Los Angeles
County
Biographies
ARNOLD
C. ANDERSEN
Now
in his second term as mayor of the City of Rosemead, Arnold C. Andersen is
initiating many improvements which will serve the city well into the
future. During his term new street
lights have been installed on Valley Boulevard from east to west, the city has
entered into a rubbish franchise, and interest has been generated in curb
improvement. Mr. Andersen has appointed
the Rosemead Improvement Committee to study off-the-street parking, which is
now in the planning stage. He also
appointed the very active Rosemead Beautification Committee to keep the city
clean. The citizens of Rosemead, with
the aid of the state, recently completed the compilation of an economic
development survey. Rosemead is the
second city in California to conduct such a survey. Planned for Rosemead in 1961 is a regional
library to serve other libraries in the area.
Still
confined to a wheelchair from an attack of polio suffered in 1943, Mr. Andersen
has managed to be more active than many men who have always enjoyed perfect
health. Coming to Rosemead in 1949, he
started a bookkeeping service in 1950, and by 1953 had expanded the business to
include a small office supply company which is now the largest in the
area. The bookkeeping and accounting
phase of the business is handled by Mr. Andersen with the aid of Mrs. Andersen;
the office supply company is handled by their son, Wayne A. Andersen.
Of
Danish descent, Arnold C. Andersen was born on January 19, 1908, in Dane
County, Wisconsin. His father, H. John
Andersen, was born in Denmark, as was his mother, Mary K. (Karmgard)
Andersen, both of them coming to this country in their childhood years. The senior Mr. Andersen was a farmer in Wisconsin
and later became a streetcar operator.
Arnold Andersen received his elementary education in Wisconsin, and
graduated from high school in Madison, Wisconsin. He took correspondence and extension courses
through the University of Wisconsin. For
sixteen years before leaving Wisconsin, he was employed by the gas and electric
company in Madison.
Mrs.
Andersen, the former Miss Vivian L. Ward, was married to Arnold Andersen on
June 15, 1933. She was troubled by
rheumatic fever in 1945, and the family moved West for her health’s sake, first
to Arizona, and then to El Centro for three years before coming to Rosemead.
Moderator
at the First Baptist Church in Rosemead, Mr. Andersen is also a member of the
Rosemead Kiwanis Club, treasurer of the San Gabriel Valley Bar Association
legal aid service, and a member of the Rosemead Masonic Lodge Number 702. He was formerly director and treasurer of the
Rosemead Chamber of Commerce. When the
city of Rosemead was working toward incorporation in 1959, Mr. Andersen was
treasurer of the Incorporation Association.
In 1960, at the same time that he was elected mayor, he was elected to
the city council for a four year term.
Rosemead American Legion Post Number 425 honored him with a plaque in
1961 as Citizen of the Year.
Mr.
Andersen is interested in photography and makes it his hobby.
Mrs.
Andersen, a graduate of Madison Business College, is the president of the
Women’s Society of the First Baptist Church of Rosemead and a member of its
board of trustees. She is a member of
the Order of Eastern Star.
The
Andersen’s son, Wayne, is a graduate of Rosemead High School and Chaffey
College in Ontario. He is at present a
director of the Rosemead Chamber of Commerce and is a member of Kiwanis. His wife is the former Miss Donna Tate of
Rosemead. They are the parents of three
young children: Wayne, Jr., who attends
Wells Elementary School, and Sharon and Howard.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 569-570, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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