Los Angeles County
Biographies
ANNA
H. HIGMAN
A
family business established in 1930, the Reliable Lumber Company at 8614 East
Valley Boulevard in Rosemead, has continued to flourish under Anna H. Higman’s
direction since the death, in 1946, of her husband, the company’s founder. Mrs. Higman is probably the only woman
heading a lumber company in the entire San Gabriel Valley. Starting with three employees, the business
now has a staff of about twenty, including Mrs. Higman, its president; John
Hechler, her brother, its secretary; and Mrs. Higman’s two sons, Jerome,
vice-president; and Daniel, assistant secretary. In addition to the retail lumber yard, the
Reliable Lumber Company, which also supplies a large number of builders,
carries hardware and features a do-it-yourself division.
Practically
a native of Rosemead, Mrs. Higman came to the area with her parents in 1918,
when she was eight years old. She is,
however, a native Californian, born in Mojave, on February 14, 1910, the
daughter of the late Gustave Hechler
of Ohio, a general contractor who was a builder in Rosemead, and Elizabeth (Kroeger) Hechler of Chicago,
Illinois. Anna Higman attended Savannah
School, graduated from El Monte High School, and worked as a legal secretary
before taking up the lumber business.
Her brother, John “Bob” Hechler, also attended local schools, was a top
athlete, and is in the El Monte High School Hall of Fame.
Mrs.
Higman is best known in her community for her local youth work as a member of
the Garvey Youth Association from 1948 to 1950, before Rosemead established its
own Youth Association in which she has also been very active. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce
and a past member in 1959, of its board of directors. She is also a past member of the Rosemead
Women’s Club. Active in Boy Scout work
in the past, Mrs. Higman now sponsors a Junior League baseball team, two adult
bowling teams, and a basketball team, which was a champion in 1960. Three years ago she sponsored the American
Legion Ball. Mrs. Higman is an active
worker in the Democratic Party.
Married
in Rosemead in 1933 to Jerome M. Higman of Michigan, Anna Higman is the mother
of two sons and has one grandchild. Her
elder son, Jerome M. Higman, attended Marshall and Muscatel Elementary Schools,
graduated from Rosemead High School where he was president of the Key Club and
Hi-Y, and was outstanding in football and basketball. He also attended the University of
California at Santa Barbara, the University of California at Los Angeles, and
East Los Angeles Junior College. He
lives in West Covina with his wife and daughter, Denice. The younger son, Daniel G. Higman, a
bachelor, graduated from the same schools as his brother and attended Mt. San Antonio
College.
Outside
of her business, Anna Higman’s greatest interest is in youth work, but she
tremendously enjoys fishing and hunting when she has time.
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Historical Volume &
Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel &
Temple City, by Robert P. Studer, Pages 373-374,
Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California.
1962.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
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BIOGRAPHIES