USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Hudson County to-day; its history, people, trades, commerce, institutions and industries > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
Mr. Debacher's rise in the business world has been continuous and steady. He became associated with the Schimper plant when a boy. From apprentice he was rapidly advanced to the position of senior partner and the presidency of the company, due solely to the fact that he is a thoroughly skilled mechanic, understood the workings of the concern from all its angle- and is a competent and practical business man.
When Mr. Mahlstedt retired his duties were taken over by Ernest F. Schultz, treasurer of the corporation. Mr. Schultz is a certified accountant of the University of New York, and before his association with this corpor- ation practiced as such. He has proven a very valuable assistant to the operations of the corporation and would be greatly missed it through force of circumstances he should be compelled to retire.
Ilerman Behrens, secretary, has been connected with the house of Schimper for more than twenty years, and has, through long service and continuous study, become well fitted to execute the duties allotted to him.
The entire history of the house has been one of progress, due to the fact that it has always been the policy to preserve the integrity of the firm and its manufactures even against the keen competition of inferior good- and cheaper prices for the "just as good" kind. No employee of the concern is allowed to sacrifice quality for profit and all are under the supervision of skilled and trustworthy heads of departments in which they are employed.
The factory itself is well lighted and well ventilated. The people employed there are contented. They are paid good wages and they are not worked like slaves. The men in control of the various departments are very human and are instructed to regard those under their supervision as such. At the same time perfect discipline and splendid decorum prevail. The stranger is always treated courteously. The conditions at the plant are ideal for all, and it is the policy to keep satisfactory employees as long as possible.
Numerous and varied are the articles manufactured. They incluide, among other things, toilet sets, comb and brush sets, hair brushes, hat and cloth brushes, military brushes and sets, manicure sets and fittings, card rases, vanity boxes, puff and pomade jars, trinket boxes, bonbon baskets, trays and vases, picture frames, calendars, thermometers, ink-stands, desk fittings, hand mirrors, swinging mirrors, shaving mirrors, standing mirrors, trip- liacte mirrors, whisk brooms and holders, smokers' sets, ash receivers, cigarette and tobacco boxes, match safes, cigar and cigarette jars, humidors. eyeglass and spectacle cases, soap boxes and novelties for advertising purposes.
Besides the main plant the firm has a showroom at 652 Broadway, New York City, where buyers from all over the United States, its colonies. Canada and Europe are welcomed.
0. 0. Kinkean
0. C. KINKEAD, wholesale grocer at 608 Newark avenue, Jersey City. is one of those old time business men who has built up a splendid patronage by methods upon which there can be cast not a shadow of sharp practice. He has always been content to make a fair profit as a middle- man and has never been guilty of boosting prices unless he was compelled to do so by the rise of goods as they came to him. It is safe to say that at such times as the recent European war, when so many jobbers and middle- men were boosting prices on home products because it was feared that they would have to pay more for the next lot they ordered, Mr. Kinkead simply charged his patrons the regular prices so long as the supply lasted. If, after that. he had to raise the prices it was because he himself had to pay more for the actual goods on which he raised his patrons.
Mr. Kinkead is not a speculator-not a get-rich-quick gentleman. He is a solid, substantial business man, one with whom it is a pleasure to do business. Hte handles none but the staple and standard lines of goods. No persuasion could induce him to try something that had not been tried and found worthy. no matter how great the financial inducements. It is by solid men such as Mr. Kinkead that large business enterprises are built.
In politics Mr. Kinkead has never dabbled. He thought he had all he could do to properly conduct the affairs of his business. He has done a vast amount of good in a quiet, charitable way, but of his benevolences little are I:eard. Meet with Mr. Kinkead and you immediately feel you have met with a man who grasps his business affairs and executes them in a quiet. efficient manner.
Although he devotes a great part of his time to his business. Mr. Kinkead finds time to give to his family and is fond of home life after the struggle of the busy business day. He lives in a modest home at 565 Pavonia avenue. Jersey City, and has no greater enjoyment than a quiet evening at home when circumstances and business will permit.
IIO
Tirxamer Riding Academy
O ENTERPRISE in Hudson County is of more importance in its line. or more noteworthy, than the Hexamer Riding Academy, from which has sprung the Hoboken Carriage and Cab Company and the Hexa- mer Auto Company. These three allied industries are all under the personal supervision and direction of A. P. Hexamer, who has a capacity for business exceeded by no one in the entire county.
The Hexamer Riding Academy was established in 1850. It has enjoyed a continuous existence since that time. It started first as a riding academy. pure and simple, where riding lessons were given to some of the foremost people of the country. In the old days many of the notables of New York were habitues of the riding academy and to this day its meets are patronized by beauty and fashion. It is the highest class business of its kind in the east, if not in the entire country.
From the riding academy developed the renting and sale of horses for large functions and to prominent people. From these stables are furnished horses to the states of New Jersey. New York and Connecticut for military maneuvers, and many horses have been sold and shipped abroad for the stables of the great powers of the okl world.
Then came the organization of the Hoboken Carriage and Cab Company. The service rendered by this company early proved a superior one and this branch of the business grew and prospered. Probably in the entire county there is no such array of carriages, cabs and taxi cabs as to be found here. and no service business of the kind is conducted with such dispatch as that of the Hexamers. Here one may secure, at any hour of the day or night. just what he wants in the matter of equippage, whether horse drawn or motor. The carrages. cabs and taxicabs are kept in splendid condition and give the impression of private vehicles, which they are to all intents and purposes, as the drivers and chauffeurs are all gentlemenly and know their business to the end of the last lesson.
Then followed the Hoboken Auto Company. This was first started as an agency only. With the backing of the Hexamer Riding Academy and the Hoboken Carriage and Cab Company back of it. the auto company proved a success from its inception. It handled a superior class of cars, gave su- perior service to its patrons and soon acquired such a reputation that it was recognized as the foremost organization of its kind in Hudson County and the company was made the Hudson County distributor for the Hudson Motor Company, manufacturers of the famous Hudson automobiles. The company has constantly on hand a splendid line of these famous cars, and the manage- ment is ready to give a demonstration to a prospective purchaser at any time.
Some idea of the magnitude of the business of the three companies may be gleaned from the fact that there are constantly employed at the main office. stables and garages, 215-223 Hudson street, H boken. and the Jersey City branch, 2529 Hudson Boulevard, fifty-two people to look after the busi- ness of the combined concerns. This does not include occasional chauffeurs and helpers who are called in whenever ocasion demands, but is simply the regular employees on the payroll from year to year.
Of course such a business as that combined in the three concerns cannot be managed successfully except by efficient service in every department. This Mr. Hexamer has secured. The discipline in all the departments is perfect. the men know their work. everyone has his own task to perform. That it is performed well speaks well for the management. These details are supervised personally by Mr. Hexamer and his able foremen and super- intendents. Every man is held accountable to his immediate superiors, and the business is conducted as smoothly as a carefully greased machine.
Much credit is due Mr. Hexamer for the mammoth business he has built up and conducted in such an honorable manner that it has a reputation for fair dealing and integrity second to none in the country.
III
E. H. Horwood & Co.
N O SINGLE firm is better known than that of E. H. Horwood & Co .. manufacturer of brassieres and children's underwaists at 1007 Grand street, Hoboken. This firm was founded in 1874 by the late E. H. Horwood, who was one of the most respected and generally beloved men in Hoboken at the time of his death, and since that sad event has been carried on exclusively by members of the Horwood family. Since the death of the elder Horwood the firm has been incorporated. but there has been no change of the liberal policy of the founder toward the two hundred and fifty or more employees engaged at the factory. The capital stock is valued at $100.000. is fully paid in and there is none of it on the market.
Besides the Hoboken factory the firm has an office and salesrooms in the Fifth Avenue building, 200 Fifth avenue, New York City. Although the output of the Hoboken factory is used exclusively in the United States, goods are manufactured in Canada under the Horwood patents.
Associated with E. H. Ilorwood when the firm was started was C. L. Horwood. Work was begun in a small way, but the firm prospered from the beginning. In 1890 C. S. Horwood entered the business, assuming charge of the factory end. E. H. Horwood continued the office management until his death in 1913, since which time C. S. Horwood has had full charge of all departments.
Brassieres and underwaists manufactured by E. H. Horwood & Co. are fully protected by patents which place the products in a class by themselves. Superior workmanship, cutting and designing along scientific lines and per- fect fit of normal forms have been the chief reasons for the high standing of the Horwood goods in trade circles.
Of course, the chief local interest in the firm centres around the late E. H. Horwood. The January issue of the Board of Trade Bulletin of Hoboken contained a fitting tribute to the life of a man who had made himself and his works so generally beloved in his adopted town.
Edward H. Horwood was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1845. He began his business career at an early age. When he was eleven years old he was entrusted with the task of running a complete set of ledgers. Before the age of eleven he had waded through all the delightful intricacies of Shakespeare ; but his reading was not confined to his early years, for books afforded him pleasure throughout his entire busy life. He always remained a reader of good books and no topic of general interest escaped his notice.
On December 30th. 1863, he married Charlotte Louise Skinner at Niagara Falls, Canada. About four years later he moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut. where he went into business ; and forty years ago he came to Hoboken.
Mr. Horwood was President of the Board of Trade for two terms, be- coming a trustee upon the expiration of his term. He was also greatly inter- ested in the affairs of the National Board of Trade at the same time. Im- mediately upon his affiliation with the Hoboken Board of Trade. Mr. Horwood entered into the work of the organization with a characteristic zeal. His work on local committees is too well known to need comment.
He was keenly interested in and associated with the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association and was an ardent supporter of the project for inland waterways ; he represented the Board at the Lake Mohonk Peace Conference, each year since the inception of the Congress, being a firm believer in inter- national arbitration. His last activity of note was when he undertook the Chairmanship of the Budget Exhibit Committee which, however, he was forced to resign owing to his failing strength.
Notwithstanding his devotion to his home, Mr. Horwood was identified with the Columbia Club and gave a portion of his time to its upbuilding. Ite was also a member of the Royal Arcanum, and was closely identified with church inteersts. He had a hobby for flowers and took great delight in cul- tivating them.
112
Ottn Dihelka
TTO DIBELKA, lessee and manager of Lafayette Hall, the famous amusement resort at 160 Palisade avenue, West Hoboken, is among the most popular men of his calling in the entire county. He is well known from one end of the county to the other, and the report that he had leased Lafayette Hall immediately brought to that place a new lease of life. The patronage there had gradually grown smaller after the death of Mr. Ohmann, the former proprietor, but as soon as Dibelka took hold, things livened up until now it has resumed all its former gayety and a little beside.
Connected with Lafayette hall there are several splendid bowling alleys and here the oldest clubs of North Hudson, comprising some of her most solid citizens, have their headquarters. There is also a splendid large open room, which is used either for a dining room or a dancing pavilion, as occa- sion demands, and this is always open and busy nowadays.
Dibelka makes a specialty of his dinners, especially Sunday dinners. The cooking is of the wholesome German style so greatly in demand in this sec- tion, and the food served is of the best the market affords. The consequence is that this branch of his business has become well known to good livers throughout the entire county.
Mr. Dibelka makes it a point to have good entertainment as well as good eating at his place. Such music as that furnished by the Ritz-Carlton or- chestra of the steamship Vaterland and other equally as noted musical organizations are often found at this resort. It is an international hall. Ger- mans, French, Italians and English mingling in profusion. All are genial souls and despite the variety of nationalities there is never any discord.
Albert C. Eppinger
A LBERT C. EPPINGER, bottler of beer at 211 Franklin street, Union Hill. has built up a patronage in this line of business which it is hard to find duplicated in the whole of the northern part of the county. He makes a specialty of bottling for the family trade, and the brands he handles are among the best known. lle sells direct to the families and at the lowest prices compatible with good beers and good service.
It is this service upon which he prides himself. When beer is ordered from him, the person who orders it is sure of having it delivered when he wants it. In all the time Mr. Eppinger has been in the business he has yet to receive a complaint of any order given him or sent to his works being delaved.
With good beer and good service his trade has grown to such propor- tions that he is thinking seriously of enlarging the bottling capacity of his plant. It will have to be done in the near future if the present outlook con- tinues.
113
Fred. Hagens
RED HAGANS, who conducts the Germania Schuetzen Park in North Bergen, which is without question the busiest and largest amusement resort in Hudson County, is a man peculiarly fitted for the manage- ment of so enormous an enterprise. He has been in the amusement business for many years past. At one time he conducted Odd Fellows' hall in Ho- boken and the old Central hall, since razed for the march of progress on Central avenue, Jersey City, was also once under his direction.
In all the years he has been before the public as a caterer to amusement lovers, he has retained the favor of a large and growing number of friends. This has been made possible through the liberality with which he treats the people who come to him. This liberality has been known to overstep the bonds of good business at times, but of late years Hagans has managed his affairs a little closer than formerly, at the same time giving his patrons all the leeway that he can compatible with good business principles.
Schuetzen Park, which he manages, is the property of the Plattdeutsch Volksfest Verein, the organization which annually gives the four days' affair for charity and the maintenance of the Fritz Reuter Altenheim, has become one of the most famous amusement resorts in the metropolitan section under the management of Mr. Hagens. There are two big dancing halls, a large number of splendid bowling alleys, three enormous pavilions, a splendid system of rifle ranges, no end of amusements, etc., etc. Then there is the magnificent old castle, which is now conducted as a place of refreshment. This is a famous show place, and has been for many years. The old castle hall is hung with coats of arms, battle axes, etc., and presents all the charac- teristics of a baronial castle in feudal times. Of course, it is fitted up with modern conveniences, but these have been so hidden that the character of the place still remains medieval. A visit to the castle is well worth while to the person who revels in feudal history, and cannot fail to be interesting to one who views it for the first time.
Charles Dirtz
HARLES Dietz, florist, with hot houses at 4063 Boulevard North Bergen, is among the best known florists in all North Hudson. He has long been recognized as one of the chief growers of flowers and potted plants in this section, and his annual trade is one of which any horti- culturist could well feel proud.
Mr. Dietz has a natural love for his work as a florist. His is a business where care and pains show the best results, and it is through these qualities that he has been enabled to make for himself a name in the horticultural world. In all the big flower marts of the metropolis his name and his flowers are so well known that when they come from him they are accepted without a question.
While Mr. Dietz is a horticulturist with a love for the flowers and potted plants which he raises, he is also a splendid business man. He looks after the office details as well as the growth of flowers in his business. He is one of the solid. substantial men of the county. Withal he is jolly and full of fun, and outside of business hours is a favorite in social circles of his acquaintance.
114
GF Carpenter
In the Mediral Field
J N the medical field Hudson County has advanced as rapidly as in other branches of the arts and sciences. For many years past her medical men have been greatly admired, their services greatly demanded and their diagnoses and opinions greatly respected by their fellow practitioners in other municipalities. In earlier times were the Hornblowers, three gen- erations of whom are still living, whose fame as experts in the medical field has spread far and wide. In these days many of her physicians have acquired lame in the medical world, in surgery and in natural and drugless healing as well.
There are numerous public, semi-public and private hospitals, all fully equipped for operations and treatment of diseases. Jersey City's new city institution, Christ Hospital and St. Francis' Hospital are well known for their good work. In Hoboken, St. Mary's Hospital is regarded as a model of its kind, while the North Hudson Hospital, with its recent new addition, is now regarded as among the best in this section. Throughout the county are numerous private hospitals, all conducted on a high plane of excellence. At Snake Hill, or Laurel Hill as it is now known, are an isolation hospital for contagious diseases and a hospital for the insane, which is regarded as the finest in the State, and second to none in the country.
Hudson County is also the home of several well known surgeons. These include such men as Dr. Gordon K. Dickinson, who is nationally known for his skill with the knife, and Dr. Joseph Manuel Rector, whose remarkable operation resulting in the cure of a girl whose spine was so badly broken that her recovery was dispaired of, made him famous in surgical circles.
The newer cults of drugless healers, naturopaths, chiropractors and os- teopaths are also quite numerous in all the municipalities of the county. Re- markable instances of cures they have performed are becoming more and more widely known.
115
Dr. 6. Louis Nichols
R. G. Louis Nichols, one of the leading phy- sicians of Hudson County, comes of a family that has been distinguished for generations in the medical profession. llis father, Dr. Frank Nichols. now eighty- one years of age and living in retirement since 1902 at Man- hattan Beach,
California. ranked high among the phy- sicians of New Jersey in his day. Ile was an incorpo- rator and charter member of the State Homeopathie Medi- cal Society, organized in 1867, and was later president of the society. Ile was also a member of the New Jersey Medical Society, an exclui- sive organization of sixteen physicians which existed over thirty years ago. Before he studied medicine he was prin- cipal of the Reading Institute, Reading, Pa. He was born at Sturbridge, Mass., and was a graduate of the Hahne- mann Medical College of Philadelphia, at that time known as the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania. He practiced in Grafton, Mass., and Somerville, N. J., before locating in Hoboken in 1861. In Hoboken he took a prominent part in public affairs, being vice-president of the Hoboken Bank for Savings until he took up his residence in California, and for over twenty years deacon and treasurer of the First Baptist Church.
Dr. G. Louis Nichols, the subject of this sketch, was born in Hoboken September 21, 1871. He attended Martha Institute and the public schools of the city until his sixteenth year, when he entered the Collins Street Clas- sical School at Hartford, Conn., conducted by Dr. Reed. In 1889 he entered Colgate College, Hamilton, N. Y .. of which his older brother, the late Dr. Harry F. Nichols was a graduate, and studied there for a year. at the end of which time he began his medical studies at the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital. Graduating in 1893, he went to Chicago to take a special course in surgery under Professor Pratt, after which he was appointed house surgeon of Grace Hospital. New Haven, Conn., and visiting surgeon of the New Haven Industrial Home. In 1894 he located at Stafford Springs, Tolland County, Conn., opening a practice that quickly became a large and lucrative one. While there he was a member of the Tolland County Homeopathic Medical Society and of the Massachusetts Southern Medical Society.
The death of his brother. Dr. Harry Nichols, in March, 1902, decided the father, Dr. Frank Nichols, with whom he had been associated since 1887. to retire from professional work, and Dr. Louis Nichols then gave up his practice in Connecticut to assume charge of the one in Hoboken. Thus the name of Nichols has been associated with the medical profession for
110
over a half century in the Mile-Square City, and for over forty years it has remained over the door of the old family home at 723 Washington Street. the present residence of the subject of this sketch.
Dr. Nichols is a member of the following organizations: Massachusetts Southeast Medical Society, Connecticut State Medical Society, American Institute of Homeopathy : Sons of the American Revolution. Euclid Lodge of Masons. A. F. and A. M. 136, Hoboken. St. John's Commandery, No. Il. K. T., Willimantic, Conn. Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Hartford. Conn., Connecticut Sovereign Consistory. S. P. R. S., Hartford, Conn., Hud- son Cavalry Troop, Hoboken B. P. O. E. No. 74. and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was an incorporator and is a director of the Munro & Mussy Pen Co., of Newark, N. J. He is unmarried.
Dr. Walter E. Nichols, a younger brother, a graduate of the Leland Stanford University of California, has a lucrative practice at Pasadena. Cal., where he is associated with Dr. Bleeker. Mlle married Miss Ettella Bethel of Henderson. Ky .. also a graduate of Leland Stanford. They have two daughters.
Dr. Harry F. Nichols was a graduate of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital Class of '87. He married Miss Lena Grace Foster of Hamilton, N. Y .. who survives him. Another brother, Frank Bar- ton Nichols, a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, died July 19. 1888.
Dr. Nichols' mother was Mary A. Barton. a daughter of Jedediah Barton of Worcester, Mass., and a second cousin of Clara Barton of Red Cross fame. The love for the medical profession is a double inheritance of the son, a maternal ancestor. Ebenezer Pierce, who fought in the Revolution. having been an M. D., while a maternal uncle. Jedediah Marcus Barton. is a practicing physician of Worcester. Mass., and a cousin, William H. Marcy. of Buffalo. His father's brother. Dr. George Nichols, of Brooklyn, and three of his sons, add to the list on that side of the family.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.