Los Angeles County
Biographies
LOUIS M. COLE
COLE, LOUIS, M.,
Merchant, Los Angeles, California,
is a native of Chicago, Illinois,
born March 24, 1870. His father is Dr.
Samuel Cole, of Chicago Illinois,
and his mother Ricka (Dinkelspiel)
Cole. On January 6, 1904 he married Frida Hellman at Los Angeles.
Mr. Cole received
his early education in the Grammar and High Schools of Denver Colorado, and
later took a business course at the Bryant and Stratton
Business College
in Chicago.
In 1887, he moved
to California and entered the employ of the Kutner-Goldstein Company at Hanford,
as bookkeeper. He remained at that point
in this capacity and that of manager until January, 1892, when he was appointed
to the position of manager of the company’s branch store at Fowler, California. He remained there a few months and then was
shifted to Lemoore, California,
to take charge of another store for the same company. He managed that business until 1896, when he
resigned to go into business for himself.
He opened a general
merchandise store at Huron, Fresno County, California,
and soon built up a lucrative trade. He
tired of the small town, however, and in 1897, sold out and returned to his
native city—Chicago. He remained in Chicago
from 1897 until 1901 and for two years of that time, 1899 and 1900, was on the
road for a Chicago house.
In the month of
January, 1901, he decided to return to California and
settled at Bakersfield, occupying
the position of general manager of another large merchandise concern. He held this place for more than two years
and during that time did much to improve the business of his employer.
October, 1903,
Mr. Cole resigned his position in Bakersfield and moved to
Los Angeles with the intention of
starting business again for himself.
After looking over his ground for two months, he bought into the Simon
Levi Company, then in its infancy. He
has been actively engaged in the affairs of this company ever since and is at
present treasurer of the company.
When he entered
the Levi Company, it was only a few months old, with a comparatively small
amount of business. Today it is one of
the largest produce and grocer’s specialty corporations in the Southwest, doing
a yearly business that runs far beyond the million dollar mark.
The company has a
subsidiary known as the Royal Packing Company and of this Mr. Cole is
secretary-treasurer.
Mr. Cole is a man
of diversified interests, which cover many lines in Southern
California. In addition to
the Simon Levi Company, he is treasurer of the Herman W. Hellman Building in Los
Angeles, one of the modern office structures of the
city, having held that office since 1908.
About a year after he was given this office he was made president of the
Purcell, Gray, Gale Company, Inc., a large insurance agency company operating
in California and the entire Southwest.
Another important
concern with which Mr. Cole became identified in 1909,
is the American Warehouse and Realty Company of which he is secretary.
In the little
more than seven years following his arrival in Los Angeles,
Mr. Cole has risen to a prominent position in commercial affairs. He is a director of the Chamber of Commerce
and was president of the Produce Exchange covering the years 1906-7 and 1907-8. He is an influential, public-spirited man who
is doing much toward the upbuilding of Los
Angeles. Mr.
Cole has never held any political office, but has always taken a keen interest
in politics and is a fighter for clean government.
He is a member of
the Cosmos Club of San Francisco and several clubs in Los
Angeles, among them the San Gabriel Valley Country,
Los Angeles Athletic and the Concordia.
He is a Knight of Pythias, an Elk, Scottish
Rite Mason and Shriner.
Transcribed 9-19-08
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 131,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2008 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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