El Dorado County
Biographies
OLIVER N. HIRST
Oliver N. Hirst, who is the proprietor of the Class A Garage, located at 222 Main street in the city of Placerville, is a veteran of the automobile business, having been engaged in this line since the year 1899, when motor cars were yet in the experimental stage of their development. He is the local dealer for the Oakland and the Pontiac automobiles, and his garage is conducted in a most modern and efficient manner, giving satisfaction to his many patrons.
Mr. Hirst was born at Belleville, Canada, February 7, 1884, a son of Herbert Nelson and Emily (Goddard) Hirst, both of whom are now deceased. When Oliver N. Hirst was only five years old, his parents moved to Oakland, California, where the father, who was a mechanic was employed in railroad work.
When a boy, Oliver N. Hirst left home and thus missed the opportunity to attend school. However, he later realized his mistake, and took up regular study through his own efforts. He became an apprentice to mechanical trades in San Francisco, and in 1899 he entered the automobile business, which was then a comparatively new field. He engaged in automobile renting in San Francisco, also in Tonopah, Nevada, and in 1913 settled at Placerville, California, though he had been here intermittently since 1909. In 1914, he opened a small repair shop, but gave this up to become an employe of the state, in which capacity he remained for one year. He then leased a garage, which he managed until 1922, when he built a garage, which is considered one of the best in the county. He sells the Pontiac and Oakland cars and his close attention to business has brought him substantial success. Mr. Hirst is a republican politically, and is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to the Knights Templar Commandery, the Mystic Shrine, and the Sciots. Traveling is a favorite form of recreation, and he also manifests great interest in the conservation of the relics and antiques of pioneer days in the Sacramento Valley.
Mr. Hirst married Miss Elsie Elizabeth Cottrell of Carson City, Nevada, and they are the parents of four children, namely: Billie, Vernon, Ralph, and Charles.
Transcribed
by Joyce Rugeroni.
Source: Wooldridge, J. W. Major, History of the Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 2 Pages 395-396. Pioneer Historical
Publ. Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Joyce Rugeroni.
Golden Nugget Library's El Dorado County Biographies