were born to their mar- riage, and the three now living are Carl J., born in 1889; Frederick W., born in 1894; and Walter Leo, born in 1899.
GEORGE W. WELLES. Of the men whose collective energies and enter- prise have built up the fortunes of Duluth as a great market and dis- tributing center of the northwest an important place must be assigned to George W. Welles, a resident of the city for nearly thirty years and with progressive responsibilities in some of the city's largest mercantile establishments.
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Mr. Welles was born in Michigan and came to Duluth in April, 1892. His first business service here was as auditor in the old Chapin-Welles Company, now the Marshall-Welles Company. In 1895 he and associates bought the old J. J. Costello Hardware Company, which in June, 1896, became the Kelley Hardware Company and is now the Kelley Duluth Company. In 1902 the Kelley-How-Thomson Company was organized, Mr. Welles participating in that organization, and he is now secretary and manager of this corporation, one of the largest wholesale houses in the northwest.
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