History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 108

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 108
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 108
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 108

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In 1899 Mr. Fairbanks was married to Miss Fannie Belle Warrington, a native of lowa, and they have three children: Carroll, Charles Warren and Frances.

Mr. Fairbanks is a member of the Christian church. His political support is given to the republican party, of which he has been a stalwart champion since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has served on the school board for nine years and the cause of education finds in him a most earnest supporter. He is widely known as a progressive citizen, as a reliable orchardist and as a man of ster- ling personal worth, his many admirable traits of character gaining for him the high respect and warm regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact. In his business career he has never allowed obstacles or difficulties to bar his path, but by determined effort has overcome all such, and, working his way upward, has gained a creditable position among the successful orchardists of Yakima county.

FLORIAN C. AND JASPER M. PARKER.

Florian C. and Jasper M. Parker are actively connected with ranching interests and with dairying and are the owners of fine Holstein cattle. Jasper M. Parker was born in Page county, Iowa, September 18, 1872, a son of Asher W. and Mary (Wilfong) Parker, the former a native of Wisconsin, while the latter was born in Indiana. The paternal grandfather, John Parker, was a pioneer resident of Wis- consin and Mr. and Mrs. Asher W. Parker were early settlers of Iowa. They afterward removed to South Dakota in 1886 and in the spring of 1888 became resi- dents of Washington, settling at Mount Vernon. The father was there engaged in the livery business for about ten years and later retired, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of well earned rest. He passed away July 13, 1914, having for a long period survived his wife, who died on the 15th of July, 1898.

Jasper M. Parker acquired a public school education in Washington and after attaining his majority engaged in the dairy business in connection with his brother, Florian C. They became owners of a herd of fine registered Holstein cattle. In November, 1917, they purchased eighty acres of land near Grandview and brought part of their herd to the ranch. They are still engaged in the dairy business, which is profitably conducted, and they are also engaged in raising hogs and hay. The brothers have been associated in business affairs since reaching manhood, sharing all interests in common, the labors of the one ably supplementing and rounding out the efforts of the other.

On the 18th of October, 1900, Jasper M. Parker was united in marriage to Mrs. Alvira G. Murray, who was born in Pocahontas county, Iowa, a daughter of R. B. Fish. Florian C. Parker was born on the 18th of October, 1868, at Freeport, Illi- nois, and obtained a public school education.

The lives of the two brothers have run parallel, their interests being united. They are both highly esteemed throughout the community, having a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance, and among business men they are known as thoroughly reliable, actuated by a spirit of enterprise in all that they undertake. In politics they maintain an independent course.

JOHN L. HUGHES.

Standing in the forefront as a representative of industrial activity and enterprise in Yakima is John L. Hughes, the president and manager of the Yakima Artificial Ice and Cold Storage Company, controlling one of the most important and success- ful business enterprises of the city. He was born in Wales in 1864, a son of Henry and Margaret (Jones) Hughes, who became residents of Champaign county, Illinois, in 1869, in which year they bade aideu to the little rock-ribbed country in which they had hitherto resided and sought the opportunities of the new world. The father

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took up the occupation of farming in Illinois and there remained until late in life. Both he and his wife have now passed away.

Their son, John L. Hughes, accorded liberal educational privileges, was gradu- ated from Chaddock College at Quincy, Illinois, with the class of 1887 and in 1890 he won his Master of Science degree, which was conferred upon him by his alma mater. Taking up the profession of teaching, he successfully followed it for many years, being superintendent of public schools in Illinois for a decade and a half. His last two positions were at Centralia and at Charleston, Illinois. Attracted by the opportunities of the growing northwest, he arrived in Yakima in 1903 and started in business in his present connection. He had previously come to Washington on a visit and was much interested in the possibilities and opportunities of the state.

It was in 1903 that John L. Hughes and James A. Hawks organized the Yakima Artificial Ice and Cold Storage Company and began business at No. 412 North First avenue in Yakima under the firm style of Hawks & Hughes. The company today has its own siding on the Northern Pacific and on the Oregon-Washington Railroads. The plant has a frontage of two hundred feet on the east side of First avenue and a depth of one hundred and eighty feet, together with four hundred and twenty-five feet frontage on the west side of the street with a depth of one hundred and forty- five feet. The buildings are two stories in height with basement. After a time Mr. Hawks sold his interest to R. E. DeKay and the business was then carried on under the firm style of Hughes & De Kay until 1908, when it was incorporated under the name of the Yakima Artificial Ice and Cold Storage Company. The present officers are John L. Hughes as the president, L. J. Bunting as vice president, W. R. Ander- son as secretary and F. M. Raymond as treasurer. The vice president was a first lieutenant in the field artillery service in France. The plant of the company has a daily capacity of fifty-five tons of artificial ice made from distilled water and its cold storage capacity is three hundred and fifty cars of fruit, with a common storage capacity of two hundred and fifty cars. The company also engages in the wholesale and retail coal trade. They are likewise manufacturers of the distilled water "Puritas," a pure aerated distilled water which has found a ready sale on the market. They likewise operate a public packing house in connection with their warehouse. The ice which they manufacture is not only sold to the local trade but is also shipped in large quantities to Prosser, Sunnyside and Roslyn. They employ from twenty- five to forty people throughout the year and their payroll amounts to from twenty to thirty-five thousand dollars annually. They have modern equipment throughout the plant, including the individual motor system and the most up-to-date system for pre-cooling fruit. They also have ice refrigerator cars used in shipping fruit. Upon ground owned by the company are situated the boilers of the Yakima Central Heat- ing Company, and the Yakima Artificial Ice and Cold Storage Company, under con- tract, furnishes all the live steam for the former company, whose heating system throughout the business district of the city includes one hundred and fifty thousand square feet of radiation. The company utilizes as high as forty-five tons of coal per day for this purpose. It has three sources of water supply-the city mains, two largs wells and also water from the adjacent mill race. The business has been devel- oped along the most progressive lines and the most scientific methods are employed in the distillation of water, in the manufacture of the ice and in the care of the cold storage products. Mr. Hughes is a member of the American Society of Refriger- ating Engineers and has contributed many valuable ideas to its meetings. He is a very progressive man, possessed of the spirit of initiative, and, steadily working his way upward, each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider oppor- tunities, which he has quickly and eagerly utilized.

In 1896 Mr. Hughes was married to Miss Bertha Helton, a daughter of Fred Helton, of Atwood, Illinois, who in later life removed to Yakima, where he passed away in- 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have become parents of two children. Henry H. was graduated from the local high school with the class of 1916 and enlisted in the United States Army on the 2d of April, 1917. He is now a private in Com- pany K, Ninth Regiment, having been transferred from his former company, which was Company E of the One Hundred and Sixty-first United States Infantry. He has seen active service in France and participated in the battles of Vaux, Belleau Woods, Soissons and Chateau Thierry and as a result wears two wound stripes.

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Fred L., a junior in the high school, at the age of sixteen enlisted in July, 1918, in the United States Marines and was a member of Company B. Eleventh Separate Battalion, at Quantico, Virginia, at the conclusion of the war.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and the latter is quite active in the work of the Young Women's Christian Asso- ciation and in other community interests. She is also a prominent member of the Twentieth Century Club. Mr. Hughes is actively identified with the Young Men's Christian Association and in 1918 served as its president. He is chairman of the board of trustees of his church and has been a member of the Federated Churches of Christ in America since 1908 and of the National Education Association since 1898. in both of which he takes a keen interest. He belongs to the Ma- sonic fraternity, having membership in Yakima Lodge, No. 24, F. & A. M .; Yakima Chapter, No. 21. R. A. M .; Yakima Commandery, No. 13, K. T .; and Afifi Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has likewise taken the degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry and belongs to the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a republican. He belongs to the National League to Enfore Peace, with which he has been identified since its organization and is now state secretary. He has served on the board of the Com- mercial Club and is a member of the Yakima Valley Business Men's Association. These connections indicate much of the nature of his interests and activities aside from his business and indicate the progressive spirit by which he is ruled in all things, whether in the promotion of his individual business affairs or in his support of plans for the public good.

JOHN EINARSEN.

Among the successful agriculturists of the Yakima valley is John Einarsen, a rancher near Mabton, who was born in Norway, April 19, 1864, and is a son of Einar and Karen J. (Orwig) Einarsen, the former of whom is deceased, while the latter is still living in Norway. John Einarsen was reared under the parental roof in his native country and there attended public school, subsequently becoming a fisher- man. Upon coming to the United States he made his way to Spokane, Washington, arriving in that city on the 12th of October, 1889, when twenty-five years of age, and there he made his home until his removal to Seattle on the 17th of May, 1890. Later he was a resident of Snohomish county, Washington, where he worked in the employ of others for about three and a half years, subsequent to which period he spent six years in British Columbia, Canada. In the spring of 1900 he, like many others, made his way to Nome, Alaska, where for seven years he wooed fortune and was fairly successful. At the end of that time he visited his native country, viewing the scenes of his boyhood and young manhood, and then returned to Nome, there leasing mines and accumulating a fair sum.

In the fall of 1908 Mr. Einarsen returned to Seattle, where he remained until the following spring. At that time he and two others acquired title to one hundred and sixty acres of land two miles east of Mabton, which property is now know as the Farmers Homestead. At this writing our subject and Archibald Morrison are the sole owners and they are engaged in general farming and stock raising, while an- other source of their income consists of the raising of hay. Mr. Einarsen has twenty acres four and a half miles west of Grandview and three miles north of Mabton and there he lives. When he acquired his land it was covered with sagebrush but it is now largely under the plow and has become a valuable property in the course of years. He has seven acres in orchard and many valuable improvements have been made upon the place, including the installing of modern equipment and machinery. The buildings are substantial and up-to-date and he also has erected a handsome farm residence.

Mr. Einarsen generally gives his allegiance to the republican party as far as national issues are concerned but in local affairs votes for the man irrespective of party ties. At present he is serving as supervisor of drainage district, No. 31, and in fact has ever been deeply interested in public problems and movements undertaken on behalf of the general welfare. He is a member of the Alaska Sour Doughs, in which

JOHN EINARSEN

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organization he meets with others who have spent years amid the primitive sur- roundings of the north. There is much credit due him for what he has achieved, as he began his career empty-handed and is now numbered among the prosperous agri- culturists of his district. He has never regretted coming to this country and has proven in every respect a loyal and patriotic American who not only makes wise use of opportunities but also fully acknowledges the duties and obligations which devolve upon a full fledged citizen.

WILLIAM M. REYNOLDS.

A well developed farm property is the ranch of William M. Reynolds, who now has forty acres of land highly cultivated. He is actuated by the spirit of western enterprise and progress that has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of this section of the country. He is a western man by birth, training and preference. He was born in Union county, Oregon, October 10, 1877, a son of J. W. and Susan E. (Garoutte) Reynolds, more extended mention of whom is made on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of D. D. Reynolds, a brother of our sub- ject.

In his boyhood days William M. Reynolds was brought to Yakima county and acquired his education in the public schools. When not busy with his textbooks he engaged in ranching with his father, whom he assisted until he attained his majority, after which he worked for wages for others for two years. On the expiration of that period he rented his father's farm, which he continued to cultivate for several years and at the end of that time bought a homestead right on the bench between Ahtanum and Wide Hollow, called Ahtanum Heights. He originally had one hun- dred and twenty-two acres of land but has since sold all save forty acres, which con- stitutes his home property at the present time. He built a good residence and large, substantial barns upon the place and he is engaged in the raising of hay, grain and potatoes, annually harvesting good crops of each. He also has an orchard for family use but does not raise fruit for commercial purposes.

On the 28th of June, 1911, Mr. Reynolds was married to Miss Viola Loper, a daughter of Charles and Catherine (Lefler) Loper, the former a native of Germany, while the latter was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin. Her father, however, was brought to the United States when but four years of age. He devoted his life to general farming during the years of his active career but is now living retired. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have become parents of two children: Bonnie Catherine, born April 6, 1912; and Wroten William, who was born October 22, 1915. The family are members of the Methodist church and guide their lives according to its teachings. The sterling worth of Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds is recognized by all who know them, so that their circle of friends is almost coextensive with the circle of their acquain- tance. Mr. Reynolds votes with the republican party but has never been ambitious to hold office. He is numbered among the pioneer farmers of this section and in the conduct of his business affairs he carries forward to successful completion what- ever he undertakes.

JACOB H. ELKINTON.

Jacob H. Elkinton is a successful mining man and rancher living near Sunny- side. His experiences of life have been broad and varied, covering several years' sojourn in Alaska. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of Charles and Emma (Fisler) Elkinton, who were also natives of the Keystone state. The paternal grandfather was George Elkinton, a son of Thomas Elkinton, a native of England, who in 1688 crossed the Atlantic to Burlington, New Jersey. All were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers. Charles Elkinton, father of Jacob H. Elkinton, became trustee of a large estate in Philadelphia, having over two thousand houses under his supervision to look after, collect the rent and do every-

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thing necessary in the care of the property. He continued a resident of Philadelphia to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1914. His wife was a daughter of Jacob Fisler, who was born in Philadelphia in 1787 and married a Miss Saul, a native of Holland, who became a resident of Philadelphia during the colonial epoch in the history of the country. Jacob Fisler, the maternal grandfather of Jacob H. Elkin- ton, served with the rank of colonel in, the War of 1812, having charge of Fort Mifflin in the vicinity of Philadelphia. His daughter, Mrs. Elkinton, passed away in May, 1913. Both Mr. and Mrs. Elkinton were active and consistent members of the Luth- eran church and he gave his political allegiance to the republican party. Their family numbered four children: Edith, now residing in Pasadena, California; Jacob H., of this review; Charles, who resides in Philadelphia; and George, living in Sunny- side. Washington.

Jacob H. Elkinton acquired a public school education in his native city, where he remained until 1888, when he went to California. In 1898 he went to Alaska, where he was identified with mining interests until 1906. During that period he spent a few winters in California, where he pursued a course in mining engineering at the Van der Naillen School of Engineering of San Francisco. With the opening of spring, however, he would return to the far north and he developed some fine mines near Council, Alaska, one hundred miles southeast of Nome. He disposed of his inter- ests in Alaska in 1906, however, and came to Sunnyside, Washington, where he pur- chased forty acres two miles northeast of the town. He planted this all to apples but has taken out twenty acres of it, having, however, twenty acres still devoted to the cultivation of fruit. The remainder of his land is planted to hay and diversified crops and from his property he derives a substantial annual income.

Mr. Elkinton votes with the republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. Fraternally he is a Mason who exemplifies in his life the beneficient spirit of the craft. He also has membership with the Sour Doughs. an organization formed of men who had perviously resided in Alaska.

LOUIS M. NYSTROM.

Louis M. Nystrom, an orchardist and farmer of Yakima county, was born in Sweden on the 4th of Jannary, 1868, and is a brother of Nels Nystrom, mentioned elsewhere in this work. His parents were Per Olson and Martha Nelson, natives of Sweden, who on coming to the United States made their way first to Omaha, Ne- braska, and in that city both passed away. The father devoted his life to farming and blacksmithing and in the pursuit of those occupations acquired a comfortable competence. He was a son of Olaf Larson, whose father, Lars Monson, was a native of Vermland, Sweden, and devoted his life to farming.

Louis M. Nystrom acquired a public school education in his native country and came to the United States in 1887, when a young man of about nineteen years. After spending three months in Kansas he removed to Omaha, Nebraska, where he followed carpentering and contract work. Later he became proprietor of a grocery store in Omaha, where he successfully carried on business for eighteen years. On the ex- piration of that period he resumed carpenter work, in which he was engaged for three years, and in 1914 he made his way to Yakima county, where in 1912 he had purchased ten acres on Academy Heights. He planted four acres of this tract to apples, built a pleasant · residence and substantial barns and began the further de- velopment and improvement of the place. He is now successfully engaged in the raising of fruit, beets and potatoes. He also engages in raising hogs and his busi- ness is carefully and successfully conducted.

On the 29th of May, 1895, Mr. Nystrom was united in marriage to Matilda Nel- son, a native of Sweden and a daughter of Magnus and Anna Sophia (Anderson) Nelson, who are still residents of Sweden. To Mr. and Mrs. Nystrom have been born the following named: Ruth Elizabeth, the wife of Jay Hinkle, a resident of Wiley City, Washington; Rudolph Emanuel, who is in a United States training school, in the drafting department; Wilbur Magnus, at home; Panl Hilmar; Martha Evange- line; Anna Niamie; and Elmer Phillip. Mr. Nystrom and his family are members

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of the Swedish Evangelical Mission church and are interested in the work of the church and in all that pertains to the moral progress and development of the com- munity.

Mr. Nystrom gives his political allegiance to the republican party but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs. He is truly a self-made man and one who has been very success- ful. In addition to owning and cultivating the home place he also rents forty acres, which he has sown to hay. His business interests are wisely and carefully conducted. He attacks with thoroughness everything that he undertakes and his determination and keen sagacity have also been strong elements in his continued success.

CARL A. DANIELSON.

The career of Carl A. Danielson is a notable example of the wise use of time, talent and opportunity. Left an orphan when less than eight years of age, his has been a busy, active and useful life and one that has been of much benefit to his fellowmen. He was born in Sweden, February 26, 1869, a son of Frederick and Louisa Danielson. He came to the new world in 1887, when a youth of eighteen years, making his way to Oakland, Nebraska. There he took up the trade of harness mak- ing, which he followed for a time, and later he attended a theological seminary of Chicago and became a minister of the Swedish Mission church. He engaged in preaching in Illinois, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, continuing active in the work of the ministry until September, 1908, when he made his way to the northwest with Yakima county as his destination. On reaching this district he pur- chased ten acres on Pleasant hill and has since planted it to apples. He built a nice home upon his place and also cultivated land for others for several years, having in charge one hundred acres. He is now engaged in the further development and im- provement of a tract of thirty acres in addition to his home place of ten acres, and he is one of the representative and progressive horticulturists of the valley. In 1913 he built a fine packing house and storage warehouse and he has splendid equipment for the fruit which he is now raising in large quantities.

On the 16th of November, 1898, Mr. Danielson was united in marriage to Miss Elvera Matson, a native of Sweden, who came to the United States in her girlhood days. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Evaline Elvera and Harriet Evangeline, both at home. The older daughter is a graduate of the Selah high school.

Mr. Danielson and his family are members of the Swedish Mission church and during the first four years of his residence in this section he engaged in preaching. He has always taken a most active interest in the work of the church, putting forth every possible effort for its upbuilding and the extension of its influence. He has also done notably successful work as a horticulturist and is a member of the Selah Fruit Growers Association and a stockholder of the Naches-Selah Irrigation Dis- trict. He has closely studied the problems which confront the agriculturist and the horticulturist in this region and his aid and influence have ever been on the side of progress and improvement. He has followed the most advanced methods in the de- velopment and propagation of his orchards and his labors have indeed demonstrated what can be accomplished in the way of transforming the once wild land that only a few years ago was covered with sagebrush into fine bearing orchards, the fruit from which is shipped to many sections of the world.

WILLIAM M. WATT.

Business enterprise finds exemplification in the efforts and in the record of Wil- liam M. Watt, manager of the Pioneer Lumber and Coal Company, conducting a growing and profitable business in Yakima. He is of Canadian birth, born Novem- ber 16, 1859. His parents, James and Isabel Watt, were natives of Scotland and for

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 108

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138