Biographies for Multnomah County Oregon
AARON M. FRANK Aaron M. Frank, assistant manager of the great department store of Meier & Frank, of Portland, is one of the city's progressive young business men and is an important factor in its commercial life. He is also widely known for his remarkable success in assembling pure-blooded show horses, and hackney ponies in the showing of which he has gained a national reputation. Born in Portland in 1891, Mr. Frank is a son of Sigmund and Fannie (Meier) Frank, of whom extended mention is made on another page of this work. He attended the public and high schools of Portland and entered the law school of the University of Oregon, from which he was graduated in 1913. He was admitted to the bar and practiced his profession here for two years, after which he became identified with the Meier & Frank Company as assistant manager, in which position he is still serving. He is a keen and discriminating business man and possesses to marked degree those dependable qualities so essential to success. In 1916 Mr. Frank was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Rosenfeld, of Portland, and they are the parents of two children, Richard S. and Gerald W. He is the owner of a highly improved farm of twenty-five acres within fifteen minutes' ride of the city and has made of it one of the show places of this section of the state. Here he has achieved success in the breeding of fine horses, in which he has gained wide recognition, having won the blue ribbons on his horses in every horse show in the west and many of the leading shows in other parts of the country. He became the owner of a pony in his boyhood and from that time his interest in horses has never abated. The "Aaron M. Frank Farm," under which name his place is known, has justly become famous for its horses, which are acknowledged to be the finest in their classes in the west. Outstanding among them are the hackney horses, Stella Vane and Buckley Vedie, both of which are imported and are the undefeated champions in the Olympic, London and Richmond shows. Also Knight Commander, who was the winner of the Coral Gables cup for three years at the Madison Square Garden show in New York city. He was imported from England and was the most sensational horse in his class ever shown in this country. Aloma, registered as Hamilton Queen, a hackney pony, was the winner of the Pacific International stake at Palo Alto and Sacramento in 1927, and her full brother was the winner of the Harness pony stake at Madison Square Garden in 1927. The Blue Book recognizes Aloma as one of the greatest hack ponies living. Mr. Frank also owns Loughspring, a hunter and winner of numerous stakes, being recognized as one oi the greatest hunters in the United States; also Mayheart, Frank Kierce, Wailele and Alsie, all of which are thoroughbreds of national reputation. Mr. Frank has always shown his horses as from Portland, and at New York, Chicago, Kansas City and other leading horse shows of the country they are known as Portland horses, contributing thus to the general reputation of this city. Mr. Frank holds many private shows on his farm, where he has one of the largest private covered rings in the United States, having a seating capacity of seven hundred and fifty. He has an outside track of one-eighth mile, with an Olympic course in the center. He takes a justifiable pride in his horses and well merits the splendid success which has come to him in this way. He is a man of keen business discernment and therefore is satisfied with nothing short of the best results in anything he undertakes. He enjoys a wide acquaintance and has a host of warm and admiring friends throughout the country. (Submitted by Jim Dezotell History of the Columbia River Valley - From The Dalles to the Sea Volume III - Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company - 1928)
CARL C. JANTZEN Unquestionably, no innovation in clothing in many years has been received with more sincere or spontaneous appreciation than the advent of the Jantzen swimming suits, which, due to their notably superior qualities over the suits formerly on the market, at once won the approval of swimmers and are now worn the world over by a constantly increasing number of satisfied users. The story of the creation of this brand of goods is the story of the sagacity, vision and determination of two. young men who, convinced that they had the right idea, backed their faith by their indomitable and persevering efforts until they attained their goal. Their subsequent career is a record of continuous success and growth, until today they stand at the head of the manufacturers of goods in the line and the Jantzen Knitting Mills is one of Portland's most important industries. Carl C. Jantzen, one of the founders and now secretary of the Jantzen Knitting Mills, was born in Aarhus, Denmark, on the 8th of March, 1883, and is a son of Carl C. and Mary (Hansen) Jantzen, who brought their family to the United States in 1890, locating in Portland, Oregon, where the father engaged in contracting and house building. He is now deceased, and his widow still resides in this city. Carl C. Jantzen acquired his early education in the public schools of Denmark and completed his studies in the grammar schools of Portland. He was first regularly employed as a driver of a delivery wagon, for which work he received five dollars a week. When seventeen years old he went to work in the Meier & Frank department store as a cash boy, later was advanced to the wrapper's desk, and eventually becoming head of the wrapping department. He quit that position to accompany the family to Hood River, Oregon, where the father bought an apple orchard, in the cultivation of which Carl took an active part. During the winter months he worked in logging camps or cut cordwood in the mountains. After following that line of activity for six years Mr. Jantzen formed the acquaintance of John Zehntbauer, of Portland, who was at that time on a vacation. While on a fishing trip together Mr. Zehntbauer proposed that Mr. Jantzen sell his interest in the fruit ranch and go into the knitting business with him in Portland, with which line of work he was familiar. Two weeks later Mr. Jantzen accepted his proposition and joined him. In deciding on the particular line of goods on which to center their efforts, they were guided by the fact that, both being swimmers, they had noted the failure of so-called bathing suits to qualify as swimming suits, both because of their tendency to shrink and because of their cumbersome style. Realizing that the fiat stitch fabric then in use, which had no elasticity, and hence no fit, was unsuitable, they decided on the adoption of an elastic knit stitch. Their great difficulty now was in finding a machine capable of making this stitch. They tried out machine after machine in the little factory which they had established on Alder street, but none were satisfactory. They went east to inspect other machines, but the manufacturers there declared it impossible to make the stitch they desired by machinery. Nothing daunted, they returned to Portland and spent a year in patient experiments in their plant and eventually solved the problem. Mr. Jantzen went back east with his specifications and personally supervised the building of a machine which met his requirements in making elastic knit swimming suits. This accomplishment spelled their success, and in 1910 a company of three men was formed, known as the Portland Knitting Company, of whom the owners were J. A. Zehntbauer, C. R. Zehntbauer and Carl C. Jantzen, who were respectively president, vice president, and secretary and factory manager. J. R. Dodson, treasurer, joined the company in 1914. They adopted the name Jantzen as a trade name, as a tribute to the man who was mainly responsible for the design, quality and manufacturing of the product. Three years after starting the business, the company bought out the Luke Knitting Company, later also bought out the Nollan Knitting Company, and two years thereafter the company name was changed to the Jantzen Knitting Mills. In a short time the business outgrew its original quarters and in 1919 a new home for the plant was erected between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets on Sandy boulevard, which, in January, 1924, was augmented by another unit, which doubled its capacity, and the plant, which is one story high, now occupies two city blocks, while the company owns another block of ground, giving room for further expansion when necessary. The company adopted a national advertising program, which was rewarded with remarkable results and today the Jantzen products are sold in every part of the United States, as well as in fifty-four foreign countries. In 1921, when thousands of factories were closed for lack of orders, the Jantzen mills were running three eight-hour shifts a day. Sales were doubled in 1922, and again doubled in 1923 and 1924, and the continuous growth of the business has been one of the marvels of the commercial world. Among the original and striking mediums of advertising employed by advertising firms in the past few years, the introduction of the Jantzen diving girl windshield stickers was perhaps the most unique, and was generally used throughout the country, many millions of them being stuck on the windshields and back windows of cars. The Jantzen mills have created wondrous colors, including pastel shades, harmoniously blending, and the vivid hues, in subtle contrast, and as an aid to buyers have issued the "Jantzen Color Harmony Guide," by Hazel Adler, an international authority on color combinations, for color harmony is considered the keynote to fashionable apparel today. The Jantzen Knitting Mills use Oregon-grown wool, which has to its credit the natural advantage of climate and softness of water, and which is spun and dyed in the Oregon Worsted Mills, the only mill of its kind west of the Mississippi. The following are some statistical facts concerning the Jantzen Knitting Mills: This year's production is over eighty-three thousand dozen, or one million suits; the daily product is over three hundred dozen suits; the mills use over three-quarters of a million pounds of yarn a year, at a cost of one million three hundred and fifty thousand dollars; there are one and a half miles of yarn and over a million stitches in every suit; a new knitting needle is required for every two suits, or one hundred thousand new needles a year; there are a thousand and forty-four needles in an average size knitting machine, half vertical and half horizontal, eight thousand three hundred and twenty-five stitches being made with every revolution; the silk labels and diving girls attached to the garments cost over fifty thousand dollars a year; the sewing thread costs over five thousand dollars and the rubber buttons over two thousand dollars; there are one hundred and thirty-two sewing machines and seventy-one knitting machines; there are one hundred and twelve individual motors, or ninety-two horse power for the machines; there is eighty thousand square feet of floor space and the building is lighted by eight hundred and sixty-four lamps. In the mills there are employed over five hundred people, about seventy-five per cent of whom are women, and the monthly payroll is between seventy thousand and seventy-five thousand dollars; there is an annual picnic for the employees of the company and all of the employees are given from ten days to two weeks vacation with pay. The annual sales are over three million one hundred thousand dollars, and this company is the second largest parcel post shipper in Portland. The company has forty-three salesmen and has forty sales representatives in over fifty foreign countries. During the last four years yarns have increased in cost fifty-four per cent, while the company has reduced the selling price of its products seventeen per cent, this being made possible through increase in manufacturing efficiency and volume of sales. The company uses a wide variety of colors in its goods, the best sellers of which are black, navy, Jantzen blue and cardinal, forty per cent of the colors sold being black and navy. The annual clippings of wool in the mills amount to one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds, all of which is sold and used for woolen fabrics, such as blankets and mackinaws. In 1909 Mr. Jantzen was united in marriage to Miss Emma Pregge, a daughter of Henry and Wilhelmina (Hillman) Pregge, who were pioneer settlers in Hood River, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Jantzen are the parents of two children, Oneita, who is a student in the University of Oregon, and Carl C., Jr., now ten years of age. Mr. Jantzen is a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, the Multnomah Golf Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He has devoted his efforts indefatigably to the business, of which he has been a most essential factor, and his progressive and enterprising methods have brought abundant fruitage in the worthy success which is now his. He is a man of far-sighted vision and sound judgment, and the company has gained recognition throughout the civilized world through its aggressive policy and the fact that its products are the best that can be had. The company has a branch factory at Vancouver, British Columbia, and has just built another factory in Sydney, Australia, which is now in successful operation. Personally, Mr. Jantzen is a man of quiet and unassuming manner, but has shown himself in every way worthy of the respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellowmen. (Submitted by Jim Dezotell History of the Columbia River Valley - From The Dalles to the Sea Volume III - Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company - 1928)
CHARLES EDGAR COCHRAN Charles Edgar Cochran, assistant general attorney of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company, was born on a farm in Union county, this state. May 8, 1873, a representative of one of the pioneer families. His father, Samuel Cochran, was born in Wayne county, Iowa, May 17, 1846, and devoted his entire life to the occupation of farming until his retirement. He was married in his native county to Miss Louisa Jane Ruckman. also a native of Iowa, and in 1872 they came to Oregon, where the mother's death occurred on the 29th of August, 1910. The father survives and resides in the Rose City. Charles E. Cochran acquired his early education in the country schools of Union county and afterward attended the high school at -Union, Oregon, from which he was graduated in 1887. Ambitious to acquire a thorough education as a preparation for life's practical and responsible duties, he then entered the State Normal School at Monmouth, Oregon, and was there graduated in 1890. In preparation for the legal profession he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he entered the University of Michigan and is now numbered among its alumni of 1894. Immediately afterward he returned to Union, where he opened a law office in the month of October, having been admitted to the bar of the state in the previous June. He continued to practice there until October, 1906, when he removed to La Grande, Oregon, remaining a member of the bar of that city until July, 1912. He then came to Portland and entered the law department of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company as assistant general attorney and has since acted in that capacity. He is likewise assistant secretary of the corporation, is also secretary of the San Francisco & Portland Steamship Company, the secretary of the Oregon & Washington Railroad Company and a director of the State Bank of Portland. His business interests are thus extensive and of an important character, connecting him with a number of the leading corporations of the state. On the 20th of May, 1905, in La Grande, Oregon, Mr. Cochran was married to Miss Nellie Virginia Ghormley, a native of Rochelle, Indiana, and to them have been born two children: Ruth Melissa and Jane Virginia. Politically Mr. Cochran is a republican. During the World war he served on the legal advisory board and was most active in support of federal interests. He was made chairman of the legal committee of the State Council of Defense, chairman of the Committee of Seventy for the instruction of drafted men as to their civil rights and privileges and was also active along various other lines which had to do with the prosecution and financing of the war. He has attained high rank in Masonry, being a Knight Templar and also a member of the Consistory and the Mystic Shrine. He has membership with the Knights of Pythias and is well known in club circles. He is president of the Irvington Club and a past president of the Portland Rotary Club. He is also governor of the twenty-second district, comprising Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, of the International Association of Rotary Clubs. His religious faith is indicated in his connection with the Westminster Presbyterian church of Portland and he is serving as a member of its board of sessions. His interests extend to all of those activities which have to do with the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community and his labors have been an effective force along many lines of advancement. (Submitted by Jim Dezotell History of Oregon: Volume II The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company Chicago - Portland; 1922 )
ABRAHAM MEIER One of the outstanding figures in the commercial affairs of Portland is Abraham Meier, president of the firm of Meier & Frank, whose great department store is one of this city's most important business establishments. He was practically reared in this business, of which he has been the executive head for the past seventeen years, and is regarded as one of Portland's able and most successful merchants. Born in Portland on the 9th of March, 1888, he is a son of Aaron Meier, extended mention of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Abraham Meier received his educational training in the Harrison street public school and the high school, and then entered his father's store, with which he has since been actively identified. In the course of time he became an expert in his judgment of merchandise and in this particular field is regarded as one of the leaders in this section of the country. He held various official positions in the business and on March 6, 1911, was made president of the company, which position he still retains. In the '90s the present splendid store building was erected on Fifth, Morrison and Alder street, beyond what was then the retail district of the city, and the subsequent trend of business abundantly vindicated the judgment of the firm as to location. Mr. Meier has continued the business along the same progressive and capable manner that characterized his father's career, and has added prestige to a name already illustrious in this city for commercial achievement. In 1895 Mr. Meier was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Eising, of New York city, and to them have been born four children, namely: Harold, who died at the age of nineteen years; Allen, who is general merchandise man in his father's business; Jeanette, the wife of Walter Heller, of San Francisco, California; and Frank, who is in the Montezuma Mountain School in California. Mr. Meier is a member of the Auld Lang Syne Society, the Native Sons of Oregon, the Concordia Club, the Tualatin Country Club and the Portland Chamber of Commerce. He gives his political support to 'the republican party and has ever shown a deep interest in everything pertaining to the public welfare. Because of his sterling character, distinctive business ability and splendid success, he commands public confidence and regard and is recognized as one of Portland's representative men of affairs. ALLEN E. MEIER Allen E. Meier, merchandise manager for Meier & Frank, owners of Portland's greatest department store, is well qualified for the responsible position which he holds, having worked his way through all departments of the store, and is contributing in every definite measure to its success. He was born in Portland in 1896 and is a son of Abraham Meier, president of the Meier & Frank Company, a separate sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. Meier completed the courses of the public and high schools of Portland, after which he attended the University of Pennsylvania and Reed College. In 1917 he enlisted in the United States Navy for service in the World war and was assigned to the intelligence department, in which he served until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. He then entered the Meier & Frank store and, beginning at the bottom, worked through all of the departments, with the stock of which he became thoroughly familiar, and for the past five years he has been merchandise manager, being regarded as an expert in his line. In 1923 Mr. Meier was united in marriage to Miss Jane Seller, of Portland, a daughter of Fred Seller, who was a pioneer of this city and became a member of the firm of M. Seller & Company, with which he remained identified until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Meier are the parents of two children, Allen, Jr., and Roger. Mr. Meier is a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, the Tualatin Country Club and the Chamber of Commerce, while in his political views he is a republican. He is fond of outdoor life, golf being his favorite form of recreation. He is a man of splendid character and agreeable personal qualities, is exceedingly popular in social circles and commands the uniform respect of all who have come in contact with him. (Submitted by Jim Dezotell History of the Columbia River Valley - From The Dalles to the Sea Volume III - Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company - 1928)
WILLIAM B. LAYTON In his special field of law practice, William B. Layton, of Portland, is regarded as an expert, as is evidenced by the remarkable success which is crowning his efforts, and he is today regarded as one of the leading attorneys of the Columbia River Valley. He was born in Butte, Montana, in 1891, and is a son of John J. and Ellen J. (Cotter) Layton. His father went to Montana in pioneer days, and he became one of the prominent and influential citizens of the commonwealth, being one of the first state officials after its admission to the Union. He was married there and continued to reside at Butte until 1910, when he and his family moved to Oregon, where he was identified with the dredging department of the Port of Portland until his death, May 11, 1928. William B. Layton was given the advantage of a good public school education and then entered the law school of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1912. He immediately returned to Portland and engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has met with a very gratifying success. He specializes in business organization, management and control and his clientele has grown in volume to the extent that he now employs four other attorneys as assistants. In 1915 Mr. Layton was united in marriage to Miss Anne Keller, of Portland, and they are the parents of four children, Anne Jeannette, John, William and Richard. Mr. Layton is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the University Club, the Portland Golf Club, and the Chamber of Commerce, in which he served on the reorganization committee. He maintains professional affiliation with the Multnomah County Bar Association, the Oregon State Bar Association and the American Bar Association and among his colleagues is held in high esteem for his learning and ability, as well as for his sterling qualities of character, while throughout the community he commands the good will of all who know him. (Submitted by Jim Dezotell)
DAVID L. HOGGAN David L. Hoggan, whose record is one of outstanding success and who deserves especial mention by reason of what he has accomplished, his life history illustrating the force of enterprise and determination as factors in the world's work, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, January 6, 1890, a son of David and Martha (Swanier) Hoggan. The father died during the son's first decade. His maternal grandfather was one of the first general contractors in Utah and became one of the largest operators in that line in the state. The grandfather in the paternal line was Walter Hoggan, a native of Scotland, who became a contractor in stone in Utah. It was in the public schools of his native city that David L. Hoggan acquired his education and after his textbooks were put aside he was employed at various places but always in connection with building operations, for he followed in the footsteps of his two grandfathers and has achieved notable distinction along this line. He has at different periods been located in Canada, New York and Idaho, and for a time was in Denver with Smith McCallin, the largest plaster contractor west of Chicago. In 1915 Mr. Hoggan arrived in Portland, where he at once embarked in the contracting business, his first job being the Couch school building. Today his books show that he has done a business amounting to over five million dollars, his pay roll amounting to between twelve and thirteen thousand dollars monthly, the number of his employes averaging from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and seventy-five. Some of the leading contracts which he has secured include the Multnomah County Hospital, the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, the new annex to the University of Oregon, the addition to the Good Samaritan Hospital, the Elks Temple, the Masonic Temple, the Knights of Columbus building, the Telegram building, the new Utilities building, the new Pacific building, the Weatherly building, the Oriental theater, the Portland theater and the new Heathman Hotel, while recently he has executed a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar contract on the new Veterans Hospital. This included thirteen buildings there and scores of others elsewhere. At American Lake he erected twenty-eight buildings for the government and he also built the court house at Kelso, Washington, the first National Bank Building, the Elks building, the Parrish high school, two theater buildings at Salem and the Elsinore theater, which is one of the finest in all the northwest. Mr. Hoggan carried on the business independently until 1919, when he was joined by Frank Lanning, this association being maintained until 1924. In the following year the present company was organized under the name of David L. Hoggan, ornamental plaster and stone industries. The business includes both plain and ornamental plastering, ornamental plaster and stone works and also brick and stone construction, and now associated with Mr. Hoggan are his two brothers, A. C. and L. G. Hoggan, and James L. Dorney and Adrian Voisin. In 1925 his present building was erected. It is a unique structure of modified Italian style, recognized as one of the finest in the city, while its odd character attracts wide attention. Mr. Hoggan believes in sharing his profits with his employes and therefore pays high wages, ranging from five dollars and a half per day to eighteen dollars. He has become a recognized authority in his line of work and thus it is that his business has reached extensive proportions, ranking him among the leading contractors of the northwest. Mr. Hoggan married Miss Iris Danforth, of Portland, and they have two children, Patricia and David, Jr., aged respectively ten and six years. Fraternally Mr. Hoggan is a Mason, belonging to Harmony Lodge, the Scottish Rite bodies and the Mystic Shrine. He is also identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World and his public spirit is manifest in his connection with the Lions Club, the Portland Chamber of Commerce and the Oregon Manufacturers Association. He is interested in all that has to do with municipal progress and public improvement and supports all projects for the general good, while at the same time his business has been a contributing element to the improvement of the city. (Submitted by Jim Dezotell History of the Columbia River Valley - From The Dalles to the Sea Volume III - Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company - 1928)