A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 83

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970

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Since going into business for himself, Mr. Dreibel- bis has bought out a number of drug stores in Butte, and after reorganizing them and placing on a paying basis, has disposed of them. His interests in this line of business are yet extensive, as, in addition to the large business of the Newbro Drug Company, he also owns luis original store at No. 429 North Main street, as well as the Colbert Drug Company, and is the president and principal owner of the Family Drug Company, No. 549 South Main street. Mr. Dreibelbis has been essen- tially a builder and developer, as the various enterprises that have received the stimulus of his able management. have invariably been financial successes.

Among other business interests, he is a director of the Montana Independent Telephone Company, was one of the promoters and is the present president of the Montana Aeroplane and Exhibition Company, and is president of the J. A. Beer Cigar Company, at No. 79 West Park street. He erected and still owns the fine business block at No. 429 North Main street.

Loyal to Butte, and of unquestioned public spirit, no movement of interest or benefit to the city has ever appealed to him in vain. His support of political prin- ciples is usually given to those of the Democratic party, yet his interest in such matters is merely that of a business man and citizen, desirous of good honest and capable government.

Socially he is a member of the Silver Bow and the Butte Country clubs, while fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Dreibelbis was for two years president of the Butte Driving Club, and has always been a lover of a good horse. He has owned some of the best harness horses in the state. and for a number of years found his chief source of recreation in riding and driving, at both of which he is an expert. He is the owner of Allerton Boy, one of the grandest individuals and finest specimens of horse flesh ever owned in Montana, and it is the intention of Mr. Dreibelbis to pension this son of Allerton, since becoming the owner of a Peer- less motor car.

The career of Mr. Dreibelbis is one that has probably not been surpassed in Butte mercantile circles for rapidity of rise, and all of which has been due entirely to his own efforts. He has taken a foremost position among the most substantial business men of the city, not by the dint of self-denial and economy, for no one has any keener appreciation of the comforts and pleas- ures of life which he enjoys to the gratification of his every desire. Straightforward business methods, com- bined with honesty and fair dealing, have always char- acterized his business relations.

His generosity is known to all his acquaintances and his open-hearted manner has made and retained a large circle of friends with whom he is both popular and respected.

Mr. Dreibelbis is unmarried.

RASK BROTHERS CLOTHING COMPANY. Starting in a peddler's pack laboriously borne from place to place through the remote rural districts of several western states on the patient back of an ambitious and hopeful trader, the Rask Brothers Clothing Company of Butte, whose store is located at 303 East Park street, had a very small and humble beginning.

The company is composed of John and Sallah Rask, the former being its president and the latter its vice president, and both energetic and productive factors in its management and in bringing about the propor- tions and prosperity it enjoys. These gentlemen are natives of Syria, a land of universal interest, through which both sacred and profane history have held their splendid march and left their shining footprints. They came to the United States as the land of opportunity early in life, and have made such advancement through their enterprise and business capacity that their mer- cantile establishment is now considered one of the most active and promising in the busy and progressive city in which it is located. The company handles all kinds of dry goods, shoes and kindred commodities, and enjoys a large, active and profitable trade.

John Rask, the founder of the business, was born at Mount Lebanon. Syria, on July 20, 1875. and is a son of Rask and Kathryne (John) Rask, also natives of that country, where the father died in 1880, and the mother's life began in 1840 and ended in 1885. They were farmers and passed the whole of their lives in their native land. Four of their sons, John, Peter, Sallah and Sarkis, have for a number of years been residents of the United States.

John came to this country when he was fifteen years of age in company with his older brother Peter. They located in Providence, Rhode Island, and there John acquired a considerable knowledge of English and English branches of study in the public schools, which he attended two years. In 1892 he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and from that city as a base of op- erations began business for himself. He bought a stock of portable goods and carried them in a pack on his back to remote farm houses, securing a large and profitable trade in his wanderings.

In 1896 he moved to Butte, and by this time was able to enlarge his venture and carry on his business with greater activity and less discomfort to himself.

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Here he bought a team and continued to peddle his goods through the country districts until 1900. In that year he and his brothers Peter and Sallah founded the establishment on East Park street and began to give their attention exclusively to local trade in the store. The business grew and flourished, and the enterprising merchants who started it reaped good rewards for their industry and energy.

A few years after the establishment of the store Sallah Rask became a partner in the business, Peter retiring to open a store at Missoula, and since then Sallah and John have been its sole proprietors and man- agers. They are very active and progressive in the conduct of their business, keeping their stock up to the most exacting requirements:

In the summer of 1895 John Rask made a visit to his native land, and while there, on August 12 of the year last mentioned, he was united in marriage with Miss Onie Tamer, also a Syrian by birth and rearing. They have seven children: Nasema, who was born on July 23, 1898, and is now attending school in Butte; Nazera, who was born on October 23, 1899, and is also in school here; Amelia, whose life began on April 30, 1902, also attending school in Butte, as are all the rest of the children who are old enough; Nasem, who came into being on October 14, 1904; Harry, whose life began on November 11. 1906; Thomas, who was born on October 1I, 1908: and Najeeb, who was born on November 9, 1911.

John Rask is a member of the Catholic church, the Syrian Peace Society and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In political faith and allegiance he belongs to and works with the Democratic party, and while not a very active partisan, is loyal to his organization and warmly in- terested in its success. He is one of Butte's rising and prosperous business men, an excellent citizen much es- tecmed throughout the city, and entitled to great credit for his ardent devotion to his home and family.

Sallah Rask. the brother of John and vice presi- dent of the Rask Brothers Clothing Company, was born at Mount Lebanon, Syria, on July 4, 1873, and came to this country in 1895. His connection with the business of the clothing company has already been stated, and nothing further need be said in this connection except that he is fully imbued with his brother's enterprise and progressiveness, and shares in full measure his interest in the abiding welfare of Butte and its residents.

He was married in his native land on August 12, 1895, at the same time as his brother John, uniting him- self with Miss Shareffy Karam, who is of the same nativity as himself. Two children have been born to their union: Bady, whose life began in Butte on Feb- ruary 8, 1899; and Ruby, who came into being, also in Butte, on March 6, 1901. Both are students in Butte schools. Like his brother John, Sallah Rask is a true and faithful member of the Catholic church, and like him he also belongs to the Syrian Peace Society. He is devoted to his home and family, and is fond of hunting and fishing, too, and indulges his fondness for them on all suitable occasions. He is a valued addition to the citizenship of Butte, and is well thought of in its business circles, and its civic activities, in both of which he takes an earnest interest and a helpful part.

MOSES BRINIG. The life of Moses Brinig was one which called forth every particle of energy, determina- tion, shrewdness and business tact in the realizing of the ambition which became his when he came to Amer- ica as an emigrant, and which he was able to ac- complish by reason of his possession of those splendid qualities, which make for success in the life of every ambitious man. Coming to this country as a young man with wife and family, to establish and build up a business such as he left, with no capital, neither credit when he began, is a task calling for almost superhuman strength and ability. The worthy

accomplishments of this man give ample evidence of what may be done with a proper determination to succeed.

Born in Roumania in 1856, Moses Brinig came to America with his wife and young family in early life. It was the ambition of Mr. Brinig to become established in the mercantile business, and with his natural shrewd- ness and farsightedness, he recognized the difficulties of getting ahead in the eastern states where business was overdone to so great an extent, and he located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His capital was too small to permit him to enter into any extensive business, so he did what he could with his little store of money and for some time followed the life of a peddler. He pros- pered in that, and finally reached that place in his af- fairs when he felt that he could branch out into a more important business. The West still looked attrac- tive to Mr. Brinig as a market, and he moved to Butte with his family, and it was in this city that he was first able to gratify his life ambition to be a merchant. It was in 1896 when he first arrived in Butte, and at 64 East Park street he established himself in a small store, where he conducted a retail clothing and men's furnishing store. The business prospered to such an extent that he was soon obliged to extend his store space, and he soon removed to 48 East Park street, which afforded him seemingly ample space. In a very short time, however, the demands of his patron- age rendered that place entirely inadequate to his needs, and he made another move, this time to 34 East Park street, where he conducted the business with con- stantly increasing lines up to the time of his death, having risen in a few years from an obscure dealer to one of the leading merchants in the state. Not only had he established this splendid business in Butte, but he had established and was operating at the time of his demise, with equal success, similar stores in Dillon and Bozeman, Montana. Not only did Mr. Brinig accomplish an unusual degree of success in a commercial way, but he was able to give to his family advantages of education which it had not been his good fortune to receive in the home of his birth. He was able to do much in the furtherance of religious and civic work of an elevating nature, in which he was always a leader, and an advocate of the best in every- thing tending to the common good. Mr. Brinig was a member of the B'nai B'rith of Butte, of the Modern Woodmen and the Woodmen of the World. He was a member of the Brothers of Abraham and vice presi- dent of the Hebrew congregation in Butte and one of the founders of the organization. He was also the founder of the Jewish school in Butte. He died in Butte, Montana, on November 26, 1911. The wife of Moses Brinig and the mother of his children was Rebecca (Labovitz) Brinig, born in Roumania, June 6, 1857. She is now a resident of Butte and is the administrator of her husband's estate. She was always the adviser of her husband, and much of his splendid success in life is justly accredited to her wise counsels and her wifely ministrations. She has been a patient and noble mother and is loved and revered by her eight children, seven sons and one daughter.

William Brinig, the son of Moses and Rebecca Brinig, is carrying on the business and is manager of his father's estate. He was educated in the public and high schools and later completed a thorough course in the Butte Business College, with a view to becoming his father's assistant, which he has always been since that time. October 24. 1910, he was married to Miss Birdie Banks, a daughter of John Banks, who was a native of Polk county, Iowa.

WILLIAM E. SIELAFF. Talented, independent and self-reliant, William E. Sielaff has profited by the opportunities which have been granted him, and through his own efforts has made steady progress along the

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pathway of success, being now well known in the busi- ness, fraternal, social and musical circles of Butte, his present home city. A son of Adolph Sielaff, he was born, May 21, 1874, in Cleveland, Ohio, of German ancestry.

Born, October 18, 1843, in Germany, Adolph Sielaff was born, reared and married in the Fatherland. Short- ly after his marriage, he bade good-bye to his bride and started for America, hoping in this free country to soon establish a comfortable home. Locating im- mediately in Cleveland, Ohio, he was there a resident from 1868 until 1876. In that year, responding to the lure of the rich mining regions of the Rockies, he joined a band of six hundred emigrants westward bound, and with two hundred of his traveling compan- ions settled in Idaho. During his earlier life in that region he took part in the Bannack river Indian war, and had many narrow escapes, and various thrilling experiences. He became one of the pioneer settlers of Boise, where he is still engaged in the hardware busi- ness. He married Anna Eckelt, a native of Germany. She came to this country soon after he did, joining him in Cleveland, Ohio, and later accompanying him to Idaho. Five children were born to them, William E. being the oldest child. 1

Brought up and educated in Boise, Idaho, William E. Sielaff was graduated from the high school with the class of 1893, and during the ensuing three years was employed in his father's hardware establishment. Leaving home in 1896, he has since been a resident of Butte, Montana, one of the most busy and prosperous cities of the state. He first found employment with the Pacific Express Company, with which he was associated in various capacities for four years, during the latter part of that time having been cashier for the company. For the past eleven years Mr. Sielaff has been con- nected with the money department of the Northern Express Company, a responsible position which he is filling ably and satisfactorily.

Endowed by nature with an accurate ear and a wonderful talent for music, Mr. Sielaff has gained dis- tinction in musical circles, among his musical composi- tions being several operatic pieces of merit which have not yet been given to the public. Mr. Sielaff, in 1900, organized the Montana State Band of thirty pieces. and likewise the Sielaff orchestra of ten pieces, of which he is the leader. He is also a member of the celebrated Boston and Montana Band of Butte. Mr. Sielaff is regarded as one of the accomplished musicians in the state.

In his political relations Mr. Sielaff is independent, being unrestricted by party obligations. He belongs to the Country Club, and is a member of numerous fra- ternal organizations, including the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks; the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica; the Woodmen of the World; the Improved Order of Red Men; the Sons of Hermann; and the Loyal Order of Moose. Mr. Sielaff, who is unmarried, resides at No. 200 Clark block.

ALPHAEUS V. FLUHRER, D. D. S. The dentist of to- day is a man thoroughly trained, whose experience has been gained under the supervision of experts. Not only has he taken the exacting course of study, but he keeps abreast of the times by reading, study and at- tendance at lectures, thus familiarizing himself with all the discoveries and inventions of the profession. If it were not for the fact that the teeth of the human race are deteriorating so rapidly, the science of dental surgery would preserve them indefinitely. Among the leading exponents of the art of dentistry in Carbon county, is Dr. Alphaeus V. Fluhrer, who has a well- appointed suite of offices in the Improvement Build- ing, Red Lodge, and controls a large and representative professional business. He was born October 16, 1874,

in South Cayugu, Ontario, Canada, and is a son of John Andrew and Sarah Fluhrer.

John Andrew Fluhrer was born in Wittenberg, Ger- many, in 1815, and was twenty-seven years of age when he came to America, being a pioneer of his district in Canada, where he hewed a home from the wilderness. He became a prominent agriculturist and for many years held public office, serving as a member of the school board and as reve of his township and chairman of the board of county officials. He spent his entire life on his farm and passed away October 14, 1887. His wife, who was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1831, died February 22, 1910, having been the mother of seven children, of whom four survive, Alphaeus V. being the fourth in order of birth.

Alphaeus V. Fluhrer spent his boyhood days on the home farm and attended the district schools during the winter months. In July, 1896, he removed to Red Lodge, Montana, and on the 5th of that month com- menced contracting and building, in which he con- tinued until 1900. Having decided to enter the dental profession, Mr. Fluhrer had been engaged in study for some time, and on giving up his business went to Buffalo, New York, and entered the University of Buffalo, being graduated from the dental department thereof May 3, 1904. On May 7th he opened his office in Red Lodge, where he has continued in practice to the present time, and is licensed to follow his profes- sion in New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Montana and the Dominion of Canada. Dr. Fluhrer is a most excel- lent dentist, conscientious, skilled and progressive, and from the very first his practice has prospered. He has the full confidence of his city, not only as a profes- sional man, but as a good citizen, and pleasant, genial companion. He is a valued member of the Montana Dental Society, while his fraternal connections are with Star of the West Lodge No. 40, A. F. & A. M., to which he came after demitting from Copestone Lodge No. 373, of Welland, Ontario, and also belongs to Carbon Chapter No. 20. R. A. M., and was a member of the building committee that erected the Masonic Temple liere, and one of the directing board as well. He is also a member of the F. O. E. Red Lodge Aerie No. 742. While residing in Ontario he served as reve of his section, an office that corresponds with that of county commissioner in the United States, and was chairman of the commission for three terms, in addition to holding township offices.

On May 4, 1904, Mr. Fluhrer was married to Miss Margaret Elizabeth Eberley, who was born in Stevens- ville, Ontario, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Eberley. Dr. and Mrs. Fluhrer have two children: Alphaeus V., Jr., and Margaret E.

JOHN E. HAMPLE. As the commercial metropolis of this portion of the Northwest, Butte, Montana, num- bers among its business interests some of the most im- portant enterprises to be found anywhere in the United States. Not only is this a great mining state but it has also agricultural resources of immense and growing value, and is likewise one of the greatest cattle and wool producing sections of the country. The pur- chase and distribution of these products to all parts of the world is accomplished largely through firms whose headquarters are at Butte. Among those who deal in a class of commodities, the trade in which amounts to an immense volume is Mr. John E. Hample, recog- nized as the most extensive dealer in green and dry hides, pelts, furs, wools, etc., in the Northwest. It is stated that Mr. Hample handles fully seventy-five per cent of the hides and pelts sent out from the state and during the past twenty years he has supplied the well-known firm of Jeremiah Williams Company of Boston with a large portion of the wool thev have re- ceived from the state of Montana. The importance and extent of his trade may be judged somewhat from

A. V. Fuhrer. I.t.

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the statement that he buys and sells annually in the neighborhood of fifty thousand hides and several mil- lion pounds of wool, besides smaller quantities of other allied products. In addition to purchasing these prod- ucts from growers throughout the Northwest he is also a producer of sheep and wool on a large scale himself, owning and operating a big sheep ranch at Twin Bridges and Melrose this state.

Mr. Hample has made this line of business a life study and has enjoyed an extensive experience in various departments of the trade, enabling him to achieve a position of pre-eminence as a judge of the class of commodities in which he traffics. Born in Sweden, October 13, 1854, he attended a military school in his native country until his fifteenth year and immediately after the completion of his studies, in 1869, started out entirely alone for America, his objec- tive point in this country being Rockford, Illinois. Ten years later his parents came to this country, settling at Oaks, Sargent county, North Dakota. His father was a native of Germany, a farmer by occupation, and lived to the 'advanced age of eighty years, his demise occurring at Oaks in 1907. His mother, who was before her marriage Christina Jennings, was born in Sweden and died in 1905, she also having lived eighty years. Of their family of eight children John E. was second oldest.

For five years after his arrival at Rockford Mr. Hample continued to reside in that city and it was there that he learned the hide and wool business. In 1875 he went to Chicago and put his knowledge to im- mediate use with the firm of Oberne Hosick & Com- pany, well-known dealers in hides, wool, etc., and was associated with the firm for ten years. From 1879 he was their traveling representative and bought hides, furs, robes, and similar goods from the producers and also purchased from Indian traders of the West, his territory including at that time the state of Mon- tana. He maintained headquarters for a year at Miles City, then removed to Helena. In 1886 Mr. Hample severed his connection with the Chicago house and formed a partnership with A. J. Davidson, continuing for the next ten years to engage in the hide and wool trade on an independent basis. He withdrew from the firm in 1896 and came to Butte, establishing his pres- ent business and continuing to conduct it ever since. Mr. Hample's commercial training and natural ability for handling large enterprises especially fit him for the management of an undertaking of the magnitude his present business has attained. He has enjoyed a career of uninterrupted success and may justly feel proud of his attainments, they being the result of his own unaided efforts. He is largely interested in the Montana Butchering Company, of which he is presi- dent and manager. He also has large interests with E. H. Stanton & Company of Spokane, extensive packers of pork, sheep and cattle. The plant of this concern is one of the most modern and completely equipped plants of its kind in the country, and un- questionably the best in the West.

As a citizen Mr. Hample wields an influence com- mensurate with his standing and ability and is always ready to lend the weight of that influence to the furthering of enterprises that tend to enhance the interests of this city and state on moral or civic lines. In political affairs he advocates Democratic principles and is an active worker in both state and national circles. Social and religious matters receive a gen- erous share of his attention and he is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church and the Woodmen of the World fraternal order. He is liberal in his support of charitable enterprises and worthy benevolences and occupies a position in the community of enviable stand- ing.

The marriage of Mr. Hample to Miss Minnie LaMott, a native of Iowa, occurred July 4, 1890. Three children Vol. III-18

were born of this union, Edwin Porter, at Helena, June 16, 1894, and John Milton in the same city January 30, 1896, and Louise, who died about four years old. The elder son is attending a preparatory school at Philadelphia, while John is a student at the Butte high school. Both are preparing themselves for professional careers and will doubtless fill with credit high posi- tions in the world in the future.

ALFRED BRISCOE. As owner and proprietor of the business house known as the Briscoe Mercantile Com- pany, Alfred Briscoe is recognized as one of the more important and prominent men in Cascade. The busi- ness, which he established here in 1909, has grown apace since that time, and is today one of the leading concerns in the city. Previously to his inaugurating this business Mr. Briscoe was identified with various other business houses in Cascade, where he acquired a wide acquaintance which has been an undeniable aid to him in his private business venture. He is identified with many of the leading financial and industrial con- cerns of Cascade, and has in every way fulfilled the highest duties of a good citizen.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 83

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 970

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970