An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 177

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 177
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 177

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).

minded type of German Americans whose integrity, persistency and thrift are so noticeable and so val- uable a contribution to our national growth.

GEORGE MENZEL, of the well known Robe- Menzel Lumber Company, Granite Falls, one of the most progressive firms operating in the county, is not only active in the business life of the commun- ity in which he resides, but he is also among its real pioneers. He invaded the upper Pilchuck valley nearly two decades ago while it was the domain of the trapper, barely penetrated as yet by the daring homesteader or logger and with a zeal and a cour- age worthy of the rewards which they have brought has labored long and earnestly in the development of that rich region. Of German nativity and an- cestry he was born in Springe, March 11, 1866, the son of George and Lena (Dorman) Menzel. The elder Menzel was a railroad contractor and road- master and spent his entire life in the old country, his death occurring in 1829, after a long, useful ca- meer. Mrs. Menzel was born in 1839; she passed away in 1814. George Menzel attended the common schools of his native land, working out at night in order to do so, until he was fifteen years of age. He then was compelled to leave school entirely and so engaged as a farin hand in the neighborhood. In 1884, at the age of eighteen, he determined to seek a new home across the ocean and accordingly came to the United States, eventually reaching Minne- apolis with only two dollars in his pocket. His first employment here was on Minnesota farms, though in 1885 he acquired 160 acres and commenced its cultivation, at the same time assisting in supporting himself by working on railroad construction work. After two years thus spent he worked for a time in the harvest fields of North Dakota, then came over the Northern Pacific to the Cascade mountains and entered the construction department, helping to build the main line to the sound. He arrived in Ta- coma in January, 1887, immediately entering the saw-mill of Hanson & Company. This was his first experience in the lumber business. Nine months later, in September, 1887, he came to Snohomish and thence up the Pilchuck river twenty miles, where he filed on a claim. His nearest neighbor was two miles away. Roads there were none and in his communi- ty not even trails. However, he and a few neigh- bors built a trail a mile long. connecting with an- other which led to Snohomish. These hardy fron- tiersmen paid a cent and a half a pound to have sup- plies hanled by horses fifteen miles and then packed the stuff in on their backs, a most arduous task. Once Mr. Menzel packed in, with the assistance of another man, a No. S cook stove, a back-breaking

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load, but a necessary one if they would enjoy the comforts and conveniences of such an accessory to their rude cabins. For four months Mr. Menzel did not have a potato to eat, so scarce was that vege- table, and the land was not in condition to cultivate. He engaged in trapping for beaver, otter and mink, selling the furs for what he could get, and mean- while doing all he could toward clearing the land. In the summer of 1888 he went to Tacoma and with the proceeds of several months' hard work for the Tacoma Mill Company purchased supplies with which to spend the winter on his claim. Unfor- tunately, in burning off the land, the fire caught his cabin and destroyed it and the greater portion of all he had, even his clothing and tools. This was a se- vere blow, but undaunted he again returned to Ta- coma and earned money with which to replace the lost supplies and goods. In 1889 he purchased two sheep. a cow and two steers, which were thought to be a considerable number of stock to bring up the Pilchuck. Mr. Menzel devoted himself tirelessly to his ranch until 1892, cutting shingle bolts now and then to replenish his low funds, but in 1897 he com- menced to team considerably for others in addition to farming, continuing in this way until 1902. In those early years he served the district as road su- pervisor and as school director, helping to build the first school-house in Granite Falls, donating hi- labor. Ile also assisted in putting up the school- house in the district formed on the Pilchuck. He and his borthers, Henry and William, built a mile and a half of road and donated it to the county. In 190? Mr. Menzel commenced to take the shingle bolts off eighty acres of his land and was occupied two years in this undertaking, a fact hardly credible to those unacquainted with Puget sound. Truitt K. Robe, Henry and George Menzel united in 1904 in organizing the Robe-Menzel Lumber Company. which operates a fine, modern plant southeast of Granite Falls and logs off its own lands. A railroad spur is now being built to reach this mill. Mr. Men- zel united with the Congregational church at Maple Hill in 1894. but has since withdrawn from member- ship in it. Politically, he is an active, ardent Social- ist, thoroughly devoted to their principles, having joined that party in 1899. He has served as county committeeman, secretary of the local committee, and delegate to four state conventions. In 1902 he was nominated on the Socialist ticket for county com- missioner from his district. He is one of the public spirited citizens of his community, ever ready to len i a hand to any worthy enterprise, never shirking his responsibilities, and commandng the utmost confi- dence and esteem of his fellow men. The old home- stead he retains, which alone is a monument to his energy, faithfulness, courage and resistless de- termination to accomplish whatever he undertakes.

PETER LEQUE (deceased) .- The closing days of November of the year 1905 were ren- dered gloomy all over the county of Snoho- mish, in particular and the sound country in general by the accidental death of the well known Peter Leque, of Stanwood, who by dili- gence in business, faithfulness in the discharge of public trusts, efficiency in everything he un- dertook, unquestioned integrity and inborn gen- tlemanliness, had always held a prominent place in the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens. Born in Norway, January 2, 1864, he had in him all the strong qualities for which the sturdy Norse race is noted, while residence in the United States since boyhood gave him a knowledge of American institutions and American ideas which is impos- sible to many of his countrymen. The less favored Norwegians therefore looked upon him as a leader and friend, reposing the utmost confidence in his judgment, knowing always 'that from him they were sure of what Roosevelt calls a "square deal." His American neighbors respected him no less highly, confided in him no less implicitly. Only a few days before his death, the editor of the county paper established in his home town told the writer that Peter Leque might have almost any office in the gift of this state that he would signify a desire for.

When nine years old, Mr. Leque came to Da- kota and two years later he established a residence in the Puget sound country. Having completed his common school training in Snohomish county, he attended the territorial university at Seattle and Union academy in Olympia, leaving the latter in- stitution at the age of nineteen. He had given some attention to surveying in the higher schools and shortly after leaving them he took up that line of work with O. B., Iverson, United States deputy surveyor. For the ensuing two years he was in charge of field work on government surveys, but on reaching his majority he took a claim on the Nook- sack river, where Lawrence now is. Having made final proof three years later, he bought a farm near Stanwood and engaged energetically in its subjuga- tion and cultivation. The ensuing year (1888) he was elected county surveyor, for he had never aban- cloned entirely the practice of his profession. This was his first county office, but from that time on public affairs claimed a considerable share of his attention. In 1892 he was the choice of the people for assessor. His labors in the discharge of the duties of that office were truly herculean, for he took upon himself the task of making plats of all the land in the county and substituting the present scientific method of assessing for the old, unsci- entific and unsatisfactory one. Perhaps this was his most noteworthy contribution to the good of Snohomish county. In 1894 he was elected auditor and two years later he received the unanimous nomination of the Republican party for the same

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office, but, like the rest of his party, went down in the fusion landslide of that year, not, however, without the satisfaction of having received a larger vote than any other man on his ticket.

The duties of his various county offices had re- quired the presence of Mr. Leque in Snohomish, but upon his retirement from the auditorship he moved back to Stanwood and engaged in opening up and developing farms. One place on Camano island and several around Stanwood benefited greatly by his operations, and at the time of his death he was comfortably located on a farm of 140 acres, all diked and in cultivation, on the river just out of Stanwood. Mr. Leque was president of the Stanwood Hardware Company, which was organ- ized by him in 1902, and vice-president of the Bank of Stanwood, of which, also, he was an organizer. A life of strenuous endeavor and a rare ability to see and to seize opportunities as they presented themselves enabled Mr. Leque to achieve an envi- able financial success, but the best heritage he leaves behind is the record of a useful life, of public trusts executed with faithfulness, and of an unsullied reputation.

In 1886 Mr. Leque married Miss Bertha, daugh- ter of O. B. Iverson, a well known pioneer of the Stillaguamish country, now a resident of Olympia.

ARTHUR E. HALL, postmaster of Stanwood, is a bright, energetic young man of that city and one who knows the needs and possibilities of the hustling town. He is serving his second term in the postoffice, his reappointment being an indication of his executive ability and integrity. Mr. Hall was born in Taylorsville, Illinois, early in the year 1877, the last of the nine children of Erastus A. and Mary J. (Clark) Hall. The elder Hall was born in Michigan, in which state his parents were pioneers, became a mechanic and moved to Illinois in 1864. He served six months in the Civil War. Illinois was his home until 1884, in which year he removed to Kansas, and in 1891 he came to Florence, mov- ing thenee a year later to Stanwood, where he is still living. Mrs. Hall, though born in Indiana, was educated in Michigan and grew up there. She followed the fortunes of her husband and died in Stanwood in 1903.

. Arthur E. Hall, of this review, received his education in the schools of Kansas and Snohomish county. In 1898 he opened a hay and grain busi- ness in Stanwood and operated it successfully for a year afterward, then devoted the proceeds to completing his education by a business college course in Seattle. One year he passed as street- car conductor in that city, then in the fall of 1900 he returned to Stanwood and received an appoint- ment as postmaster. President Roosevelt reap-

pointed him so he is sure of having years yet to serve.

In 1904 at Mount Vernon, Skagit county, Mr. Hall married Miss Freda E. Papé, a native of Kan- sas, born in 1886. She received her education at Vashon College, near Tacoma. At the time of her marriage she was only seventeen years of age. One child was born to the union, Geraldine, born at Stanwood, May 4, 1905. In politics Mr. Hall is a Republican, and in church affiliations the family are Episcopalian. He is a young man of ability and integrity, energetic, popular and respected by the entire community.

DANIEL O. PEARSON, mayor of the city of Stanwood, and its pioneer merchant, is perhaps more justly entitled to be called the founder of the present Stanwood than any one else, for he named the place, established its first store and first served as its postmaster. Born in the great manufactur- ing city of Lowell, Massachusetts, April, 1846, he is the son of Daniel Pearson, a native of Syracuse, New York. The elder Pearson was a merchant, who left the East for Puget sound in 1864. He became one of Whidbey Island's pioneers, settling on its west side, and served sixteen years as keeper of the old lighthouse which stood on the site of the present Fort Casey. He passed away in 1898 at the goodly age of four score years. Mrs. Susan ( Brown) Pearson, the mother of Daniel O., was a native of the Green Mountain state. Her deatlı occurred in 1890 in her seventy-third year. Of her six children only two survive, Mrs. Flora Engles, wife of W. B. Engles of Whidbey Island, and Mayor Pearson. Daniel O. Pearson received a lib- eral education, being graduated from the Lowell high school. After his father came West in 1864, he had charge of his store two years, then he sold out and followed his father West, reaching the island in December, 1865. In the summer of 1864 the young man enlisted in the Union Army, joining the Sixth Massachusetts and serving on the Po- tomac from July îth to October 20, 1864. After coming to Whidbey Island, Mr. Pearson followed farming until 1822, when he crossed over to the mainland for the purpose of opening a store. At that time there was a settlement at Stanwood con- sisting of a saloon, a postoffice, a logging camp bunk house and one private dwelling. the last men- tioned being the property of Henry Oliver, who had taken a homestead there. The postoffice was called Centerville. Mr. Pearson immediately bought a small tract along the river bank, estab- lished his store and assumed charge of the post- office. Now the name Centerville is a common one in all parts of the country. Mr. Pearson favored something more original, so requested the postoffice

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department to change the name, suggesting Stan- wood, the maiden name of his wife. The sugges- tion was adopted and about the first of the year 1878 the change went into effect, meeting with gen- eral satisfaction. Mr. Pearson served as post- master until 1893, when his successor was ap- pointed, the administration of President Cleveland bringing about the change. It is interesting to note that the old town of Centerville stood several hundred yards down the river from Mr. Pearson's store. His first trade was with the farmers who had crossed from the island in 1872-3 and settled on land in the vicinity, and with the Indians, then quite numerous. From this small beginning Mr. Pearson's business grew to such proportions that he held property valued at $100,000 when the panic of 1893 came. When his creditors pressed him he sought to recover himself by selling a farm on the La Conner flats that he had taken as a homestead in previous years, but to no avail. He became practically bankrupt, with everything in the way of obligations liquidated, however. He continued in business but the profits were meagre, his estab- lishment being kept up almost entirely by an out- side income until the return of prosperity. In 1889 he built his present store, but this commodious building has now become inadequate and will soon be retired in favor of a handsome new structure on Market street, the main street of Stanwood. Stan- wood was incorporated in 1903 and at the special election following Mr. Pearson was chosen as the city's first mayor.

Mr. Pearson and Miss Clara Stanwood, of Massachusetts, were united in marriage on Whid- bey Island in 1868, she having crossed the conti- nent to become the bride of the young man who was seeking his fortune along the westermost frontier. They had known each other from childhood in the Old Bay state. She was born in 1848, the daugh- ter of William E. and Rachel ( Page) Stanwood. When a child she lost her mother and after the latter's death lived with her father until he went to California in 1850, her grandmother then rearing her to young womanhood. Seven children have been born to Mayor and Mrs. Pearson, of whom two are dead; the others are: Guy, of Seattle; Eva; Fred, living in Tacoma; D. Carl, the first white child born in Stanwood after the re-christen- ing of the place, ex-county auditor of Island county and editor of the Coupeville newspaper; and Rachel, who lives at home. Mayor Pearson is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is an active member of the Republican party, and has served as county central committeeman. In 1890 he was nominated without solicitation for repre- sentative to the legislature, went through the cam- paign without taking the stump in his own behalf, and was beaten by only four votes. In addition to

his business and realty interests in Stanwood and vicinity, Mr. Pearson has property in Coupeville and Seattle.

PETER HARVEY, of Stanwood, owner of the water power plant of the town, is one of the pioneers of that section of Snohomish county and has participated in its upbuilding, watching its growth from the days when there were no settlers in that whole region. Mr. Harvey was born in Chili, in 1855, the son of Johnson and Nancy Har- vey, both of whom were natives of Chili, but the father was of English descent. When eleven years of age, in 1866, young Harvey started out for him- self, working at various things, and finally becom- ing steward on a vessel. At seventeen years of age he was in San Francisco and in that year, 1872, he came to Snohomish county and went to work in logging camps, which line of activity he followed for seven years. No settlers were in this part of the county when Mr. Harvey first came. Messrs. Carr and Kellogg had put in a part of a dike and had taken up land, which was afterward sold to Mr. Oliver. Robert Freeman, Mr. Goodrich and Mr. Perkins had but recently arrived where Stan- wood now stands. When Mr. Harvey became twenty-one years of age he took up a homestead a mile from Stanwood and proved up on it, but later sold it. At the end of his seven years' logging ex- perience, Mr. Harvey engaged in business for him- -self, taking off logs and selling them to the mills. He continued at this work at intervals until 1902, in the meantime handling other lines of business also. In 1880 he rented "The Pioneer" hotel and operated it for the ensuing five years. It was the first hotel in Stanwood and had been erected by Freeman & Carlin. He also ran a saloon for a time in Seattle, beginning in 1902, and at the same time engaged in the business in Stanwood, but he has sold this out recently. One of Mr. Harvey's busi- ness ventures was the acquisition of the water power plant, which he still owns and continues to operate.

In November of 1902 Mr. Harvey married Miss Katie Cherrytree, a native of Chicago, and they have one child, Lewis, born in 1903. Aside from his business building in Stanwood and a block of land in connection therewith, Mr. Harvey owns residence property in Seattle. He is well to do, an enterprising man, a publie-spirited citizen, and en- joys the distinction which always goes with pio- neership in the development of a country.

IVER JOHNSON, a worthy son of the land which has furnished so many progressive and force- ful men to the Stillaguamish country, and an hon-

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ored pioneer of Washington, now manager of the Stanwood Hardware Company, Incorporated, was born in Norway in the year 1848, the son of John and Maryet ( Furness) Hangen, both of whom spent their lives in that far-away northern land. After acquiring a common school education in the local public schools and under private tutors, Mr. Johnson learned the shoemaker's trade, also taking some lessons in industry and in farming at the parental home. It early became his ambition to seek the larger advantages offered by the new world, and to that end he took a few lessons in the English language. At the early age of twenty he landed in Dakota, where he farmed for seven years, after which he came to Washington, settling at Port Gamble. He worked there two years and a half, then returned to Dakota for the lady of his choice, with whom he soon took up his residence in Snohomish county. In the fall of 1878 he se- cured some railroad land, and later he filed a pre- emption claim to a place near Silvana, where his home was for a number of years afterward. He also opened a store in the town and during the ad- ministration of President Hayes served as post- master there. Eventually selling his business to L. P. Elvrum, he removed to Stanwood, where for five years he was a clerk in the employ of D. O. Pearson, a position which he resigned in 1895 to become deputy auditor under Peter Leque at Sno- homish. Two years later he resumed his farming operations at Silvana, but these were interferred with somewhat during and after 1898 by his dis- charge of the duties of county commissioner, to which office he was that year elected. He served four years. He became a resident of Stanwood October 1, 1902. at that time purchasing an inter- est in the Stanwood Hardware Company, of which he now has entire charge.

Mr. Johnson and Martha Hougan were united in marriage in Dakota in 18:8. Mrs. Johnson died four years after her marriage. Like her parents, Benjamin and Maria Hougan, she was a native of Norway; the date of her birth was 1851. Her father died in Dakota, but her mother still resides there. Mr. Johnson's second marriage occurred in Silvana, Washington, the lady being Miss Maria Funk. She was born in Denmark in 1868, but hay- ing come to the United States when eleven years years old, received most of her education in the schools of Wisconsin. Her parents, Rasmus and Kirsten (Hanson) Funk, were also natives of Den- mark. The father is now deceased, but the mother lives at Silvana. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have six children, all of whom were born in Snohomish county, namely: Richard, February 21, 1889; Myron, March 14, 1890; Isabell. September ?, 1893; Josephine, August 9, 1898: Jack, April 30, 1900; Philip, January 8, 1902. Mr. Johnson at- tends the Lutheran church, and is an active Repub-

lican, always advancing his party's interests by every worthy means. His part in the municipal life of the town of Stanwood has been one of great importance, as he was one of the organizers, and an enthusiastic member of the city council. Pos- sessing the unbounded confidence of all with whom he is in any way associated, Mr. Johnson is a man of wide influence. He owns a fine eighty-acre farm, sixty acres of which he cultivates, his two special- ties being hay and stock.

ANDREW B. KLAEBOE .- Exhaustiveness in mastering the details of his chosen profession, concentration of his energies, conscientiousness and care in all that he does-these are the qualities which have made the subject of this review success- ful in business in an unusual degree, while these same qualities, combined with a cordial, obliging disposition, have won him an abiding place in the esteem and regard of the people of the Stanwood country among whom he has lived for many years. A native of Norway, land of industry and thrift, he acquired his education and learned his profession with European thoroughness and he has since de- voted himself to its practice with assiduity and zeal, at the same time so managing the commercial side of the profession as to win a competency for him- self.

Our subject's parents, Ole and Ragnhild Klae- boe, both spent their entire lives in Norway, where Mr. Klaeboe enjoyed the advantages not alone of the public schools but of the college in Christiania. He began the study of drugs at fourteen. In 1884, when he had reached the age of twenty-four years, he migrated to America, the land of promise to Europeans, and for six months after his arrival he clerked in a drug store in Baldwin, St. Croix county, Wisconsin. His next position was that of manager of the business of the well known Henry Thompson in Portland, North Dakota, with whom he remained a year, thereupon becoming manager for the firm of Roberts & Anderson in the same town. He remained with them until 1888, when a desire for still larger opportunities impelled him to the new territory of Washington, and it was then that his residence in Stanwood began, for he had soon started there the pioneer drug store of the place and the second in all Snohomish, Lot Wil- bur's at Snohomish being the first. He continued in business in Stanwood uninterruptedly until 1896, in which year the Alaska fever seized him and he went to Juneau to establish the celebrated Occi- dental Pharmacy, which business he maintained three years, or until the great Yukon rush was over. whereupon he returned to Stanwood, organized the Klaeboe Drug Company, and once more engaged in the practice of pharmacy in that town. Besides

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his excellent business there, he has five buildings in Stanwood, which he rents, as well as many vali- able interests in other parts of Washington and in Alaska.

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An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 177

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172