Los Angeles
County
Biographies
MRS. CAROLINE L. FIESTE
Making
women more beautiful is an art which has occupied much of the life of Mrs.
Caroline L. Fieste, the oldest active beauty operator in Monterey Park. She and Mrs. Helen Lamont own and operate the
Monterey Park Beauty Salon, which is located at 135 East Garvey Avenue, and
specialize in permanents and tints.
One
of six children, Mrs. Fieste was born on November 29, 1901, the daughter of
Orin and Etta (Whitsell) Hall, in Radcliff,
Iowa. Her family has been traced back to
1600, before the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock.
Mr.
Fieste is a graduate of Iowa Falls High School, in 1921, and attended Ellsworth
College in Iowa Falls. Arriving in
Monterey Park on September 1, 1925, she attended beauty
college in Los Angeles, receiving her State of California Beauty
Operators license in 1931.
For
one year prior to opening her own beauty salon in Monterey Park, Mrs. Fieste
was employed in Los Angeles. Opening the
Iowa Beauty Shop on North Garfield Avenue, which she named after her native
state, she remained in business at this location for two years, moving the
business to the corner of Garvey Avenue and Garfield Avenue in 1934. At this time the business name was changed to
Waveall. In
1936 Mrs. Fieste relocated her shop to larger quarters above the Bank of
America in Monterey Park.
It
was in 1942 that Mrs. Fieste opened Caroline’s Beauty Shop on North Baltimore
Avenue in Monterey Park, and for the next ten years her business continued to
increase. In 1952 Caroline Fieste and
Helen Lamont became partners as the owners and operators of the Monterey Park
Beauty Salon, which was located at 133 East Garvey Avenue. Needing a location with larger and more
modern quarters, the business was moved to 135 East Garvey Avenue in 1953.
Mrs.
Helen Lamont came to Alhambra from Chicago, Illinois, in 1919, settling in
Monterey Park in 1926. Her husband, the
late Leonard Lamont, was Sales Manager for Scudder Food Products in Monterey
Park for fourteen years and was a member of Ramona Lodge No. 457, Free and
Accepted Masons. Mrs. Lamont has been a
member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club for many years.
Mrs.
Lamont is the mother of three children:
Aaron William, of La Puente; Leonard, Jr., of West Covina; and Mrs.
Clemet (Geraldine E.) Lieber, of Temple City. All three attended Ynez Elementary School and
graduated from Mark Keppel High School.
Mrs. Lamont is very proud of her seven grandchildren.
Both
Mrs. Fieste and Mrs. Lamont attend the Religious Science Church of Alhambra.
Mrs.
Fieste is a past president of the American Legion Auxiliary, Post No. 397, of
Monterey Park. She held this office in
1948. She is a past member of the
Alhambra and the San Gabriel American Legion Auxiliaries and a past member of
the Business and Professional Women’s Club.
She is also affiliated with the Daughters of the American Revolution,
Alhambra-San Gabriel Chapter.
On
December 25, 1921, Caroline L. Hall was married to John George Fieste. Mr. Fieste was a barber in Monterey Park from
1926 to 1959. He served in military
service during World War I and World War II.
He and his son, John George, Jr., enlisted in the United Sates Navy
together in 1942. Mr. Fieste was a
member of the American Legion Post No. 397, in Monterey Park.
John
George Fieste, Jr., is a graduate of Mark Keppel High School and resides in
Claremont, California. He is the father
of four boys. The daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Fieste, Mrs. James J. Humphrey (Betty May), resides in Temple City and is
the mother of two children.
Photography
is the favorite hobby of Mrs. Fieste, when she is not engaged in creating
attractive coiffures for her patrons.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 560-561, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES