New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 171

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1262

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

F. TALBERT, President of the Continental Wirebound Box Company, Inc., one of the large industrial plants of Houston, is one of the more recent recruits to the business world here. The Continental Wirebound Box Com- pany was incorporated at Houston in September, 1924, and began operation on the first of January, 1925, taking over the Houston plant of the General Box Company. This plant is located at 2324 Maury Street, and is housed in a modern manufacturing building with fifty thousand square feet of floor space. The plant equipment is very complete and modern and facilities for the manufacture of boxes in any quantity are available. From thirty to thirty-five operatives are employed in the plant. As the name indicates the corporation manufactures wirebound boxes, crates and egg cases, supplying a trade territory including all the district west of the Mississippi River. Officers of the corporation other than Mr. Talbert are: A. H. Talbert, secretary and treasurer.

S. F. Talbert attended the public schools of Louisiana, and later Centenary College, afterward taking accounting and commercial law courses at Soule's Business College. He then began in the box manufacturing business, in which he has since engaged, with the exception of the period from December, 1917, to February, 1919, during which time he served in the United States Navy.

S. WEBSTER has been a resident of Hous- ton for the past decade and prior to enter- ing the real estate business, was for sev- eral years chief special agent of the South- ern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Webster is the owner and manager of the Webster Realty Company, with of- fices at 427 Mason Building, and is engaged in a general brokerage and real estate business. He builds and sells homes in practically all parts of the city, to suit a prospective client, and employs an architect who has charge of the building department. He also contracts and constructs buildings of all kinds for others as well as for himself.

Mr. Webster was born in North Carolina in 1882. His father, J. T. Webster, a native of North Caro- lina, was well known in the business circles of that state. His mother was a Jourdan, and came to North Carolina as a child. She was a member of an old French family, but born in America. Her father, Mr. Jourdan, was engaged in the jewelry business all his business life, and he is still living in North Caro- lina. Mr. Webster's early education was obtained in the public schools of North Carolina, and later he was a student of the Alexander Hamilton Institute. After leaving school, Mr. Webster's first work was with a railroad in Washington, D. C., and he later came with the Southern Pacific Railroad in Louis- iana, where he remained on contract for a period of six months, when he was promoted to other posi- tions and remained with the Southern Pacific in New Orleans for twelve years, and came to Houston from that city. Thinking he might do better in North Carolina, he at one time went back to the state of his nativity, but was not satisfied with the condi- ions, as they did not in any way compare with Texas, and in his hurry to again reach the Lone Star State, bought a Hudson car, so as to return as quickly as possible. Mr. Webster came to Houston in 1913, where he was employed by the Southern Pacific Rail-

road as chief special agent, doing investigation work on the railroad lines, and also on the steamship lines. The territory from New York to El Paso, Texas, was covered by Mr. Webster in carrying out his duties as special agent, and resigned this position in order to enter his present business, in which he has met with success, having as a valuable asset a host of friends here whom he had made during the period when he was connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Mr. Webster was married in Spartanburg, South Carolina, December 30th, 1908, to Miss Nina Mor- gan, a daughter of H. E. Morgan, well known in the state of North Carolina, where for fifteen years he had served as a member of the State Legislature. They have one child, Jerome Webster. Mr. and Mrs. Webster reside at the corner of Caroline and Wentworth Streets. Mr. Webster is a member of the A. F. and A. M. with membership in Blue Lodge No. 469 of North Carolina, a member of the Scottish Rite body of that order to the thirtieth degree at Galveston, and eighteenth at Houston, and is a mem- ber of Arabia Temple Shrine of Houston. He is also a member of the Houston Chamber of Commerce and the Houston Real Estate Board. Mr. Webster is interested in all matters having to do with the civic improvement of Houston, and is optimistic as to the future of his adopted city.

AX WESTHEIMER, pioneer insurance man of Houston, has been active in the insur- ance business since 1907. He started his insurance career as solicitor, but severed this connection after several months. In June, 1907, he contracted with the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, and has been connected with this company continuously. After handling his fire insurance business through another office for almost ten years, he started the Westheimer Insurance Agency for the handling of fire and casualty lines on January 1st, 1917. Upon the death of Mr. Jacob Frankel, general agent of the Pacific Mutual, Mr. West- heimer took charge of the Houston office of that company, his appointment taking effect May 28th, 1923. In addition to the duties as general agent of the Pacific Mutual, Mr. Westheimer is also active as the manager of the Westheimer Insurance Agency. Both firms are located at Suite 201, Zind- ler Building and are in position to handle any line of insurance that is written.

Max Westheimer was born in the state of Baden, Germany, February 9th, 1881. He attended the pub- lic school of the small village where he was born, until he was fourteen years old. In 1896, at the age of fifteen, he emigrated to America, settling in New York. During his five years stay in that city, he did various kinds of work and finished his education by attending night school, taking high school sub- jects the last three years. In 1901 he came to Hous- ton and was employed in different capacities, until he joined the United States Navy, February 25th, 1903. During the period spent in the Navy, he vis- ited the most important ports of both coasts of North and South America. He went as far east as Port Said, Egypt, and as far west as Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. He was discharged from the U. S. Mayflower at Washington, D. C. on March 4th, 1907. After taking an extended trip, he re- turned to Houston, where he has since made his home.

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Mr. Westheimer was married at Houston on June 2nd. 1912. to Miss Tennie Charney. They reside at 4018 Yoakum Boulevard. Besides being identified with the insurance business, Mr. Westheimer is connected with several other enterprises, one of which, the Commercial Investment Company, he serves in the capacity of secretary. He is a mem- ber of the I. O. B. B., Temple Beth Israel and sev- eral insurance associations, in all of which he takes a keen interest.

LITOWICH is well known in the business and financial circles of Houston, where prior to entering the cotton business, he was for eight years one of the leading gro- cery merchants of the city. Mr. Litowich is Pres- ident of the Litowich Brothers, Inc., who are en- gaged in buying and selling and reginning of cot- ton, with plant located at Cline and Kansas Streets. This company was organized in 1920, with a capital stock of $100,000.00, and is one of the largest and best equipped reginning concerns of Houston. Lito- wich Brothers, Inc., buy low grade cotton, samples, waste from floors of compresses and from other sources and this is reginned and made into a better grade through the reginning process. They are also cotton merchants and the major portion of their cotton business consists of buying and selling spot cotton in Texas, but they export some also to dif- ferent sections of the world where cotton is used, the greater part of which goes to Germany, where they also maintain a cotton office. They have an- other domestic office located at Greenville, South Carolina, and this office, with the Houston office, handle about twenty thousand bales of cotton each year, and their business is growing rapidly. A. Litowich is Secretary and Treasurer of the company. The gin and storage plant of this firm occupies two city blocks of ground, and their gin has a daily capacity of thirty bales of reginned cotton, and they employ about fifty people at their plant, where the reginning and storing of cotton is done.

Mr. Litowich was born in Russian Poland on April 12, 1888. His father, L. Litowich, has resided in Russia all his life, where he is well and favorably known. His mother is also a native of Russia. The part of Poland in which Mr. Litowich was born is now included in the boundries of the Independent Republic of Lithuania, having been given its free- dom by the League of Nations. Mr. Litowich came to America in 1905 and settled in Houston, where for a period of eight years he was engaged in the retail grocery business and was successful in this line of endeavor. Later the firm of Litowich Bros., Inc., was organized, and they were engaged in buy- ing, selling and exporting of cotton, and in 1920 the firm for the reginning of cotton was organized in connection with their established cotton business, which since its organization has grown to large proportions.

Mr. Litowich is a member of the Houston Cotton Exchange and takes an active interest in this organi- zation, and also holds membership in the B. P. O. E. He makes his home at 1109 McGregor. Mr. Lito- wich has made many friends in Houston, and is popular in both the business and social circles of the city. He has made a close and intensive study of the reginning process of cotton, together with the other branches of this great industry, which has given him

an advantage in carrying his business on success- fully, and has given the patrons of his company much confidence in his ability, and is considered an authority on cotton by those who have business dealings with him.

AM LEWIS, member of the firm of Lewis & Bradburn Cotton Co., Cotton Exporters, 319 Sydnor, Houston, Texas, has devoted his business life to the cotton industry, and for more than twenty years has been an important fig- ure in the commercial circles of Houston. Mr. Lewis is also manager of the cotton department of R. M. Gordon and Company, Cotton Factors, Exporters and Merchants, located at Franklin and Travis Streets. He was chosen as the man best fitted for this posi- tion on account of having long ago won a reputa- tion of being a business expert and an authority on everything related to the buying and selling of cot- ton. Enormous shipments of cotton are sent abroad each year by these two firms, shipments leaving every important Southern port and are sent to every portion of the globe, where cotton is used. Most of this cotton is purchased from the planters them- selves and is sold direct to the spinners.

A native of Texas, Mr. Lewis was born at Bastrop April 4, 1862. His father, Sam Lewis (deceased) was for many years a prominent business man of the State and was well known in the business cir- cles. His mother was Miss Elizabeth Levy (now deceased) a native of the Lone Star State, and well known for her many acts of kindness and charity. His education was obtained in the public schools of various Texas cities.

When thirteen years of age, Mr. Lewis left school and started his business career in a general mer- chandise store, and when eighteen years of age en- gaged in the general merchandise business for him- self. In 1883 he entered the cotton business at Tay- lor, Texas, where he remained for twelve years, after which he removed to Yoakum, Texas, and for a pe- rid of ten years was engaged in the cotton business there. In 1902, Mr. Lewis came to Houston, where he has since remained, and has been unusually suc- cessful in his business. Since coming to Houston, Mr. Lewis has ever been optimistic as to the future of the city, which is evidenced by his extensive invest- ments here. It is because of exporters and shippers like Mr. Lewis that Texas farmers have an outlet immediate and far reaching for their chief prduct, and that Houston leads the Southwest markets in its output of the white fleece. Mr. Lewis was married at Round Rock, Texas, in 1881, to Miss Fannie Hur- zog, a member of a well known Texas family. They have two children, both of whom reside in Houston, Abe Lewis, with the cotton firm of Evans and Com- pany, and Johanna, now the wife of Sam Kaiser, well known in the business circles of Houston. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis reside at 1214 McGowen Avenue. Mr. Lewis is a member of the Houston Cotton Exchange and the Concordia Club. He is President of the Congregation of Beth Israel, and is an ardent church worker. Mr. Lewis has always been prominently identified with all movements tending to promote the growth, importance and advancement of Houston, and has an abiding faith in the future of this city, and believes that its wonderful opportunities will cause it to become, within a few years, the leading city of the Southwest.

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NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

C. ALEXANDER. owner of the Alexander Wall Paper Company has spent his entire business life in this industry, and is well known in the business circles of Houston and as an executive. Mr. Alexander came to Houston in 1898 and established this store, located at 1122 Capitol Avenue, on November 1st, 1920, and is a very high class store, where he carries a full and complete line of wall paper, pains, varnishes and supplies. He employs three sales people and does a large volume of business, which is growing each month.

A native Texan, Mr. Alexander was born at Paige in 1882. His father, Sam Alexander, (now de- ceased), a native of Europe, came to the United States and Texas as a boy and was reared to man- hood in La Grange. Later, he became one of the leading merchants of San Joaquin Valley in Cali- fornia. He resided in Paige for a number of years, where he conducted a general merchandise store. His mother was Miss Annie Cohen, who resided for many years in Texas until 1923, when she removed to Hartford, Connecticut. His education was ob- tained in the public schools of Fresno, California, and after finishing school there he came to Houston and began work in paint and wall paper establish- ments, and was for many years associated with the Randolph stores and later went with the Bradford Brown Company, where he was Secretary and Treas- urer and one of the organizers of this Company. Mr. Alexander continued with the Bradford Brown Company until he entered business for himself in 1920.

Mr. Alexander was married in Houston October 12th, 1904, to Miss Bruce Phillips, a native of the Lone Star State, and a member of a well known family. They have two chiddren, Elenora and J. C. Alexander, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander reside at 1504 Mckinney Avenue. Mr. Alexander is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, with membership in Temple Lodge No. 4 of Houston and has attained to the 18th degree in the Scottish Rite body of this order. Mr. Alexander, during his residence in Hous- ton of more than a quarter of a century, has seen many changes take place in the merging of the town of Houston into the busy, thriving city of today, and he believes that the future of this city is one of unlimited possibilities for continued growth, progress and advancement along all lines. Mr. Alex- ander's success in business, like many others, is due to his close attention to details, which are never too small to receive his personal attention.

M. GOULD, for two decades a factor in commercial laundry operation, came to Houston in 1921 and has since been actively engaged in this industry. Mr. Gould is President and Manager of Gould's Wet Wash Laun- dry, Incorporated, which he established in May, 1921, and incorporated the twenty-first day of February, 1923. Mr. Gould operates an exclusively family laundry, specializing in the wet wash, and this is the largest laundry of its kind in Texas. The plant has made rapid progress since its establishment, and now does a large volume of business daily, operating six delivery cars, and employing twenty-six opera- tives. Mr. Gould established his laundry on the theory that more housewives would appreciate this economical method of handling the family wash, and consequently send the wash to the laundry, that

would be unwilling to pay the larger amount for the completely finished bundle. The success with which Gould's Wet Wash has met is adequate proof of the soundness of this theory. The plant is located at 2714 Canal Street, at the corner of Rice, and is modernly equipped with power machinery through- out. The plant uses the individual type of washers and centrifugal extractors, returning the bundles to the customers while damp. The officers of the Gould Wet Wash are W. M. Gould, President, E. E. Gould, Vice-President, but not active, W. A. Gould, Secretary and Treasurer.

Mr. Gould was born at St. Cloud, Minnesota, the twenty-sixth of July, 1888, son of W. A. Gould, a native of Michigan, later removing to Minnesota, and now a resident of Houston, and Secretary and Treas- urer of Gould's Wet Wash. His mother, before her marriage, was Miss Ella Bingham. Mr. Gould was educated in the public schools of Minnesota, grad- uating from the high school at St. Cloud. After leaving school he went to Minneapolis, and was for two years with the Enterprise Laundry Company, and then for nine years with the Custom Laundry, also of Minneapolis. He went to Great Falls, Mon- tana, for one year, and then, on account of his health, to Houston for a short time. Leaving Hous- ton he went to Alvin, Texas, and opened a laundry there, which he operated five years, at which time he moved the plant to Freeport, and later to Hous- ton, when he concentrated his attention on the wet wash.

Mr. Gould was married at Minneapolis, Minnesota, the sixteenth of May, 1912, to Miss Effie Dunston, a native of Chicago. They have three children, Helen, Robert and Laura, and make their home in Houston, at 4519 Rusk Avenue. Mr. Gould is a Mason, Blue Lodge at Alvin, No. 762.

BUTERA, for two decades has been con- nected with the business life of Houston, and has recently entered the bottling busi- ness, establishing one of the most modern bottling plants in this city, and taking a progressive interest in industrial affairs. Mr. Butera is Vice- President of Eagle Bottling Works, Incorporated, a plant established and incorporated in 1921. This plant is one of the most complete and sanitary bot- tling works in Houston, and in selecting equipment the preference was given to the most modern and approved equipment, that would increase the sani- tary condition under which drinks would be bot- tled, and make the plant modern in every respect. The Eagle Bottling Works manufactures and bot- tles soda water of all kinds, placing their product on the market under the trade name of Eagle Brand Soda Water, and has a trade territory that extends in a radius of fifty miles around Houston. The capacity of the plant is thirteen hundred cases daily, and the output is delivered in eight large trucks. The plant is housed in a modern, two-story structure, fifty by eighty feet square, and occupies the thirty- one hundred block on Mckinney. A force of fifteen employees work in the plant. The other officers of the Eagle Bottling Works, Incorporated, are P. C. Del Barto, President, and who does not take an ac- tive part in the business; Joe S. Meyer, Vice-Presi- dent, also inactive, and Miss V. Cummin, the Secre- tary.

Mr. Butera is a native of Italy, in which country he was born in 1885, and where he spent his youth.

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He came to the United States as a young man of seventeen, landing in New York, where he remained only a short time prior to coming to New Orleans. He was there one year, coming to Houston in 1902, where he began in the retail grocery business, in a very small way. The passing of the years brought success to the young merchant, and his business grew steadily larger. In 1921 he sold his grocery business and organized the bottling works, of which he was the active manager until the organization was completed and successfully doing business. At this time Mr. Butera is devoting his personal at- tention to his brokerage business, selling a line of confectionery merchandise.

Mr. Butera was married at Houston, in 1917, to Miss Mary Tanborralo, a resident of this city, and the daughter of Frank Tanborralo. Mr. and Mrs. Butera have one son, Joe. Mr. Butera belongs to several fraternal orders, including the Knights of Pythias, the Dokeys and the Eagles. He has found Houston a city with business opportunities, as well as a fine residence city, and has taken a real interest in its development. Associated with his name in the business world is an integrity that has been a large factor in his success, and Mr. Butera has many friends among his business associates.

SAAC FREEDMAN has for more than a score of years been a factor in the business circles of Houston where with Mr. Louis B. Getz, as a partner, owns and operates the Star Furniture Company located at 802 Milam Street. Mr. Freedman came to Houston in 1903, and was engaged in the general mercantile business until established his present business in 1916. The Star Furniture Company was opened in 1916 at 820-22 Travis Street, with a floor space of forty feet by eighty feet, but on account of the great increase in business and the consequent need for larger quarters, the store was moved in 1922 to the splendid building which they now occupy. They have in the new quarters a floor space of one hundred feet by seven- ty-five feet and employ ten experienced people in their establishment. The Star Furniture Company carries a full and complete line of furniture and house furnishings of all kinds, from the magnificent suites of period furniture to the moderate priced furniture to suit people of small means. They also have a complete rug and drapery department, where all classes may be suited, and where draperies are made to order if desired by their customers.

Mr. Freedman was born in Europe in 1877, and attended the schools of Europe until coming to America and New York City when sixteen years of age, and he remained in New York for ten years. Mr. Freedman then began the travel and traveled to every portion of the United States, not remaining long in any one place until he came to Houston in 1903, where he first engaged in the general mer- cantile business on Mckinney Avenue. He remained in this business until 1916 when he engaged in the furniture business, at first alone, and in 1921 Mr. Getz entered the business with him as a partner, and they have met with unusual success and their business is growing.

Mr. Freedman is owner of a considerable amount of real estate, both business and residence. He believes in Houston so strongly that he would not part with any of it for twice the amount he paid for it.

Mr. Freedman was married in New York City in 1897 to Miss Mary Friedburg, a member of a well known family of New York. They have one daugh- ter-Flora, now the wife of Ben Horwich of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Freedman reside at 2905 Albany Avenue. In fraternal and social organizations, Mr. Freedman holds membership in the Woodmen of the World and the Concordia Club. He is a member of Temple Emanuel and all of the Jewish organiza- tions of the city. Mr. Freedman is active in all pro- jects having to do with the civic improvement, ad- vancement and progress of Houston, and believes that this city in a few years will become the leading city of the Southwest.

AMUEL J. SAN ANGELO, packer and wholesale meat dealer, has been engaged in business in Houston for the past decade, having established his present business here in 1913. Mr. San Angelo is the sole owner of the Texas Packing Company, located at 1119 Commerce Avenue and is especially well and favorably known to meat dealers and owners of high class butcher shops in the City of Houston and adjacent trade territory.

Coming to America in 1907, Mr. San Angelo was in Houston for a short time but after traveling over the country for a while located in Kansas City where he operated a grocery store and butcher shop suc- cessfully until 1911. In the latter year he returned to Houston because of the residence here of a number of his relatives and friends, and two years later es- tablished the Texas Packing Company, which has had a steadily increasing and successful business since the day of its opening. Mr. San Angelo buys only the most select live stock and has them killed under conditions most favorable for preserving the meats and as a result has built up a wonderful busi- ness in dressed beef, pork, mutton, lard and pro- visions. His establishment is especially equipped to handle the business, and there are twenty-five ex- pert employees in the various departments. He has his own delivery system, comprising four large motor trucks, and cold storage facilities are provided by the Houston Brewery Company, the company owning the property in which the Texas Packing Company is located.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 2, Part 171

Author: Davis, Ellis A. Publication date: 1926 Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?] Number of Pages: 1262

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1262