Kuck, Henry
HENRY LINCOLN KUCK
For a third of a century Henry Lincoln Kuck has been
identified with the business development of The Dalles and
through much of this period has conducted manufacturing
interests of importance. He is now senior partner in the
firm of Kuck & Son, giving their attention to the
manufacture of harness, saddlery and leather goods, and the
enterprise he has displayed and the integrity of his
business methods have constituted the basic elements of his
growing success.
Mr. Kuck was born at Lansing, Iowa, in 1862, his parents
being John and Mary (Meyer) Kuck, whose people have long
been represented in the middle west. The father was for many
years the leading harness and saddlery manufacturer of his
section of Iowa. Henry L. Kuck was educated in the graded
schools of his native town and afterward went to
Minneapolis, where he learned the trade of saddle and
harness maker, spending five years in thoroughly mastering
the business. In 1886 he came west and choosing The Dalles
as his place of location, here worked at his trade for three
years, but was desirous of engaging in business on his own
account and carefully saved his earnings until his industry
and economy brought him sufficient capital to permit him to
realize his desire. In 1889 he established his present
manufacturing enterprise, which through the intervening
years has been an important factor in the commercial and
industrial life of the city. He has developed it to
extensive proportions, until it is one of the foremost
interests of the kind in central Oregon. The firm is now
operating under the name of Kuck & Son, manufacturers of
all kinds of saddles, harness and leather goods, making a
specialty of cowboys' goods, such as pack bags, cuffs,
saddle-bags, holsters, tapaderos, chaps, etc., in endless
variety. The trade covers all parts of central Oregon and
extends into Washington and such is the volume of business
that a large force of workmen is constantly employed. The
use of the automobile has in no way interfered with the
trade of Kuck & Son, which was larger in 1919 than in
any previous year of its history. The firm has always
sustained an unassailable reputation for the high class of
goods turned out and the excellent workmanship, while the
integrity of its methods is an acknowledged factor in its
prosperity. Mr. Kuck is also one of the organizers of the
Citizens National Bank of The Dalles, a new banking
institution, and is likewise a stockholder in the Hotel
Dalles Company.
In 1890 Mr. Kuck was united in marriage to Miss Minnie A.
Anderson, a daughter of one of the pioneer fruit growers of
Wasco county. They have two sons: Harry L., who is the
publisher of the Pendleton (Ore.) Tribune; and Ernest A.,
who is a partner in the firm of H. L. Kuck & Son. Both
young men served their country in the World war as members
of the American Expeditionary Forces, spending about two
years in France. Ernest saw some particularly hard service,
doing active duty at the front for a long period.
In his political views Mr. Kuck is a stalwart republican and
was formerly chairman of the republican county central
committee of Wasco county. He is active in every movement
that spells progress for his district. He has served as city
alderman, while in 1899 and 1900 he was mayor of The Dalles.
He is a past exalted ruler of the Elks Lodge, also a Knight
of the Maccabees, a member of the Woodmen of the World and
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His activities and
interests have been broad and varied and for many years he
has occupied a conspicuous position as a representative
business man whose life record illustrates the fact that
industry and perseverance constitute a sate foundation upon
which to build prosperity.
History of
Oregon: Volume II
The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company
Chicago - Portland; 1922 |
Odell, John
JOHN GRAHAM ODELL
John Graham Odell of The Dalles, who is district manager of
the central district of Oregon for the Tum-a-Lum Lumber
Company, one of the most important and extensive lumber
interests of the northwest, was born in Dayton, Washington,
in July, 1882, his parents being A. E. and Delia (Graham)
Odell. His father was a native of the state of New York and
the Odell family has for many generations been prominent in
that section of the country. One of his cousins. Benjamin
Odell, was governor of New York. A. E. Odell left his native
state when sixteen years of age and removed to Wisconsin,
where he joined the Union army and fought through the Civil
war. After the close of the war he made his way to the
Pacific coast and established himself as a contractor at
Dayton, where he married and reared his family, becoming a
leading and influential citizen of that part of the country.
The Grahams, from whom John G. Odell is descended in the
maternal line, were an Ohio family who located in Oregon in
1852, settling in the Willamette valley, where the birth of
Delia Graham occurred. She has spent her life in the
northwest, witnessing the pioneer development of the state
in large measure.
John G. Odell was educated in the public schools of Dayton
and of Walla Walla, Washington, and also attended Whitman
College. Following his graduation he turned his attention to
the sawmill business in connection with his father and for
fourteen years remained in that line of work. After serving
for two years in connection with a mercantile enterprise at
Dayton he accepted in 1912 the position of manager for the
Tum-a-Lum Lumber Company at Grass Valley, and soon afterward
was promoted to district manager. He proved his capability
in the latter connection and in 1919 was transferred to the
central district of Oregon as district manager, with
headquarters at The Dalles. He still holds that post, the
district embracing Wasco, Sherman and Hood River counties,
with six lumber yards under his supervision. Mr. Odell's
long experience has given him intimate knowledge of the
lumber trade from the point when the timber is brought to
the mill until it is placed as a finished product on the
market.
In 1907 Mr. Odell was married to Miss Aral Holmes, a
daughter of W. P. Holmes, a business man of Dayton. They
have three children: Edwin Holmes, John Graham and Kathrine.
Mr. Odell belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks, is also an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias and in
the latter organization has filled all of the chairs. He has
-won a most enviable reputation both as a business man and a
citizen. His knowledge of the lumber trade is complete and
as district representative of the largest lumber concern in
this section of the northwest he occupies an important place
in the business world.
History of
Oregon: Volume II
The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company
Chicago - Portland; 1922
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