USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 50
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proved a profitable venture from the beginning and the long experience and keen sagacity of Mr. Powell have been valuable elements in its prosperity.
Mr. Powell has also been somewhat active and influential in political circles. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has supported the repub- lican party and while residing at Waitsburg was elected to represent his district in the last territorial legislature which, however, never convened, owing to the fact that Washington was admitted as a state. After coming to Spokane he was elected to the general assembly and served in the house in 1891-2. Following his retire- ment from that position he was called to the highest office within the gift of his fel- low townsmen, serving as Spokane's mayor during the years 1893-4, which was the most trying period in its history. The manner in which he handled Coxey's army and the way his administration checked all corruption in the city government was really the initial step in the establishment of good civic government in this city. It seems that nature qualified Mr. Powell for leadership, for he advances to a position of prominence in all of his various connections. While living at Waits- burg he served through the chairs of the grand lodge of Odd Fellows for the state of Washington during the first three sessions and was the third grand master of the state. At that time he was twenty-nine years of age and was the youngest man who had ever occupied this position up to that time. This is the only fraternal or- ganization with which he has become affiliated and he still retains his membership therein. He is likewise a member of the Spokane Club, the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club and the Spokane Chamber of Commerce.
On the 5th of December, 1874, at Waitsburg, Washington, Mr. Powell was united in marriage to Miss Dora E. Bruce, a daughter of Perry and Caroline (Mc- Neal) Bruce, of that city. They have five children in the family, as follows: Percy P., general manager of the Powell-Sanders Company; Edward B., an at- torney of Spokane; Gerda, the only daughter, who is the wife of James W. Rigsby, of Seattle; Wayne T., who is engaged in general merchandising at Meda, Washing- ton ; and Glen B., who is the youngest in the family. Mr. Powell and his wife reside at No. 1728 First avenue. He is numbered among the builders of Spokane, hav- ing been an active factor in business circles here since the time of the great fire, and his labors, intelligently directed, have constituted a factor in Spokane's com- mercial activity. His memory compasses the period of pioneer development in the northwest and he is a zealous and enthusiastic advocate of this section of the coun- try which he has helped to upbuild and which has rewarded his interests and devo- tion by substantial success.
GUS MEESE.
Gus Meese, sole proprietor of the firm of G. Meese & Company and owner of the Washington Broom Factory, was born in San Francisco, California, May 30, 1862, and was one of a family of five sons and a daughter, whose parents were Her- mann and Margaretha (Waldman) Meese, both of whom were natives of Germany. The mother died about 1881, but the father is now living in Oakland, California. He was one of the pioneers who crossed the plains in 1849 to the gold fields and was connected with the early development of the sugar and the wine industry in that
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state. He was connected with Claus Spreckels in the sugar refinery business and later was president of the Bay Sugar Refinery. He was also president of the United Anaheim Wine Growers' Association and was the owner of large vineyards in southern California. He has watched almost the entire development of that state and in its material progress has taken an active and helpful part. The four brothers of Gus Meese are: Constant, of Oakland, California, who is president of the Meese & Gottfried Company, handling transmitting power machinery, their main house being in San Francisco, with branches in Los Angeles, Seattle, Port- land and Spokane; Edwin, who is city treasurer of Oakland; Walter, who is en- gaged in the hardware business there; and Adolph, secretary of the E. C. Hughes Company, printers of San Francisco. The only sister, Emma, is the wife of J. C. H. Stut, of Oakland.
Gus Meese is the only member of the family who has left California to identify his interests with the Inland Empire. He was educated in the public and high schools of San Francisco and the Commercial College in Oakland. For a time he engaged in the printing business in the former city, following it for six months, or until he was graduated from the Commercial College. He then accepted the position of bookkeeper with the firm of Meyer Brothers & Company, wholesale grocers of San Francisco, but left there in January, 1885, and took a position as head book- keeper and creditman with L. Feldman & Company, of Portland, Oregon, conduct- ing a wholesale business in woodenware and brooms. He continued with that house until January 1, 1893, after which he came to Spokane and established business on his own account on South Post street in connection with W. H. Golder, under the firm name of Meese & Golder. For two years he continued at that location, con- ducting a wholesale business in wooden and willowware and in the manufacture of brooms. He then removed to the Bump block and in the fall of 1895 purchased the interest of the partner and continued the business under the firm style of G. Meese & Company, operating the broom factory under the name of the Washington Broom Factory. In 1900, owing to the large increase in his business, it was nec- essary that he have trackage to facilitate shipments and he purchased the property at the corner of Oak street and Sinto avenue, formerly the Spokane Soap Works. At that time there was a two-story frame building there with side wings. In May, 1904, however, the place was destroyed by fire and in the fall of that year he erected a three-story brick building with basement, fifty by fifty feet, and removed what was left of the old building to another part of the lot, where it is used as a warehouse. The Washington Broom Factory has a very large local trade and its output is grow- ing steadily. Fifty dozen brooms are turned out daily by the G. Meese & Company and this is one of the Spokane industries which is able to compete with the eastern manufacturers and sell the highest grade of its products as cheap as they can be sold anywhere. They find their only competition in prison-made goods. When the factory started, the output was two dozen daily, and something of the growth of the industry is indicated in the fact that the daily output is now six hundred full- size brooms and many whisk brooms per day. About a year ago the factory was equipped with new machinery, all of which is operated by electricity. A large ware- house is maintained in connection and among the employes are eighteen men who are heads of families, while the monthly payroll amounts to fifteen hundred dollars. The goods are sold as far east as Butte and Anaconda, Montana, one hundred miles to the north into British Columbia, south to Palouse and Camas Prairie, and west to
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Wenatchee and North Yakima. The output of the factory for 1911 was ten per cent more than in 1910 and the business is still growing along substantial lines.
On the 28th of April, 1885, in Oakland, California, Mr. Meese was united in marriage to Miss Martha Tum Suden, a daughter of Henry Tum Suden, a pioneer of California, engaged in the grocery business in Oakland. The children are: Regina; Gustav, who is a student in Whitman College; and Albert, who is with his father in business. Mr. Meese belongs to the Spokane Lodge of Elks, No. 228, to Red Cross Lodge, No. 28, K. P., and is now president of the board of trustees as also master of work. He has the honor of being the oldest grand lodge repre- sentative in this domain, having been elected to the position for fourteen consecutive years. He is also connected with the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan, in which he is imperial officer, chairman of the imperial board of trustees and master of ceremonies in the local temple. He likewise belongs to the Spokane Turn Verein, is a life member of the Inland Club, belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and was one of the board of managers of the 150,000 Club. He served as one of the commissioners to the Alaska-Yukon Exposition at Seattle and is an active factor in the support of all the various projects and movements which tend to promote the welfare and progress of the city and the northwest. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he is not an aspirant for office, preferring that his public duties shall be done in the capacity of a private citizen rather than as an office holder. Throughout his life he has largely concentrated his time and energies upon his business affairs and the result is such as would be pleasing to any one. Along the legitimate lines of trade he has developed an important enterprise that is bringing him substantial success and as the years go by, his prosperity is con- tinually increasing.
JUDGE J. D. HINKLE.
Judge J. D. Hinkle, judge of the superior court, now sitting in Department No. 1, was born December 30, 1855, in Edwards county, Illinois. His father, Jacob Hinkle, a native of North Carolina, is now living retired in Mattoon, Illi- nois. The family is of German origin but ancestors of Judge Hinkle were resi- dents of America as early as 1717, and representatives of the name played valor- ous parts in the struggle for national independence. Jacob Hinkle was united in marriage to Clara Glick, who was born in Pennsylvania, was of Pennsylvania Dutch descent and died in 1885. Their children were: J. D .; George E., also a resident of Spokane; Mrs. Emma McDowell, of this city; and Mary J. Boyle and Lucy Boyle, both of Mattoon, Illinois. After pursuing his education in the common and high schools of his native county, Judge Hinkle took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in Kansas in 1874. He entered upon active practice of the profession in Independence, that state, and remained there for ten years, his constantly increasing professional duties adding much to his experience and ability. In 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Mont- gomery county and served for two terms, or until 1880. He left Kansas in 1883 and removed to Buffalo, Wyoming, where he continued in the practice of law and also served as prosecuting attorney for one term, having been elected in
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1887. On his retirement from office he came to Spokane and here took up the active work of the profession with S. G. Allen as partner, under the firm name of Allen & Hinkle. He was not long in demonstrating his ability to successfully cope with involved and intricate problems of the law and was soon accorded a liberal clientele which connected him with much important litigation tried in the courts of the district. He practiced in a private capacity until 1894, since which time he has continuously been in office. He has served in a number of positions of trust and responsibility, having been a member of the board of education, a member of the city council and afterward police judge. The excellent record which he made upon the municipal bench indicated his fitness for higher judicial honors, and in 1908 he was elected judge of the superior court for a four years' term, sitting in Department No. 1, which was created by the constitution of the state. He was presiding judge for two years and is now in the common law department. His decisions are strictly fair and impartial, being based upon the facts and the evidence in the case and the principles applicable thereto.
On the 21st of November, 1882, in Kansas, Judge Hinkle was united in mar- riage to Miss Ida M. Davis, and they have one daughter, Marjorie Hinkle. The Judge and his wife are members of the Congregational church and are promi- nent socially in the city of their residence. He is well known in fraternal cir- cles, having taken the degrees of the York and Scottish Rites in Masonry and in the York Rite he has passed all of the chairs and is now treasurer of the com- mandery. He is likewise a member of the Mystic Shrine. He holds member- ship with Spokane Lodge of Elks, No. 228, is an Eagle and is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The social traits of his nature make him popular and his constantly developing intellectuality and ability have placed him not only high in his profession but have also made him the valued friend and companion of the most prominent and able residents of his city.
ALFRED COOLIDGE.
Alfred Coolidge, a capitalist of Spokane, is officially and financially interested in various important corporations but is not active in the management of any at the present time. He was for several years president of the Traders National Bank and still maintains his office there. His birth occurred at Silverton, Oregon, September 9, 1859, his parents being Ai and Frances (Allen) Coolidge, who came from Ohio and settled in Oregon in 1851. The father there engaged in farm- ing and also took up milling and merchandising, conducting a general store.
Alfred Coolidge, who was one of a family of four children, was educated in the public schools of Silverton and in the State University at Eugene, Oregon, from which he was graduated with the class of 1880. He at once entered the banking business, forming a partnership with Adolphus F. McClaine, who is now presi- dent of the Traders National Bank, the firm name of Coolidge & McClaine being adopted. From that time to the present Mr. Coolidge has been closely and promi- nently associated with financial interests in the northwest. Two years after the organization of the banking firm of Coolidge & McClaine, he went to Colfax, Whit- man county, Washington, where he organized the Colfax National Bank, of which
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he has since served as president. His financial institutions and operations have played a large part in the growth and development of Whitman county and his business interests have also constituted an important element in the growth and advancement of this section of the country. In 1904 he came to Spokane and accepted the presidency of the Traders National Bank, continuing in that posi- tion until 1907, when he resigned. At present he is chairman of the financial board. His business connections extend to various other corporations and inter- ests and he is now president of the Colfax National Bank, president of the Bank of Farmington, president of the First Savings & Trust Bank of Whitman county, vice president of the Bank of Tekoa and vice president of the Commercial State Bank of Oakesdale, Washington.
On the 28th of May, 1883, Mr. Coolidge was united in marriage to Miss Emma Scriber, a daughter of Charles Scriber, of Salem, Oregon, and they now have three children: Dolph, Max and Emma. The family is prominent socially and their own home is the abode of warm-hearted and gracious hospitality. Mr. Coolidge is identified with several fraternal orders, including the Knights of Pythias of Spokane, the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of Colfax. He belongs also to the Spokane Club, the Spokane Country Club and the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. He has never held office nor aspired to polit- ical honors, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs and private interests. There is no man in Spokane who occupies a more enviable position in business and financial circles than Alfred Coolidge, not alone by reason of the success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business policy he has followed.
JAMES CALVIN CUNNINGHAM.
James Calvin Cunningham was one of the first to engage in practical irriga- tion in the Spokane valley and in this as in other fields of labor he has con- tributed in large measure to the substantial development and progress of this sec- tion of the country. His name has figured prominently in financial circles for a long period and he is now vice president and manager of what was originally the Union Trust & Savings Bank of Spokane and is now the Union Trust & Savings Bank. He was born in Prince Edward county, Ontario, Canada, on the 10th of March, 1864, a son of James Robert Cunningham. The public schools of his native land afforded him his early educational privileges and following the re- moval of the family to South Dakota in 1881 he attended the Dakota Agricultural College of Brookings. In the meantime, however, he had made his initial step in the business world as an employe in a mercantile house in Chicago and while pursuing his college course his summer months were devoted to teaching, examina- tion having won for him a first-grade certificate. Thinking to take up the pro- fession of law as a life work he became a student in the office and under the direc- tion of Judge Glass, of Watertown, South Dakota, and while thus studying he also occupied a position in the county treasurer's office of Hamlin county.
Attracted by the rapidly growing west, Mr. Cunningham came to Spokane in 1889 and opened a real-estate and insurance office. In that field he gradually
JAMES C. CUNNINGHAM
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worked his way upward, becoming recognized as one of the leading insurance men of the northwest. From 1897 until 1906 he acted as special agent and adjuster for several American fire insurance companies, his territory including the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana. Throughout that period he traveled extensively in these states and it would be difficult to find one more familiar. with the country, its present conditions and its future possibilities than he. Seeing opportunity for judicious investments he became interested in farm lands in eastern Washington and northern Idaho and in order to handle his property to better advantage organized a company in 1906 which has since operated under the name of the Cunningham Realty Company. He took up the study of irrigation and was one of the first to introduce practical irrigating methods into the Spokane valley. He saw the rich resources of the country and became a most active factor in the development of the northwest, his labors proving of great benefit to the district as well as a source of substantial revenue to himself. In 1903 he organized the Valley Improvement Company which purchased and put under irrigation large tracts of land in the Spokane valley. On the organization of the company Mr. Cunningham became its president and still continues as its chief executive officer. His labors in that field were so successful that he further extended his efforts by purchasing the controlling interest in and reorganizing the Spokane Valley Land & Water Company in 1904. As its president he remained at the head of its affairs for some time but eventually disposed of his interests to D. C. Corhin. He had continued in the insurance field until 1906, when he severed all connection with that business and assisted in organizing the Union Trust Company of Spokane (later the Union Trust & Savings Bank), of which he was elected secretary- treasurer and manager. He served in that capacity for five years and at the annual meeting in 1912 he was elected vice president and manager of the bank and a member,of the executive committee. Thus he is closely associated with the financial interests of the city. In 1905 he had established the Trustee Company of Spokane and was its president until he took up the duties of the Union Trust Company. His connection with the former concern still continues in the capacity of director. In 1907 he became the organizer of the Spokane Title Company, of which he has continuously served as president. His financial activities have not been confined to Spokane for he became one of the promoters of the Connell Na- tional Bank of Connell, Washington, and was equally instrumental in organizing the Okanogan State Bank of Riverside, Washington, of both of which he is still a director. He has been a director of the Fidelity National Bank of Spokane for a number of years and is a stockholder of the Union Securities Company of this city and in the Reardan Exchange Bank of Reardan, Washington. He finds ready solution for intricate financial problems and his ability to coordinate forces into a unified and harmonious whole has been one of the potent elements in his success.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Cunningham was married in Brook- ings, South Dakota, in 1889, to Miss Sarah A. Haber, a daughter of Jacob Haber, and unto them have been born five children but the eldest, Ila W., died in July, 1908, at the age of eighteen years, and a little daughter died in infancy. Those still living are James Russel, Dorothy Helen and Robert Wesley.
Mr. Cunningham and his family attend the First Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as secretary of the board of trustees for sixteen years. He is also one of the trustees of the Deaconess Pension Fund Society, a national Vol. JI-24
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organization established in July, 1909. He cooperates in various projects for the growth of the church and the expansion of its work and in this as in business fields his labors are practical and resultant. He became one of the organizers and procured the charter for the Maria Beard Deaconess Home and Hospital and is president of its board of trustees. His hearty sympathy with all projects and measures for the moral uplift of mankind has been manifest in many tangible ways. He became one of the founders of the Young Men's Christian Association, as- sisted in erecting its building in Spokane, is now serving on its board of directors and is chairman of its finance committee. He has been equally loyal to the cause of public education and served for a number of years on the school board of Spokane.
During his early residence in Washington Mr. Cunningham was a member of the Washington National Guard, and during the Spanish-American war he re- enlisted as a member of Company L of the United States Volunteers. His fraternal relations are with Imperial Lodge, No. 134, I. O. O. F .; Oriental Lodge, No. 74, F. & A. M., in which be holds a life membership; Spokane Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M .; Cataract Commandery, No. 3, K. T .; Oriental Consistory, No. 2; and El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Spokane Univer- sity and Country Clubs. In 1910 he was elected one of the trustees of the Spokane Interstate Fair and at all times he readily cooperates in the projects for the development and upbuilding of the northwest. He enters into any work with contagious enthusiasm and zeal and never stops short of the successful accomplish- ment of his object. In no sense a man in public life, he has nevertheless exerted an immeasurable influence on the city of his residence; in business circles as a financier and promoter of extensive industrial, commercial and financial interests ; in social circles by reason of his charming personality and unfeigned cordiality; in citizenship by reason of his public-spirited devotion to the general good as well as his comprehensive understanding of the questions affecting state and national welfare; and in those departments of activity which ameliorate hard conditions of life for the unfortunate by his benevolence and his liberality.
WADE W. GIFFORD.
Wade W. Gifford, connected with the mining interests of the northwest, and making his home in Spokane, is a native son of this section of the country and is imbued with the enterprising, progressive spirit that has ever been character- istic of Washington's development. His birth occurred at Pullman, December 31, 1887, his parents being W. J. and Carrie J. (Bentley) Gifford, both of whom were natives of Michigan. They now reside in Spokane, Mr. Gifford having come to Washington in 1886. For a time he engaged in agricultural pursuits at Pullman and is now interested in the Hydraulic Placer Company. Unto him and his wife were born two sons and a daughter, Wade W., Roy D. and Cecil.
The first named pursued his education in the public schools of Spokane, pass- ing through consecutive grades until he entered the high school. He also pur- sued a business course and was graduated in 1907. His first situation was that of bookkeeper and secretary for the Milwaukee Land Company, the Northern
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Pacific Railway, A. L. White and the Spokane Washington Improvement Company. In the meantime his attention was directed to mining interests, and forming a . partnership with C. W. Butterfield, he purchased the Princess Republic Mine on bond. Their interests were incorporated, with C. W. Butterfield as president; Mr. Gifford as secretary and treasurer; and John M. Lloyd, of Colfax, as vice president. The mine is fully equipped and developed, and shipment is about to be made. There is a shaft of six hundred and twenty-five feet in depth and drifts from the shaft at intervals of one hundred feet, totaling over two thousand feet in all. It carries a sulphite ore of gold and silver values, and the assay runs very high. They have two claims, the Princess Maude and the Dude. Mr. Gif- ford is also interested in the Hydraulic Placer Company, Inc., owning property on the Salmon river in Idaho, which company has been working a crew of ten men since the 1st of June, 1911, so that the mine is now ready for operation on a large scale. They have one hundred and forty acres, comprising seven claims, with a four-mile flume and a ditch line, representing an expenditure of over fifty thousand dollars. They have a fall of one hundred and fifty feet head water and indications are favorable for successful operation and development. Of this company C. W. Butterfield is the president; E. M. Bates, vice president; Wade W. Gifford, secretary and treasurer; and H. Foster, superintendent. They have facilities for operating a large yardage at a conservative valuation of fifty cents per yard. Black sand is plentiful and the average is one hundred dollars per ton.
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