History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 51

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 51
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 51
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 51

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ANTOINE LA FRAMBOISE.

For twenty years Antoine La Framboise has been a resident of Yakima county and throughout this entire period has been engaged in blacksmithing. At the present time also he has important farming and dairy interests and his activities along those lines are now claiming the greater part of his time and attention, He has become the owner of a valuable property, well improved, and his realty possessions are the

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visible evidence of his life of well directed energy and thrift. He was born near Montreal, Canada, December 2, 1877, a son of Joseph and Angeline La Framboise, who in 1879 became residents of Crookston, Minnesota, where the mother passed away. The father came to Yakima county in 1904 and here spent his remaining days, his death occurring October 18, 1915. He purchased twenty acres of land on the Moxee and devoted his attention to farming.

Antoine La Framboise acquired a public school education in Minnesota, having been but two years of age when taken by his parents to that state. There he resided until twenty-one years of age, when he left home and made his way to Yakima county, where he arrived on the 12th of April, 1898. He located on the Moxee and, having previously learned the blacksmith's trade, entered the employ of the Moxee Company, for which he worked at blacksmithing for seven years. He then opened a shop of his own, which he has since conducted. He has also become interested in agricultural pursuits and dairying, purchasing first seven acres of land in 1903. In 1912 he bought another tract of thirteen acres and in 1915 added twelve acres more to his possessions, while in 1917 he became owner of thirteen acres, making forty-five acres in all. His farm is devoted to hay and the production of the crops best adapted to soil and climate and in addition he has some good stock and is conducting a profit- able dairy business. He has built a fine home upon his place and has a well improved property. His success is well deserved, as it has all come to him through his per- severance and industry.

On the 1st of May, 1903, Mr. La Framboise was married to Miss Eugenie Lebis- soniere, a native of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, and their children are: Philip, Dolores, Leon and two who died in infancy. The parents are members of the Holy Rosary Catholic church of Moxee and Mr. La Framboise is identified with the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political endorsement is given to the republican party.

JOHN D. CORNETT.

John D. Cornett is closely associated with banking interests of the Yakima val- ley and is president of the Traders Bank of Toppenish. No man in the community occupies a more enviable position in business and banking circles than he, not alone by reason of the success he has achieved, but also owing to the straightforward busi- ness policy which he has ever followed, his course at all times measuring up to the highest standards. He has never wavered in facing difficulties and obstacles in his path have 'become stepping-stones to something higher.

Mr. Cornett is of Canadian birth. He was born in Ontario on the 4th of October, 1853, a son of William and Sarah (Reed) Cornett, who came to Washington about 1898 and spent their remaining days in Yakima. The father had followed farming in Canada and after his removal to the northwest engaged extensively in fruit growing in the Yakima valley.

John D. Cornett acquired an academic education in Canada and when a youth of fourteen years went to New York city, where he was engaged in clerical work until 1874. He afterward returned to Canada, where he remained for two years, and then once more crossed the border, becoming a resident of Huron county, Michigan, in 1876. For four years he engaged successfully in teaching school and then entered the employ of R. C. Ogilvie at Port Hope, Michigan, where he continued until 1887. That year witnessed his arrival in Yakima and for one year he was connected with George Donald in railroad construction work. In May. 1888, he organized the Yakima National Bank in company with several other substantial business men and continued as its cashier for twenty years, or until November, 1907. For a brief period he then lived retired, but indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and he could not remain content without some active business interests. In 1908, therefore, he organized the Traders Bank of Toppenish, of which he has since remained the president, and in 1909 he became the organizer of the First National Bank of Zillah, of which he is also president. He is likewise a director of the First National Bank of Toppenish and was one of the organizers and still remains a stock-

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holder and director of the Bank of Sunnyside. His name has thus figured promi- nently in connection with the development of the banking interests of the Yakima valley for many years and there is no man in the district more familiar with every phase of the banking business. He tempers his progressiveness by a safe conservat- ism, ever recognizing the fact that the bank is most worthy of public support that most carefully protects the interests of its depositors. He is a man of sound and dis- criminating judgment and his enterprise has reached out over a broad field, resulting in the benefit of various districts as well as in the upbuilding of his individual for- tunes.

On the 9th of March, 1880, Mr. Cornett was married to Miss Jessie Donald, a sister of George Donald, of Yakima, mentioned elsewhere in this work. They became the parents of four children: Jean, the wife of Guy C. Mills, a resident of Seattle; George W., a physician and surgeon now on active duty with the national army; John Donald, who is with the Ninety-first Division of the army and who prior to his entrance into the war was assistant cashier of the Traders Bank; and William, who is a student in the State University. The wife and mother passed away in June, 1905, and in 1909 Mr. Cornett was married to Mrs. Ida Powell, of Yakima.

Mr. Cornett is a prominent Mason, belonging to Yakima Lodge No. 24, F. & A. M .; Yakima Chapter No. 21, R. A. M., of which he is the first past high priest; Yakima Commandery No. 13, K. T., and to all the Scottish Rite bodies up to and including the thirty-second degree. He has also crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of Afifi Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a past grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, past exalted ruler of Yakima Lodge No. 318, B. P. O. E., and in that order has also attained high official rank, being a past district deputy grand exalted ruler and the first to occupy that position in the district. He became a charter member of the Toppenish Commercial Club and is also one of the charter members of the Yakima Commercial Club, being one of the two remaining members who formed that organization. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. For several years he served as treasurer of Yakima and he has done other important public work, having served on the board of trustees of the State Normal School at Ellensburg for many years, being president of the board at the time he resigned. He is a man of well balanced capacities and powers and his strong character inspires confidence in others. He has never claimed to possess genius or any phenomenal characteristics, his being the record of a straightforward, progressive American business man, capable of ma- ture judgment of his own capacities and of the people and circumstances that make up his life's contacts and experiences. Eminently a man of business sense, he avoids the mistakes and disasters that come to those who, though possessing remarkable facultics in some respects, are liable to erratic movements that result in unwarranted risks and failures. He is possessed of sufficient courage to venture where favoring opportunity is presented and his sound judgment and even-paced energy have carried him forward to the goal of success.

ERNEST W. FRY.

Ernest W. Fry, who has now been a resident of Prosser for over fourteen years, has not only one of the most important grain and produce establishments of the town but also is the owner of a modern alfalfa mill with a capacity of about four thousand tons per year. A native of New York, Mr. Fry was born in Mount Vision, June 20, 1874, and is a son of Walter and Eleanor N. Fry, the former deccased, while the latter still makes her residence in New York. The father was a Presbyterian minister.

Mr. Fry of this review was reared amid the refining influences of a Christian home and received his education in the public schools of New York. He decided upon a business career as best suited to his tastes and ability and entered upon life's active work as a clerk in a hardware establishment at Utica, New York, where he remained for four years. At the end of that time he opened a hardware store in Utica but sold out and later entered the butter, egg and poultry business in the same city. He continued in the east until March, 1904, when he came to Prosser and

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established a grain and hay business with Ezra Kemp. This partnership was profit- ably continued for about five years, or until 1909, when Mr. Fry acquired the interest of Mr. Kemp. The business has since been under his sole management and he has proven himself an able business man of high principles. In his dealings he always sets honor before profit and has therefore earned the trust and confidence of those who have dealings with him. His word is as good as his bond and is taken as such. The building in which his business is located covers a space of sixty-four by three hundred feet and belongs to Mrs. Kemp, from whom Mr. Fry leases. He largely buys hay and grain for the market and is engaged in the sale of feed. In 1916 Mr. Fry also built an alfalfa mill covering a ground space of one hundred by fifty feet and another building one hundred and twenty by twenty feet. In 1917 his property was destroyed by fire but he replaced the buildings immediately with new ones. His mill, which is turning out alfalfa meal, has a capacity of about fifteen tons per day. He employs from six to fifteen men, according to necessity. Mr. Fry also has a warehouse at Grandview and owns a modern elevator at Whitstrand, Washington, and a ware- house at Mabton. All this serves to indicate the magnitude of his business. In 1918 he shipped one thousand carloads of hay alone besides ninety-five cars of alfalfa meal and twenty-five cars of wheat. His business in this line is one of the largest in his section of the state and in its administration and management Mr. Fry has shown keen perception and especial executive talent. Moreover, in all his dealings he is guided by the highest principles. While shrewd in his business dealings he never takes undue advantage and in many instances has extended generous treatment to his clients and customers. In short, he is not only an able business man, but he is a big man, taking his character from every point of view, and is in the truest sense a self-made American.

In 1897, in Utica, New York, Mr. Fry was united in marriage to Miss Mary Evans and they have seven children: Walter, nineteen years of age; Paul, aged seventeen; Kenneth, sixteen; Ernest, twelve; Mary, eight; Wilfrid, six; and an infant daughter unnamed. The family enjoy a high social standing in the county and their home is renowned for its bounteous hospitality. Mrs. Fry takes an active part in all church and charitable projects and in the newer movements connected with war service.

In politics Mr. Fry is independent, giving his support to such measures and candidates as he deems most worthy of his support. He is a Presbyterian in his religious belief and his fraternal connections are with the Modern Woodmen of America. While he has attained prosperity for himself, he has done much good in furthering the development of Prosser and Benton counties by his extensive business enterprise and he is ever interested in any measure which may prove of benefit to the district and is ever ready to give of his means and of his services in order to promote such measures. He is a man of vision who preconceived the possi- bilities of Benton county and has made good use of the opportunities which pre- sented themselves to him. While he has become one of the leading business men of his part of the state, no other fortunes were wrecked in order to attain his ends. On the contrary, he has always been considerate of the interests of others and has often gone out of his way to let the other man live. All who know him speak of him with the highest respect, recognizing in him a man of more than ordinary quali- ties as men go, one with fine business acumen, with a strong character, with a sense of justice and with the best qualities of heart.

HENRY F. RODENBECK.

Henry F. Rodenbeck owns and occupies a beautiful home which he built in 1911. It stands in the midst of a ranch of eighty-one acres in the Naches valley-a well developed property which in its neat and thrifty appearance indicates the careful supervision of a practical and progressive owner. Mr. Rodenbeck was born in Min- den, Nebraska, February 26, 1879, a son of Frank and Lenora (Miller) Rodenbeck, who were early settlers of that state. They experienced many of the hardships and privations of pioneer life and on one occasion were in the midst of a terrible prairie

HENRY F. RODENBECK

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fire, and it was only their sod house that saved them. In the early '80s Mr. Roden- beck removed to Cleveland, Klickitat county, Washington, and subsequently to Gold- endale, this state. He next became a resident of Fort Simcoe, Washington, in 1893. He was a miller by trade and he conducted a mill for the government at Fort Simcoe for five years. In 1898 he removed to the lower Naches and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land whereon he still resides. He has reached the age of eighty- two years, while his wife is now seventy-two years of age. He has improved his farm and has thereon engaged in the raising of stock and fruit, and throughout his life his business activities have been carefully conducted

Henry F. Rodenbeck acquired a public school education and early began ranch- ing in connection with his father, whom he continued to assist for many years. He took up a homestead adjoining his father's ranch, securing one hundred and sixty acres, and later he purchased his father's tract of one hundred and twenty acres. When the Tieton canal was built, it supplied his entire ranch with water. He has since sold much of the property however, and his holdings now amount to eighty-one acres. He has eight acres planted to orchards, while the remainder is hay and pas- ture land and he raises a few sheep. His comfortable home was erected in 1911. It is one of the attractive residences of the district and in the rear stand large and substantial barns and all necessary buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. In fact his farm work is conducted along the most progressive lines. He is actuated by the spirit of modern development and improvement and whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion.

On the 25th of December, 1910, Mr. Rodenbeck was married to Ida Baily, a daughter of B. F. and Susan (Shriver) Baily, both of whom were natives of Penn- sylvania, whence they removed to Iowa at an early day, settling there in 1866. The father, who devoted his life to the occupation of farming, is now deceased, but the mother survives and is living in Seattle. In the latter part of his life, the father lived retired from active business.

Mr. Rodenbeck belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also to the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. His religious faith is indicated by his mem- bership in the Christian church and he is interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of the community in which he resides, giving active and helpful sup- port to many measures for the public good. In politics he votes independently, cast- ing his ballot for men and measures rather than for party. His has been an active and useful life fraught with good results and today he is the possessor of a hand- some competence that enables him to enjoy all of life's comforts and some of its luxuries. From his home he commands a splendid view of the Naches valley in the development of which he has largely participated and in the years passed he has witnessed its transformation from a wild tract of land covered with sagebrush into rich and productive ranch properties yielding golden crops of grain, while each fall the orchards hang heavy with fruit that is shipped to all parts of the country and even abroad.

ROBERT C. SCHREIBER.

Robert C. Schreiber is the secretary and treasurer of the Sunset Fruit & Produce Company. With the development of the orchards of the Yakima valley horticulture has become one of the chief industries of this section and has afforded splendid opportunities for the men of strong commercial sense and enterprise, who in handling the products of the valley have won substantial success. To this class belongs Mr. Schreiber, whose efforts as secretary and treasurer of the Sunset Fruit & Produce Company have made him widely known.

Mr. Schreiber was born in Chicago, May 15, 1880, a son of Arnold and Ever- dine (Arends) Schreiber. About 1866 the father established his home in Chicago, where he engaged in clerical work, and in 1881 he removed with his family to St. Joseph, Michigan, where he owned a fruit farm. Both he and his wife there passed away. The son acquired a public school education and also attended the Benton Harbor College, after which he took up the profession of teaching, which he fol-

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lowed for four years. He then spent two years and a half in the employ of Marshall Field & Company in their wholesale house and afterward engaged in general build- ing and contracting and the manufacture of cement building blocks, which he fol- lowed through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he was connected with the fruit business in Michigan until January, 1909. Making his way to the northwest, he spent a few months at Twin Falls, Idaho, and afterward went to Mon- tana, where he remained a short time, when he came to Washington. He was in Spokane until November of that year when he removed to Tacoma, while later he took up his abode at Sunnyside, Washington, where 'he engaged in the contracting business until 1912. In that year he became a resident of Yakima and was with the Yakima County Horticultural Union for one season. He devoted the years 1913 and 1914 to the contracting business and from June, 1915, until June, 1917, was con- nected with the Yakima Milling Company. He then became identified with the Sunset Fruit & Produce Company, which was incorporated on the 21st of March, 1917, with J. A. Davis as the president, B. L. Blood as vice president and R. C. Schreiber, secretary and treasurer. They built a warehouse sixty by one hundred and fifty feet, one story in height with basement. It is of brick and cement and has a storage capacity of one hundred carloads of fruit, there being eighteen thousand feet of floor space. One of the activities receiving a considerable portion of the company's attention is the handling and marketing of apples, which they sell under the "Golden Glow" and "Silver Spray" brands. The former brand applying to the extra fancy grade and the latter to the fancy grade. They also handle other fruits under the trademark name of the Sunset Fruit & Produce Company and handled alto- gether over one hundred and fifty carloads of fruit in 1917. They operate locally and their products are also sold all over the United States and in British Columbia. They buy in the open market and have brokerage arrangements with eastern firms. This is a close corporation and the business from the beginning has constantly grown and developed. From the beginning Mr. Schreiber has been the secretary and treasurer and as one of the chief executive officers has bent his energies to the devel- opment of the trade, which has steadily grown and has now reached gratifying proportions.

On the 6th of November, 1912, Mr. Schreiber was married to Miss Trece A. Davis, a daughter of J. A. Davis, of Yakima. Mr. Schreiber is a member of the Masonic lodge at St. Joseph, Michigan. In politics he maintains an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than for party. He belongs to the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and also to the Christian church and in these associations are found the rules which govern his conduct and shape his course in his relations to his fellowmen. His sterling worth is widely acknowledged by all who know him and his enterprise has gained hin an enviable position in commercial circles of Wapato.

JOHN ZENTENHORST.

John Zentenhorst is now practically living retired from business, occupying an attractive home on a five-acre tract of land near Yakima. He was born in Holland, May 24, 1861, a son of Gerritt and Diana Zentenhorst, who in 1872 left the land of the dikes and came to the new world, settling in Sioux county, Iowa, where they spent their remaining days, the father becoming a successful farmer of that locality.

John Zentenhorst was a lad of but eleven years when brought by his parents to the new world and he completed a good public school education in Iowa. Through vacation periods and after his schooldays were over he assisted his father in the work of the farm and continued to engage in agricultural pursuits in that state until 1889, when he sold his property there and made his way to the northwest, attracted by the opportunities of this section of the country. He journeyed to Yakima and soon afterward purchased forty acres of land on the Moxee. This was all wild and undeveloped and he at once began its improvement. His labors soon wrought a marked change in the appearance of the place and added much to its productive- ness. After a time Mr. Zentenhorst sold twenty acres of his original tract to his son

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Gerritt. He purchased sixty acres more in connection with his son and improved the entire tract. He at one time sold twenty acres of this but later bought it back again. He now his about sixty acres, all in fine shape, and on this he raises alfalfa, corn and potatoes. In 1914 he erected a fine home on a five-acre tract of land and there he is living practically retired, leaving the active work of the fields to others, while he is enjoying a well earned rest.

On the 8th of April, 1884, Mr. Zentenhorst was united in marriage to Miss June Zentenhorst, also a native of Holland and a daughter of Peter Zentenhorst, who came to the new world in 1871, settling in Iowa, where the marriage of our subject and his wife occurred. To them have been born seven children: Peter, engaged in ranching on the old homestead farm, is married and has one child; Gerritt, also a rancher, is married and has three children: Albert, who follows ranching on the Moxee, has a wife but no children; Jennie is the wife of R. S. Meyer, who owns a ranch in Yakima county, and they have three children; Diana is engaged in nursing; Alice is the wife of Gerritt Jongewaard, a resident of Sunnyside; Hattie is at home.

Mr. Zentenhorst and his family are members of the Dutch Reformed church and are people of genuine worth who are held in high regard wherever they are known. Mr. Zentenhorst has voted with the republican party since becoming a naturalized American citizen on questions affecting the welfare of the country but at local elec- tions, where no political issue is involved, casts an independent ballot. He is a self- made man and the energy and persistency which he has displayed in his business career have constituted the foundation of his present prosperity.

CHARLES C. WINGER.

Charles C. Winger has a fine ranch near Mabton, where he owns an excellent home and also has commodious barns, his buildings and the prosperous condition of his land bespeaking his industry and thoroughness. A native of Switzerland, he was born June 18, 1880, his parents being Chris and Elizabeth Winger, who in 1883 crossed the Atlantic and settled in Indiana, where the father turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, so continuing until the early '90s, when he removed to Athens, Wisconsin. There the family made their home for many years and the mother there passed away, but the father is now living in Minnesota.

Charles C. Winger began to earn his own livelihood at the early age of eight years, when he left the parental roof to which he never returned. It is therefore but natural that his educational facilities were limited, but being of a studious nature, he has acquired much knowledge in the school of experience and is today a well in- formed man. As soon as old enough he began to work for wages, and, diligently saving his earnings, he was soon enabled to rent land, thus increasing his annual in- come. Having been much impressed with the reports of the favorable opportunities presented in the far west, in 1908 he decided to migrate to the Pacific coast and in that ycar came to Yakima county, where he acquired five acres of land near Grand- view. To this he gave his assiduous attention, improving it greatly and subsequently selling. He then acquired title to ten acres near Grandview, which he also sold, and bought a forty-acre ranch which later passed into other hands. He next acquired twenty acres, which are still his, and he also cultivates thirty acres of land which belong to his father-in-law, and there he and his family now reside. He has erected a fine residence and good barns, has installed modern machinery and other facilities and in every way has proven himself an up-to-date agriculturist of the twentieth cen- tury. He raises hay, grain and corn and in fact devotes himself to general agricul- tural pursuits.

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History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 51

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