Butte County
Biographies
STYLES OLIVER
STYLES OLIVER.—A
prominent and successful business man of Chico, who takes a lively interest in
all public affairs and is liberal in all things that concern the general
welfare, is Styles Oliver, proprietor of the Golden Poppy confectionary shop on
Second Street. He was born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1874, a son of John Oliver,
born in Pennsylvania, but who came west to St. Louis and became a pioneer in
the manufacturing business in that city, where he also passed away.
Styles Oliver was brought up in St. Louis
and attended the public schools there until in 1888, when he was fourteen years
old. He then started out for himself and learned the confectionary trade.
Beginning at the very bottom, he worked diligently and soon was able to hold
his own. He gained considerable experience in different cities and for some
time traveled throughout the United States. In 1900, he landed in San Francisco
where he was soon working at his trade. For four years he remained with the
Barton-Fisher Company, of Sacramento, as their candymaker,
and later became manager of one of their stores, located at
420 K Street, in Sacramento.
Desiring a change of occupation, Mr.
Oliver found employment with the Southern Pacific Railway as a brakeman, which
he continued for seven years, running east from Sacramento. In 1912, he came to
Chico and opened the ice-cream department of the Rose City Creamery, on Third
Street. The following year he started an establishment of his own for the
manufacture of ice cream, which he sold at wholesale. Later he leased space in Bartlett’s
and put in a fountain and ran it for two years, but in 1916 he remodeled the
building, and installed new fixtures and a soda fountain, and opened the Velvet
Ice Cream Shop. He built up a good trade and sold out to good advantage. Some time later he bought the business carried on by the
Golden Poppy, where he is building up a fine business, catering to the best
circles in Chico and vicinity. Besides his business, Mr. Oliver owns a
ten-acre olive orchard in the Fair Oaks section, near Sacramento.
Mr. Oliver was united in marriage, in
Pueblo, Colo., with Miss Luella Hickam, a native of
Kansas City, Mo. Fraternally, Mr. Oliver is a
member of Great Oak Camp, W. O. W., and of Salinas Lodge,
B. P. O. Elks. He is also an active member of the Chico Business
Men’s Association.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
02 November 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Page 1285, Historic Record Co, Los
Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies