Butte County
Biographies
EMERSON D. BRERETON
EMERSON D. BRERETON.—A young man of recognized ability whose worth reflects creditably on his honored father, one of the well-known clergy of the Congregational Church, and on the institutions of higher learning in which he was prepared for his work in life, is Emerson D. Brereton, secretary of the Western Ice and Fruit Cooling Company, and one of the originators of the enterprise. He was born at Chicago, Ill., on March 7, 1885, the son of John Brereton, a native of Ireland, who came to New York, in April, 1865. When nine years of age John Brereton was taken by his parents to Toronto, and at the University of Toronto he was educated. Later, he entered the Union Park Seminary, and in time graduated as a minister of the Congregational Church. He then followed the work of the ministry in Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas, and in the latter state he organized one of the first Union churches. Now he resides at San Francisco. Mrs. Brereton was Elizabeth Mary Emerson before her marriage, and she was brought up in Canada where she was born. She is still living, the mother of six children, of whom Emerson is the second eldest.
The latter was reared in Southern Missouri and for the most part at Springfield, in which town he was educated at Drury College. He then took up engineering work, pursuing a special course a the Armour Institute in Chicago and a correspondence course in electrical and mechanical engineering at the American School of Correspondence in the same city. Finishing these studies, he followed the work of an electrical engineer, and at Huttig, Ark., he was in charge of the electric light and waterwork system and of the ice and cold storage plants. For three years he remained there, mastering every detail of each department.
In 1909, Mr. Brereton came to Oroville as chief engineer for the Truckee Lumber Company, in connection with the erection of electrical and steam engines and similar apparatus. He started the machinery, and continued with the company for a year. In the meantime, with others, he organized the Western ice and Fruit Cooling Company, in which service he accepted the post of manager and superintendent, and put up the plant. Since these works have been opened, Mr. Brereton has been in charge, and for six years
He has been secretary of the company. The Western Ice and Fruit Cooling Company manufactures ice, handles it locally, both wholesale and retail, and ships large quantities away, having a capacity of five thousand tons of ice a year. The plant has two boilers of seventy horsepower each. They installed the first Deisel (sic) engine in the county, which operates on crude oil, with a capacity of seventy-five horsepower. An auxiliary engine has a capacity of sixty horsepower. A Frick ammonia compressor is used to manufacture ice. The product is shipped to Marysville, Chico, Stockton and Woodland. Mr. Brereton also owns a fifteen-acre ranch in Thermalito, which he devotes to horticulture.
At Oroville, Mr. Brereton was married to Miss Hazel Thunen, who was born at Cherokee and graduated from the Oroville High School. She was a stenographer. Two children have blessed this marriage: Ralph, and Isabelle Frances. Brought up in the Congregational Church, Mr. Brereton is still a member of the same, and supports it loyally.
Transcribed
by Sharon Walford Yost.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1272-1273, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Sharon
Walford Yost.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies