USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume III > Part 42
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On November 18, 1920, at Lansdale, Mr. Hacker married Clara D. Shellenberger, daughter of Leidy H. and Mary D. Shellenberger, the latter a well known citizen of Hatfield. Mr. and Mrs. Hacker are the parents of a son, Leighton C., Jr., and a daughter, Ruth M.
CHARLES BAUER, JR .- The son of a pioneer who came to this country from Germany in the notable tide of emigration that set towards these shores from that country in the years that followed the political events of 1848, Charles Bauer, Jr., was born at Norristown, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1884. His ancestors were Bavarians, and landed proprietors at Württemburg in the old country, and his father, Charles Bauer, Sr., was born in that city in 1848. Emigrating to America in 1866 when he was a lad of eighteen, Mr. Bauer's father settled at Norristown, leasing the twenty-acre tract upon which the Adam Scheidt Brewery Company now stands. A practical dairyman, with an instinctive knowledge of the best dairy methods and the best cattle, he established himself as a dairy- man, having his own route for his milk in Norristown and Bridgeport. He was extremely successful in this enterprise and, in a day of large dairy farms, demonstrated anew the theory of increased production by means of intensive improvements as a scientific dairyman. He was not content to remain a dairyman, however, and his restless energy soon found an outlet in business. Having learned the carpenter's trade in the old country and having served as millwright for Deans & Mitchell of Norristown, and later for the Bolten Lumber Company, and still later the Grater Bodey Company, he decided to establish himself as a con- tractor and builder. He became a dominating factor in the business life of Norristown, and many of the best structures in the city were built under his direction. Although he has retired from active participation in business affairs and is now living at ease in his residence at No. 658 Astor street, in the city of Norristown, the elder Mr. Bauer is still keenly interested in municipal affairs and is ever on the alert to promote measures designed to advance the welfare and prosperity of the com- munity, of which he has been for so many years a vigorous and pro- gressive member. Charles Bauer, Sr., has been twice married, both marriages taking place in the United States. His first wife, Rebecca Bauer, was the mother of four children: Emma, who married Westly Diehl, a locksmith, and who is now a resident of Philadelphia; Jacob,
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who is a butcher, and now a resident of Philadelphia; and John and Charles Bauer, both of whom died in infancy. After the death of his first wife Charles Bauer, Sr., married a widow, Barbara (Albert) Eaton, who died in 1909, age fifty-nine years, having been born in Germany in 1850. The children of the second marriage are Clara E., who resides with her parents at Norristown; John George, who is a carpenter, employed by Frank Hebner, of Norristown, and is himself a resident of Norristown; Charles, Jr., of whom further; and Bessie Barbara, who resides with her parents at Norristown. The daughters are all shirt- makers, which goes to show that the Bauers are all the proud possessors of trades.
Charles Bauer, Jr., received his education in the public schools of Norristown and East Norriton township. His boyhood was spent on his father's farm, and beyond taking a hand in some of the minor occu- pations about the place, he did no work until he was fourteen years of age, when he entered the employ of Deans & Mitchell to learn the spin- ning yarn business. He remained here a short time and then entered Gresh's cigar factory as a salaried worker. He remained in this estab- lishment from 1898 to 1900 and then, notwithstanding the fact that he had become a very skillful operator and a good judge of all the raw materials used in the plant and that his ultimate promotion to a position of great responsibility was assured, Mr. Bauer became convinced that his abilities were more suitable for the work of handling machinery. Of an extremely mechanical and inventive turn of mind, and ardently desir- ing a closer connection with the complicated power apparatus upon which the success of modern industry depends, he determined to study practi- cal mechanical engineering and to acquire the trade of a machinist and, in accordance with this decision, he joined W. H. Rittenhouse, of Norris- town, and spent four years with him, becoming, under his expert direc- tion, a skilled machinist. In 1904 he entered the Reading Screw Works at Norristown and spent six months in the service of this house as a master machinist. He left the Reading Screw Works in order to accept a position with the Wildman Manufacturing Company of Norristown. This position proved very agreeable and the relations between Mr. Bauer and his employers were particularly cordial and friendly. Mr. Bauer entered Wildman's in 1905, the year he became of age, and brought a fund of undiminished energy and a great deal of enthusiasm to his tasks. His attitude towards his work and his superior ability, especially in the matter of making delicate adjustments without creating losses by undue delay, was greatly appreciated. His general influence on the life of the shop was likewise a factor in his success, being invariably exerted in favor of harmony and goodfellowship throughout the works. He gave his best services to the Wildman Manufacturing Company for a period of five years, and left them in 1910, not because he wished to enter the service of any other firm, but because he wished to establish himself as the proprietor and owner of an independent business, a venture for which his character and demonstrated ability well fitted him. At that
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time there were only two public garages in Norristown, and Mr. Bauer, foreseeing the rapid expansion of vehicular motor traffic and the need that would arise for increased garage facilities on the main traveled roads of the country, decided to establish a general service station and auto- mobile repair shop. His first location was at the corner of Marshall and Chain streets, in Norristown, but in 1912 he moved his business to East Norriton, where he now owns a one-acre plot, with improvements, consisting of two garage buildings, each two stories high, with a floor space of thirty-five hundred square feet each, and a small store for the sale or motor supplies and accessories. Mr. Bauer also sells cigars and candies in his store, and the excellence of these goods is greatly appre- ciated by passing motorists. In addition to his other activities, Mr. Bauer is an independent manufacturer of roller skates. He began this branch enterprise of his business in a small way during his employment as a machinist at the Reading Screw Works and has carried it on as a side line ever since. He manufactures skates of a very superior quality, and finds a ready market for his entire output, which by now reaches a very substantial yearly total. A young man of great constructive energy and vision, possessing superlative skill and a fine business record, Mr. Bauer well deserves the success that has come to him. He is an outstanding example of a man who succeeds by adjusting himself to his environment and by giving his own home locality the best there is in him. In the business and commercial circles of Montgomery county he is held in high esteem and he has never failed to meet the obligations of success by taking an interest in local affairs and endeavoring, to the best of his ability, to preserve the business and social harmony which is a marked feature of Montgomery county life.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Bauer keeps himself well informed in regard to the major political questions of the hour. During the World War he invested heavily in Liberty bonds. He is a member of the East Norriton School Board and acts as chief of the East Norriton Fire Company. He is also a contributing member of Norristown Engine Company No. I, and likewise a contributing member of Montgomery Engine Company No. I. He is a member of the State Firemen's Asso- ciation, and also of the Montgomery County Firemen's Association.
A great believer in the conservation of natural resources, Mr. Bauer is a member of the Montgomery Fish and Game Association, and lends his support to all legal measures calculated to increase the diminishing of wild life in Pennsylvania. The fact that he is a keen sportsman and that hunting and fishing are his favorite forms of recreation does not conflict with his interest in the conservation of game and fish, since it is well understood that all true sportsmen believe in the protection of wild life and have done a . great deal through their organizations to educate the general public in regard to the necessity for observing closed seasons and enforcing the law against offenders.
In religious faith Mr. Bauer is a member of Grace Lutheran Church, at Norristown, and takes the greatest interest in all the religious and
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humanitarian activities of the parish. He is a Mason, and belongs to Norristown Lodge, No. 620, of the Free and Accepted Masons; Norris- town Chapter ; Philadelphia Consistory ; Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, Norristown Forest, No. 31. He also holds membership in the Loyal Order of Moose, belonging to Lodge No. 513 of that order at Norristown.
On September 6, 1911, Mr. Bauer married, at Norristown, Vina B. Hunsicker, only daughter of Nari and Sarah (Bergey) Hunsicker, of Skippack, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Bauer's mother died some years ago, and her father married a second time. Mr. and Mrs. Bauer have three children: Eleanor H., John G., and Charles N.
HARVEY H. BLANK-In various branches of commercial and industrial activity Mr. Blank has become prominent in Montgomery county and vicinity, and is widely known as one of the successful and enterprising men of Pennsburg. He is a son of William and Annie (Hunsecker) Blank, who were the parents of nine children: Elizabeth ; Harry; William; Oliver; Abraham; Harvey H., of further mention; Gurney ; Minnie ; and Charles.
Harvey H. Blank was born at Souderton, Pennsylvania, July 27, 1877. Acquiring his education in the local schools, he worked on the farm until the age of fifteen years, after which he learned the cigar making trade. Working at this trade for some eighteen years, Mr. Blank then invested his savings in business activities, including the manufacture of ice cream, with main office at Souderton, which business he discontinued in 1908. For the following two years he conducted a creamery at Mainland. In 1910 he returned to Souderton and erected a block of houses, and in 1912 returned to the creamery business and continued along that line until 1917. He then entered the furniture business at East Greenville, which he sold out in 1921. In these varied lines of endeavor Mr. Blank has been successful, his executive ability and genius for organization and administration keeping each separate interest moving and steadily progressing. On December 3, 1921, he established, in association with Warren Moyer, what is called the most up-to-date motor transportation service in Montgomery county. They run five buses from Pennsburg through Allentown, to Boyerstown, each trip averaging sixty miles. This enterprise is known as the Perkiomen Valley Bus Company, and meets a long felt need of the people of this section, who patronize it accord- ingly. With these many interests commanding his attention, Mr. Blank has never been at liberty to accept public responsibility, but keeps in touch with the general progress. He is a member of the Lutheran church of Souderton, and served on the building committee through which the new edifice came into existence.
Mr. Blank married, in Souderton, November 13, 1897, Eleanor Reeder, daughter of Levy and Amy (Ott) Reeder. Mr. and Mrs. Blank have six children : Leroy, Stewart, Emma, Levy, Randall, and Warren.
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HORACE H. SMITH-Active since boyhood in the planing mill of which he is now sole owner, Mr. Smith has placed himself among the leaders in the construction world of Montgomery county, both in his immediate field and in the production of blue prints for the use of contractors, his work in this line being that of the expert. Mr. Smith's family has long been identified with the progress of this county, and his father, Henry J. Smith, was a pioneer in Montgomery county in two branches of effort, founding the first lumber business in Pennsburg, and also achieving wide renown as a weaver. In the latter connection he became famous as the originator of the autograph blanket. Henry J. Smith was a man of deep public spirit, and for thirty-three years served as justice of the peace of Pennsburg. He died April 19, 1909, mourned by all who knew him, for his high character and friendliness towards all. He married Anna Hebner, and they were the parents of two children: Kate and Horace H., of whom further.
Horace H. Smith was born in Pennsburg, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, December 22, 1878. His early education was acquired in the local public schools, and he completed his studies at Perkiomen Seminary. Beginning life as shaving boy in the planing mill in which his father was heavily interested, the young man progressed rapidly in his endeavors, and eventually became the owner of this mill and now, also, has a branch mill in Pennsburg. Coming constantly in touch with the construction activities of the community, through the nature of his business, Mr. Smith came to be interested in the making of blue prints. So many con- tractors of his acquaintance having difficulty in obtaining good work in this field, Mr. Smith soon made it a branch of his regular business, and has for years been considered one of the foremost experts in this part of the State. He does this work to a certain degree for the general trade, but almost wholly for construction work. Counted among the widely successful men of the community, Mr. Smith was long ago brought forward into the public service. He has now been treasurer of the borough of Pottstown for thirteen years, and has also for years been justice of the peace. Broadly interested in all phases of public advance, he is a charter member of the volunteer fire company and long its finan- cial secretary. Fraternally Mr. Smith holds membership in Perkiomen Lodge, No. 595, Free and Accepted Masons; and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 449, in which latter order he has been through all chairs. His religious affiliation is with St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Mr. Smith married (first) May 3, 1906, Mary Truban, daughter of Howard Truban, of Pennsburg, who died, leaving one daughter, Marian, born in 1908. Mr. Smith married (second) March 20, 1915, Elizabeth Hunsicker, daughter of Daniel and Katie Hunsicker.
WILLIAM B. JOHNSON-In the town of Pennsburg, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, Mr. Johnson has established a thriving business, and is known by everyone in the community in which he lives as a highly esteemed business man. He is the son of Morris and Elizabeth
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(Bahrl) Johnson, and has four brothers: Edwin, Nicholas, Warren and Morris. The father was engaged in farming, but is now retired.
William B. Johnson was born in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, April 29, 1878. He received his education in the public schools there. After he left school he went with H. J. Bower, of Boyertown, who conducted a business in harness making, to learn the trade, and spent the following three years with him. He then established a business of his own in the town and continued it for one year. Later he went to East Greenville, Pennsylvania, to work for Thomas Leh & Son, where he remained for seven years. He finally established himself in the harness business in Pennsburg, in 1916, and in 1921 added a full line of motorcycles. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of Pennsburg Lodge, No. 486, Woodmen of the World; and of the Harleysville Beneficial Society. He is a member of the Gossenhoppen Reformed church.
Mr. Johnson married Masie Biery in Pennsburg, May 21, 1902, who is the daughter of David and Elmira (Kulp) Biery. Two children were born of this marriage, Harold D., born May 21, 1905, and Charles Wil- liam, born August 30, 1908.
STELLA CATHERINE (UNGER) SNYDER-In the beautiful Perkiomen Valley, about fifteen miles north of Valley Forge, and about thirty-five miles northwest of Philadelphia, lies the borough of Schwenk- ville, a quaint, attractive little old-fashioned country town with a popu- lation of about five hundred people. It is a bright, prosperous little village, with two general stores, a drug store, several ice cream and refreshment parlors, a National bank, and three churches. As you swing round the gentle curve of the Perkiomen branch of the Reading railroad just before entering the town you may see on your right, across the Perkiomen river, the old mill and home of the late Samuel W. Pennypacker, the estate known since the Revolution as Pennypacker Mills, the place to which George Washington, with his shattered army, retreated after the battle of Germantown, and where he organized before going into winter quar- ters at Valley Forge. As you alight at the station at Schwenkville, and your attention is drawn to the beautiful wooded hill known as Spring Mountain, rising first gradually and then precipitously to a height of five hundred feet above the level of the river which curves round its base, you may see, if you look carefully along the west side of the hills, the roof of a large building surrounded by a grove of poplars. It is the roof of the Perkiomen Inn, and many who come into Schwenkville, weary of toil in the crowded cities, turn eager eyes toward that partic- ular spot in the beautiful countryside. To them it means rest, recrea- tion, good food, attractive surroundings, out-of-door sports, and, in short, all that makes a vacation worth while. It is a large four-story frame building with a two-story annex, containing, in all, sixty-six rooms, besides bath and toilet rooms and private baths, equipped with all modern conveniences, and most skillfully and efficiently managed for
Charles Unger
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the comfort and pleasure of its guests by Stella Catherine Snyder, its owner and general manager.
Stella Catherine (Unger) Snyder was born in Sanatoga, Pennsyl- vania, January 5, 1897, daughter of William F. Unger, who was born in Württemberg, Germany, March 26, 1870, and came to America with his parents in 1876. Politically Mr. Unger gives his support to the prin- ciples and the candidates of the Democratic party, though he is not active in political affairs. He married, at Schwenkville, March 26, 1892, Kate Spaide, who was born at Norristown, August 1, 1864, and they are the parents of two children: Charles Spaide, formerly associated with his sister in the management of Perkiomen Inn, who died November 24, 1921; and Stella Catherine, the present proprietor and manager of the inn.
Stella Catherine (Unger) Snyder received her early education in the public schools of Schwenkville, and then entered Perkiomen School, from which she was graduated in 1916. She then became a student in West Chester Normal School, from which she was graduated in 1918. After teaching in Sanatoga for a period of two years, she, in association with her brother, Charles Spaide Unger, purchased of G. M. Carl, in 1919, the Perkiomen Inn, which they continued to operate jointly until the death of the brother. Since that time she has been owner and general manager of the establishment.
The Perkiomen Inn has the natural advantage of high and dry loca- tion, and the adjoining farm produces all kinds of fruits and vegetables, with which the table is abundantly supplied, as well as fresh milk, eggs, poultry, etc.
Mrs. Snyder is a member of Trappe Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, and her religious affiliation is with the Heidelberg Reformed Church of Schwenkville.
Charles S. Unger, brother of Stella C. (Unger) Snyder, was reared in the borough of Schwenkville, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He received his education in the local school and graduated in the Borough High School. He then taught school for several years, and graduated at Ursinus College. During his boyhood days he displayed ambitious tendencies that later on bore remarkable fruit. He, with Ray- mond Beltz, started the present Perkiomen Transit Company, which to-day is one of the most noted bus lines in the State. During the World War, he entered the service at Camp Meade. Owing to a certain physical disability he might have been discharged from the service, but, owing to his patriotism, he asked for a minor operation, which proved success- ful, so that he could be allowed to remain in the service. When volun- teers were asked for the Tank Service, he was there and undertook one of the most dangerous offices of the war. He was in action on the Somme Offensive, Canal Tunnel, Bony, LaSalle River, Brancourt, and Bois L'Eveque. He served in Company A, 310th Tank Corps, and he escaped unwounded, although his tank was blown up. He saw severe service at the front. After his discharge from the army, he lost no time in becom- ing again active in business and local affairs. He purchased the Perkio-
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men Inn, Schwenkville, Pennsylvania, one of the most noted summer hotels in Eastern Pennsylvania, and met with remarkable success. How- ever, his severe service began to tell on him and he died on November 24, 1921, at the age of twenty-seven years, two months and one day. He was a member of the Roy Leidy Post, No. 203, American Legion; War- ren Lodge, No. 310, Free and Accepted Masons ; Tall Cedars of Lebanon ; and was deacon of the Heidelberg Reformed Church, Schwenkville.
WILLIAM BROMER-After a considerable period of time devoted to a manufacturing interest, Mr. Bromer has more recently become identified with a banking institution, but at no time has he ceased to maintain an active part in civic affairs.
He is a son of Albert and Katharine (Shepherd) Bromer. The father was a native of Kehl, Germany, coming to this country and settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1852, and from 1864 to 1888 he managed a clothing manufacturing plant at Schwenkville, Pennsylvania, where he also aided in organizing a bank. Born September 1, 1837, he died in 1906. The mother, also born in Germany, came with her parents to Philadelphia at the age of two years. Albert and Katharine Bromer were the parents of eleven children: Elizabeth, wife of I. S. Schwenk, of Schwenkville; Susan, widow of Sam Weller, of Camden, New Jersey ; William, of whom further; Albert, pastor of a Reformed church in Philadelphia; Edward, a Reformed preacher at Lancaster; Frank, a Reformed preacher at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Jacob, owner of a garage at Schwenkville; Katharine, wife of Abner Hunsicker, of Eckert, Colorado; Minerva, wife of Jonathan A. Logan, of Toronto, Canada; Ralph, a physician in Philadelphia; Cordelia, wife of Frank Fell, of Mt. Clare, Pennsylvania.
William Bromer was born at Schwenkville, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 6, 1864. He began his education in the public schools of his native place, and later attended Perkiomen Seminary for one year, and the Philadelphia Commercial College for nine months. In 1881 he entered the clothing business with his father at Schwenkville, and upon the retirement of the latter continued the business alone until 1907 and then sold out. After disposing of his clothing factory he remained in retire- ment until 1917, and then began his present employment, October 4, 1917, as cashier of the bank in that town. He is a Republican in poli- tics, and was a member of the Borough Council from its incorporation until recently, when he resigned to devote his spare time to the school board, on which he was also serving. He is a director of the Schwenk- ville National Bank. He is president of the Cemetery Association of Reformed and Lutheran Churches of Schwenkville, others associated with him being J. B. Pennepacker, F. H. Beltz, treasurer, representing the Reformed church; F. S. Koons, secretary; F. K. Zpehs, vice-presi- dent; and Harry Whitman, of the Lutheran church. In the Reformed church in Schwenkville Mr. Bromer is an elder.
Mr. Bromer married, October 16, 1888, at Schwenkville, Pennsylvania,
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Mary Katharine Williard, born October 26, 1864, who has two brothers, Percival, of Trappe, Pennsylvania, and Chester, living in Philadelphia. Her parents are Philip Williard, who prepared for the ministry, but on account of throat trouble went into business with the Excelsior Coal Company at Shamokin, Pennsylvania, and Anna Elizabeth (Prizer) Williard. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bromer are as follows: Ruth, born July 10, 1892, wife of Raymond Beltz, of Schwenkville; Albert Williard, born September 30, 1895, a graduate of Yale University, 1920, and entered University of Pennsylvania the same year to become a physician ; Edward Harold, born October 3, 1899, studying electrical engineering at Cornell University with the class of 1924.
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