Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 162

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126

USA > Montana > Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II > Part 162

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On June 23, 1908, Mr. Fisher was married to May B. Bennett, who was born in Butte, Montana, the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Bennett. To this union have been born three children, Daniel R., Jr., Bennett I. and George O.

Politically Mr. Fisher takes an independent atti- tude, preferring to vote for the men and measures

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which meet his approval. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of Great Falls Lodge, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Bozeman Chapter No. 12, Royal Arch Masons; St. John Commandery No. 12, Knights Templar; Great Falls Consistory, Scottish Rite; Algeria Temple; Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Helena; Bozeman Lodge No. 463, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, as well as the Commercial Club of Great Falls.

Mr. Fisher has realized a large and substantial success in the business world, and is known as a man of action rather than words. He is eminently utilitarian, and energy of character, firmness of purpose and unswerving integrity are among his chief characteristics. He occupies a large place in connection with the productive energies and activi- ties of life and is eminently worthy of specific men- tion in a work of the character of the one in hand.

JOHN J. GREENE. Judge of the Nineteenth Dis- trict Court, and though one of the youngest of six judges in Montana, has behind him ample experience and qualifications for the varied duties of his office, and his work on the bench has thoroughly justified the confidence of members of the bar and general citizenship who recommended and supported the recommendation of the governor when Judge Greene was allotted these responsi- bilities.

Judge Greene was born on his father's farm in Allamakee County, Iowa, December 4, 1887, son of Levi N. and Alice B. (Bulman) Greene. His father was born in Pennsylvania in 1844, and at the age of seventeen, in 1862, enlisted in Company H of the Ninth Iowa Infantry. He was with his regiment in every skirmish and battle in which it partici- pated, and was all through the Atlanta campaign and the march to the sea under Sherman. At the close of the war he was mustered out in 1865, and soon afterward engaged in farming on what is known as the New Galena Farm in Allamakee County, Iowa. He farmed successfully, and when well advanced in years, in 1892, he was ordained a minister of the Methodist Church. He then sold his farm, and during the rest of his life devoted his time to the church and the cause of humanity. He died at Delhi, Iowa, in 1906. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and a republican in politics. Levi N. Greene's wife was born in Alla- makee County, Iowa, was married there and is still living in that community. Of her six children one died in infancy. The others are: Marion, wife of Arthur Moorehouse; Grace, wife of Edward Bar- gendale; Carrie M .; Leonard, who married Ger- trude Reiner; and John J.

Judge Greene grew up a minister's son, graduated from the Delhi High School in Iowa in 1906, then attended Upper Iowa University at Fayette, and pur- sued his law studies in the law department of the University of Minnesota. He was graduated in law in 1912 and was admitted to the Minnesota bar. In the spring of 1913 he came to Montana, was ad- mitted to the bar in March of that year, and at once began making himself known in his profession at Conrad. He was soon elected county attorney in the fall of 1914, and served one term in that office. In the spring of 1917 he became associated with George Coffey, Jr., under the firm name of Coffey & Greene. They had a large law practice in Teton County until Mr. Greene was called from active practice by the appointment of Governor Stewart as judge of the Nineteenth District on March 8, 19I9.

Judge Greene is a member of the Delta Phi Delta law fraternity, Choteau Lodge No. 44, Ancient Free Vol. II-37

and Accepted Masons; Choteau Chapter No. 25, Royal Arch Masons, and Bethany Commandery No. 19 of the Knights Templar.

August 1, 1914, he married Miss Alice Timmis. Their three children are Alice Joan, Frank Timmis and John J., Jr.

NICK BAATZ. The business career of Nick Baatz, a popular and successful business man of Great Falls, is one that should encourage others to press on to greater achievements; for when a boy he set to work to overcome all difficulties that might lay in his path to success and the high standing which he now enjoys is the result. Earnest labor, un- abating perseverance, a laudable ambition and good management are the elements by which he has as- cended the steppes.

Nick Baatz was born on Mach 17, 1861, in Haller, LaRochette, Luxemburg, and is the son of John and Annie (Kessler) Baatz. The father, who also was a native of Haller, died in 1902, at the age of eighty-eight years. He was a distiller and foreman on the banks of the Rhine for twenty-five years, and was also engaged in getting out ship timbers and in farming. His wife, who was born in Bayford, died on August 19, 1903, at the age of seventy-six years. The subject of this sketch is the third child in order of birth of the seven children born to this worthy couple, five of the children being still alive.

Nick Baatz left his native country when eleven years of age, immediately after the close of the Franco-Prussian war, and located in Verdun, France, where he was employed as a hotel clerk. In 1880 he came to the United States and managed to obtain six months' school training in Ohio. In 1881 he made the long overland journey to Mon- tana, locating at Helena, where he engaged in the manufacture of brick for Nick Kessler. Some time later Mr. Baatz went to Marysville, Montana, and engaged in contracting as a hauler, carting wood for the Drumline Mine Company. Then he em- barked in the wholesale liquor business, in addition to which he gave some attention to mining, running the Belmont Quartz Mill, in all of which enterprises he was fairly successful. In 1890 Mr. Baatz moved to Flathead County, Montana, and established a brick yard at Columbia Falls, manufacturing the first brick made at that place. Two years later he moved to Great Falls and engaged in the manufac- ture of carbonated drinking waters, in connection with the sale of which he also conducted a whole- sale liquor and cigar business. During the same period he was also engaged in the real estate busi- ness, handling a great deal of land and improved properties in Great Falls and vicinity. In 1919 Mr. Baatz quit the liquor business and engaged in the liquid carbonated gas business in Billings, this state. He soon sold that business, however, and organized a company with a capital stock of a quarter of a million dollars, known as the Washington Liquid Gas Company. They are now engaged in the erec- tion of a building and the completion of a plant, which is to go into operation in the winter of 1919. Of this company Mr. Baatz is the president and controlling spirit, and, being a man of practical ex- perience and good business judgment, no doubt the business will prove a wise investment.

On August 29, 1898, Mr. Baatz was married to Elizabeth Zimmerman, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. Politically Mr. Baatz is an earnest supporter of the republican party and takes a keen interest in public affairs, though in no sense is he a seeker after public office. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the United Commercial Travelers' Association. Genial and whole-souled, Mr. Baatz is very approachable and makes friends easily, en-

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joying a large and varied acquaintance, among whom he is deservedly popular.

MATHIAS KRANZ is the veteran florist and green- house man in Montana, having been in that business continuously at Great Falls nearly thirty years. It has been a lifelong pursuit with him. As a boy he learned floriculture and gardening while working on the grounds of the ex-Kaiser William in Ger- many. He has what is probably the largest business of its kind in the state.

Mr. Kranz, whose name has long been a synonym of integrity and good citizenship in Great Falls, was born in Prussia November 18, 1864, youngest of the eight children of Mathias and Lucille Kranz. His parents spent all their lives in Germany. His father was a soldier and died in 1869, at the age of seventy- one, his wife passing away two years later.

Mathias Kranz attended the common schools of his native land to the age of fourteen, and then served four years apprenticeship in the landscape depart- ment of the Imperial Government. At eighteen he came to America, and for a year or so lived at Minneapolis, where he was associated with his brother Peter in the truck gardening business. Sell- ing out his interests to his brother he came to Great Falls April 7, 1890, but during the greater part of that year found employment at Helena. In Decem- ber he returned to Great Falls, and soon afterward bought some lots and during 1891 started the first hothouse in Great Falls. At first his line of produc- tion was lettuce and other vegetables, but gradually he enlarged his enterprise for the growing of flowers exclusively. He now has an immense plant, 40,000 square feet under glass, and the fame and ap- preciation of his productions are by no means con- fined to the community of Great Falls, though that city gives him his chief market.

Mr. Kranz is a democrat, a Catholic, a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters, Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen of America, of The Eagles, and a member of Great Falls Lodge No. 214 of the Elks.

February II, 1896, he married Miss Annie Ster- gart, of Great Falls, daughter of Charles and Lizzie Stergart. They have two children: Charles M., born June 9, 1898, and Lillian Dorothy, born No- vember 15, 1899.

ARTHUR PERHAM, proprietor of the Montana Cadillac Company at Butte, has been a figure in the automobile business in Montana for the past five years, and for a number of years prior to that time had enjoyed places of trust and responsibility in banking and other business institutions.

Mr. Perham represents a pioneer family in the Northwest. He was born at The Dalles, Oregon, August 25, 1876. His father, the late Judge Eugene L. Perham, was one of the prominent pioneers of the State of Oregon. He was born in the State of Maine in 1828, of Scotch and English ancestry. The Perhams settled in Massachusetts in colonial times. Judge Perham came overland to Oregon at the age of twenty-one. During his residence at The Dalles he was associated with the Oregon Steam Naviga- tion Company. He also studied law, was admitted to the Oregon bar, and served two terms as judge of Wasco County. He enjoyed much influence among the pioneers on account of his exceptional education and his many versatile talents. In 1888 he retired from business and removed to Portland, where he died in 1893. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity. Judge Perham married Martha Lona Geary, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1840 and is living at Portland in her ninetieth year. There were seven children in the family. Harriet,

the oldest, is a resident of Portland, widow of Hon. J. F. Van Name, a prominent attorney and judge of Cowlitz County, Washington. H. W. Perham is a contractor and builder at St. Anthony, Idaho. Edwin Geary is a general contractor at Marshfield, Oregon. W. T. Perham is a resident of Glendive, Montana, and a general contractor. Arthur is the fifth in age. Margaret is the wife of George E. Waggoner, of Portland Oregon, but a prominent oil operator in Wyoming and Texas. Benjamin A., the youngest, lives at North Yakima, Washington, and is pro- prietor of the Perham Fruit Company, an organiza- tion that ships a large volume of northwestern fruit over the United States.

Arthur Perham attended the public schools of Portland to the age of fifteen. In 1893 he graduated from the Portland Business College and subse- quently took a course in higher mathematics at the Holmes Business College. His first regular employ- ment was with the Northwest Loan and Trust Com- pany, remaining there four years. For three years he was associated with his brothers, E. G. and H. W. Perham, in the contracting business. Mr. Perham came to Butte in 1896, and for a time was employed as a laborer under W. A. Clark. He was advanced to timekeeper, and for three years was foreman of the Mine Timber Framing Plant. For one year Mr. Perham was employed as foreman at White Sulphur Springs, Montana, under his brothers, the contrac- tors. Returning to Butte he entered the State Sav- ings Bank, beginning as head bookkeeper, and re- mained with that institution for twelve years, eventually being its cashier. In the meantime he served seven months as state manager of the Pru- dential Life Insurance Company. When the bank was closed in 1914 he assumed the responsibility of looking after the interests of two business concerns, the Tuolumme Copper Mining Company and as manager of the State Savings and Realty Company.

In March, 1915, Mr. Perham entered the automo- bile business. At first he owned an interest in the Barry Motor Company and later bought out the other stockholders and reorganized as the Montana Cadillac Company, of which he is now sole pro- prietor. This company has the state agency for the Cadillac cars, and under Mr. Perham are sub-dealers in Montana. Fifteen men are in the service of his personal organization at Butte. The offices and garage and service station are at 22-26 East Quartz Street, while the salesrooms are at the corner of Granite and Alaska streets. In recent years Mr. Perham has turned over an immense volume of business in Montana to the Cadillac Company.

In politics he is a democrat, and is a member of Mount Moriah Lodge No. 24. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Oswego Lodge No. 9, Knights of Pythias. He is very prominent in the Knights of Pythias order, being past chancellor commander of his lodge, past grand chancellor of the State of Montana, and for the past twelve years has been grand master of the exchequer. Other interests and avocations are indicated by his membership in the Rotary Club, the Silver Bow Club, the Country Club of Butte, the Butte Curling Club, Butte Ad- vertising Club, Rocky Mountain Rifle Club, Butte Rod and Gun Club and the Young Men's Christian Association.

Mr. Perham owns a modern home at 1009 West Platinum Street. August 29, 1907, at Butte, Mr. Perham married Miss Anna Louise Dee, daughter of Thomas and Mary Dee. Her mother resides at Butte and her father, deceased, was one of the early blacksmiths in this city. Mr. and Mrs. Per- ham have three children: Margaret, Elizabeth and Ruth.

Omath Kranz

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

JOHN EDWARD FOLEY. The development of the oil interests of the country forms one of the most important chapters in its industrial history. Asso- ciated with this remarkable expansion are the names of those men who have assisted in bringing about present day conditions, and one of them is that borne by John Edward Foley, division manager of the Continental Oil Company of Great Falls, Mon- tana, who makes his headquarters at Butte. Mr. Foley was born at Ottawa, Illinois, on April 25, 1878, a son of James Foley, and grandson of John Foley, the latter having been born in Ireland in 1796. John Foley founded the family in the United States, coming to this country in young manhood and locating at Ottawa, Illinois, during its pioneer period, and assisting in bringing it out of that con- dition and into one of settled business interests. After arriving at Ottawa, the alert young Irishman was married to one of the native daughters of Ire- land, Mary Lynch, who had also settled in that village.

James Foley was born at Ottawa, Illinois, in 1852, and is still a resident of his native city, where he was reared, educated and married, and where he was engaged in blacksmithing until his retire- ment. He is a democrat in politics and a Roman Catholic in his religious convictions. James Foley was married to Elizabeth Kendrick, born at Ottawa, Illinois, in 1855, and they became the parents of the following children : John Edward, who is the eldest ; Dennis J., who died at Leadville, Colorado, in 1904, was connected with the Continental Oil Company ; W. H., who lives at Salt Lake City, Utah, is asso- ciated with the Continental Oil Company; James J., who lives at Albuquerque, New Mexico, is also as- sociated with the Continental Oil Company: and Clara Elizabeth, who married R. I. Wills, lives at Ottawa, Illinois, her husband being associated with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.

John Edward Foley was educated in the public schools of Ottawa, Illinois, being graduated from its high school course in June, 1896. following which he went to Denver, Colorado, for a few months, and thence to Grand Junction, Colorado, where he began to work for the Continental Oil Company as one of its agents, and so continued until October, 1897, when he left for Leadville, Colorado, to assume the responsibility of utility clerk for the same company. So capable did he prove himself that further confidence was shown in him by his promotion to be special agent, and he held that position until May, 1904. At that time he was made a traveling salesman for the company, covering Eastern Montana, with headquarters at Butte, and this continued to be his work until in October. 1907, when he was called to Denver, Col- orado, to become chief clerk for the company. In September, 1913, Mr. Foley was returned to Butte as assistant division manager. He received his final promotion on January 1, 1920, when he was made division manager of all the northern section of Montana. His rise has been remarkable, and en- tirely through his own merits. From the start he displayed such a grasp of the business, such capa- bility for handling details that his superiors ad- vanced him from one position to another until he has now reached the top of his division. Mr. Foley is not a man easily deceived in men or their motives, and one of his qualifications for his continued pro- motion has been his ability to handle his men. His knowledge of the oil business, and particularly the field covered by the Continental Oil Company, is thorough, and gained through personal experience, so that his judgments are authoritative and so rec- ognized.

In his political views Mr. Foley is a democrat, but

he has not had the time to do more than exercise his right of suffrage. The Roman Catholic Church holds his membership, and he belongs to Butte Council No. 668, Knights of Columbus, of which he is a Fourth Degree Knight; and Leadville Lodge No. 236, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

The offices of the Butte plant of the Continental Oil Company are located at No. 1321 Kaw Avenue, and those of the Great Falls plant are on Eighth Avenue, South, Butte.

In April, 1910, Mr. Foley was married at Ottawa, Illinois, to Florence Sinon, a daughter of W. J. and Julia (Bossenin) Sinon, both of whom are living and reside at Ottawa, Mr. Sinon being a retired mer- chant. Mrs. Foley was graduated from the Ottawa High School. There are no children in the Foley family. Mr. Foley has had the brain and initiative to rise, and has always been a sound, conscientious and honorable man in every position which he has occupied, and always felt that the experience he gained in one was a great advantage to him in dis- charging the duties of the one next farther up. In dealing with other men Mr. Foley has always claimed that the question of character is more es- sential than that of talent, and that unless he is certain that a man is at heart one who has the stay- ing power, he would rather not take the trouble to advance him, no matter how brilliant he might ap- pear. Stability, steadfastness, uprightness in the smallest detail, and an untiring industry are some of the characteristics which have raised Mr. Foley from obscure agent to division manager for one of the big oil corporations of the country, and they are ones every man ought to cultivate, even if some appear to be lacking in his nature, if he desires to advance beyond the everyday routine and become a worth-while man in his line of business.

ADOLPH H. HEILBRONNER. The functions of the dealer in real estate are varied and he has many responsibilities resting upon him. If he lives up to the highest conceptions of his calling he will en- deavor at all times to foster a local pride so as to awaken an interest on the part of the citizens in their community and make them realize that they are part and parcel of it, thus starting them on the right road. When he has accomplished this the public-spirited realty operator stretches out for wider fields and endeavors to attract to his city new blood and capital, so that, in a measure, he develops the policies of his community, popularizes it and directs the investment of its revenues and manage- ment of many of its affairs, and much of this is accomplished through individual effort that is never relaxed. In Butte the part played by the real estate men is of so important a character that they com- mand respect and admiration, and one of the men who has gained a strong position here is Adolph H. Heilbronner, known to his friends as "Dolph."

Adolph H. Heilbronner was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 6, 1880, a son of Henry Heil- bronner, a native of Bavaria, Germany, who died at Butte, Montana, in 1882. He came to the United States in young manhood and lived in various west- ern states coming to Butte in the spring of 1882, and in all of the places in which he lived he carried on merchandising. He had just succeeded in open- ing a crockery and furniture establishment when his death occurred. Like all young men of his native land, he served the stipulated time in the Bavarian army. After coming to the United States he took out his citizenship papers and supported the candi- dates of the republican party. In religious faith he was a Hebrew. For many years he belonged to the Masonic fraternity. Henry Heilbronner was mar- ried at Portland, Oregon, to Henrietta Steinhauser,

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born on May 1, 1838, in Bavaria, Germany. She survives him and makes her home at Butte. Their children were as follows: Theressa, who married I. N. Symons, a member of the Symons Dry Goods Company of Butte; Max, who is a jeweler of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada; I. A., who is a broker of Butte; J. H., who is a partner of Adolph H .; Adolph H., whose name heads this review.

Growing up at Butte, Adolph H. Heilbronner at- tended its schools, and was graduated from the high school course in 1899. His first business expe- rience was gained with the Butte Electric Railway Company, which he served as press agent for the advertising department, and although not much more than a boy displayed what was almost genius in his handling of the affairs placed in his hands. He was one of the prime movers in having Butte's magnificent playground, Columbia Gardens, estab- lished and developed. His success in this line en- couraged him to branch out for himself and in 1910 he left his company and established himself in the Daly Bank Building as general agent for the Salt Lake Route, one of Senator Clark's railroads, and held that position until the road was taken over by the Government in 1918.

In the meanwhile, Mr. Heilbronner, together with his brother, J. H. Heilbronner, had established and built up a large business in real estate and insurance. Mr. Heilbronner is manager of the Butte Electric Car Advertising Company; has been the represen- tative of the Yellowstone Trail, and it is largely through his efforts that this trail has been preserved through Butte; he has for years been a consistent "good roads" booster, and inaugurated and operated the first tourist cars in Silver Bow County. These cars are specially designed to boost Butte and the surrounding territory, and through their operation Mr. Heilbronner has rendered this region a great service, for by means of them visitors to the city are enabled to gain some idea of the advantages of the locality as they could in no other way, and many are so impressed that they later invest in homes or business ventures and become valuable adjuncts to Butte. Mr. Heilbronner is a member of the Rotary Club, was its first president and helped to organize the club and is still one of its aggressive members. He also belongs to Butte Lodge No. 240, Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks, and the Silver Bow Club, and the Butte Ad Club of the Good Roads Organization. His modern residence at the corner of Quartz Street and Excelsior Avenue is his prop- erty, and he is interested in mining. During the great war Mr. Heilbronner took a very active part in all of the war work, and as president of the Butte Ad Club took charge of all of the advertising for the various drives, generally serving as chairman of the several committees. Needless to say, all of the quotas were oversubscribed in each of the drives.

On October 21, 1907, Mr. Heilbronner was mar- ried at Portland, Oregon, to Miss Fay Lavenson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. Lavenson of that city. Mr. Lavenson was a pioneer of California and Ore- gon, and for many years was a merchant of Port- land, but is now retired. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Heilbronner was a public school teacher of Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Heilbronner have three children, namely: Keith, who was born on January 23, 1910; Julian, who was born October 27, 1912; and Carol, who was born November 27, 1918.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 162

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 1126

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126