Glenn
County
Biographies
GEORGE W. STURM
For
five years Orland has benefited by the progressive administration of George W.
Sturm, its popular mayor, who has manifested rare qualities as a public
official and is also a substantial business man of high standing. A native of Illinois, he was born August 7,
1877, and is a son of John and Lena Sturm, who came to California in 1892,
settling near Porterville in Tulare County, where the father engaged in farming
for a number of years. At the time of
his retirement he established his home in Berkeley, there residing until his
death in 1905, and twelve years later his widow passed away in that city.
In
the acquirement of an education George W. Sturm attended the grammar and high
schools of Illinois and then sought the opportunities of the west. For a number of years he lived in North
Dakota and still has land in that state.
Coming to California in 1910, he first located in Berkeley, where he
spent four years, and in 1914 opened a real estate office in Orland. Here he has since engaged in business under
the style of Sturm Brothers. They
specialize in agricultural properties, owning two thousand acres of valuable
land. Some is used for dry farming,
yield large crops of barley, wheat and other grains, while a forty-acre tract
near Orland contains a fine orange grove, and all of their holdings are in this
district, ranging from one to eight miles from Orland. Their business is methodically and wisely
managed and brings to them gratifying financial returns. In 1910, Mr. Sturm was married to Miss Annette Peck, a daughter
of Alphonso and Sophia (Chatterdon)
Peck, of Minnesota. The children of this
marriage are Wayne and Neal, high school pupils. Mr. Sturm is identified with various Masonic
bodies of Orland and with Ben Ali Temple of the Mystic Shrine at
Sacramento. He also has fraternal
relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of
America. Fishing affords him recreation
and he also enjoys the sport of hunting.
In politics he is an independent republican and since 1925 has been
mayor of Orland, his retention in the office indicating his qualifications therefor and appreciation of his services on the part of
his fellow townsmen. He has instituted
needed reforms and improvements, working at all times for the best interests of
the community, and is broad in his views, progressive in his standards and high
in his ideals,--a man whom to know is to esteem and respect.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 2 Pages 221-222. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Glenn County Biographies