Butte County
Biographies
CHARLES W. RAISH
CHARLES W. RAISH.—In the life and record of Charles W. Raish, we have a most striking example of integrity and unremitting toil. His father, S. A. Raish, was a native of Pennsylvania, and a member of one of the old families of that state. He followed the trade of the blacksmith all his life; and it was at Snydersville, Monroe County, Pa., where his shop was located, that his son, Charles W., was born, on July 30, 1887.
Charles W. Raish was educated in the public schools and at the age of seventeen became apprenticed as a machinist in the New York and Susquehanna Railroad Company’s shop at Stroudsburg, Pa. At the end of his three years’ apprenticeship, he was employed by the company, and in time he rose to the position of foreman. He remained with them nearly eight years in all, after which he resigned to accept the position of machinist in the shops of the New Jersey Zinc Works at Palmerton, Pa.
In 1912, Mr. Raish came west to San Francisco and was employed as machinist for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in their shops in Sacramento. In March, 1913, he was transferred to their De Sabla powerhouse, where he continued for three years as master mechanic. He then resigned to go into business for himself in Chico. Mr. Raish purchased a half interest in the Broadway Garage, in partnership with W. J. Bowman, remaining in the same location at Eighth and Broadway, but changing the name of their establishment to Chico Welding and Machine Works. In August, 1917, Mr. Raish bought out Mr. Bowman and became the sole proprietor of the establishment, which is called the Chico Machine Works. The shop is splendidly equipped with up-to-date machinery (lathes, drills, etc., run by electric power) for all kinds of engine, auto, and machine repair work. They are prepared to bore and grind cylinders for tractors and gas engines, to fit pistons and also to install cylinders for tractors and gas engines, to fit pistons and also to install cylinder guides; and the overflow of work in the shop is indicative of the expert quality of workmanship turned out.
Mr. Raish was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Estella Neyhart, who was born in Snydersville, Pa. They have one daughter, Berneta May. Politically, Mr. Raish is a Republican. He is public-spirited in his views, and is held in high esteem in the community where he resides.
Transcribed
by Sharon Walford Yost.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1272, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Sharon
Walford Yost.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies