Clark J. Bonner was a nephew of William A. Clark and J. Ross Clark, the builders of the Los Alamitos Sugar Factory. When J. Ross Clark died in 1927, Bonner who had been a successful businessman in his own right, assumed control of J. Ross Clark’s financial interests. He already controlled the financial interests of … Read more
This article was originally published in The News-Enterprise, presumably in the year 1980. Bessie Juszkievicz was the wife of Bronislav Juszkievicz who was the field superintendent for the sugar beet factory. They arrived in Los Alamitos in 1922 from Illinois. Bronislav kept that job for a number of years, even after the factory shut down … Read more
27 march 1921 – Facts About Sugar, April 23, 1921, p.335 GUY SAWYER DYER DEAD News is received of the death at his home in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 27, after an illness of two weeks, of Guy Sawyer Dyer, one of the pioneer beet sugar men of the United States. Mr. Dyer was the … Read more
27 march 1921 – Facts About Sugar, April 23, 1921, p.335 GUY SAWYER DYER DEAD News is received of the death at his home in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 27, after an illness of two weeks, of Guy Sawyer Dyer, one of the pioneer beet sugar men of the United States. Mr. Dyer was the … Read more
On May 24, 2011, Huguette Clark, one of the world’s richest women and subject of many TV reports last fall, died at the age of 104. Worth over an estimated half billion dollars, she grew up in New York’s Gilded Age, among the Guggenheims, Astors, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. When she died, she hadn’t been seen … Read more
JAN 1896 – Dyer and Capitain enter in agreement to sell bonds for the Cerritos Sugar Company. They agreed to sell enough bonds to raise $4[00,000?]. After that sum had been reached, they could begin to deduct their expenses and [earn/draw] a commission; all of this had to be accomplished before November 1, 1896. Apparently, … Read more
The June 11 entry in Chris Jepsen’s OC Historical Roundup blog features one of the classic photos of early Los Alamitos, most likely taken in the late 19 teens or early 1920s. I believe this originally comes from the First American OC History photo archives. You can see why the small western town of Los … Read more
A valuable tool for any history buff are the the Sanborn Maps. Originally created to assess fire insurance liability in urbanized areas in the United States, the maps are now seen by historians, genealogists, sociologists, preservationists and even city planners as a valuable guide to tracking the growth of a town, state or country. The … Read more
To the left is a late 1896 USGS map showing the lower portion of “the Downey” quadrangle, the upper portion of the Bolsa quadrangle and the west portion of the Anaheim quadrangle, but mainly focusing on Rancho Los Alamitos and the surrounding area. The sugar factory would be constructed later that year but the early … Read more
1899-1900 Orange County Directory Belt Fine Publishing, Santa Ana — $2.00 March 1899 [p.153] LOS ALAMITOS Is located on a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad some 14 miles northwest of Santa Ana. It is the heart of the sugar beet section and the Los Alamitos Sugar Beet factory is located there. This establishment alone distributes … Read more