Los Angeles County
Biographies
HOWARD
H. RIDDLE
A
soft-spoken gentleman who tends to minimize his own success, Howard H. Riddle
is the owner of the Howard Rug Company in Rosemead, which he established
eighteen years ago, one of the largest carpet companies in the San Gabriel
Valley. Mr. Riddle’s present business is
the result of somewhat of a process of evolution: during the war he was in charge of priorities
and allocations for Vultee Aircraft Company, a
position which held no future for a non-aircraft-specialist after the war; Mr.
Riddle took a job as salesman for a building materials company, but a major
steel strike brought business to a standstill; he discovered that building
maintenance was a fairly good business, from there branched out into rug
cleaning and from there to selling used rugs; the next logical step, with the
knowledge he had gained, was to establish a carpet company, which he did, at
9246 East Valley Boulevard. Howard’s Rug
Company handles all major brands of carpeting, maintaining a large inventory. Open every night, the store employs
approximately ten people, including several decorators, and also carries custom
draperies and proves rug cleaning service.
Mr. Riddle, who has himself become a color and decorating expert, enjoys
working with rugs and often travels to the carpet mills in New Jersey, his
wife’s home state. Mr. Riddle formerly
had another store, the first of its type in Covina, but he found it too
difficult to personally supervise two locations and prefers to concentrate his
energies in his present store.
Born
in Portland, Oregon, on July 25, 1914, Howard Riddle moved to Los Angeles at
the age of seven with his parents, Robert and Barbara Allen (Morrison) Riddle,
who have both since passed away. His
father, a wire rope salesman, was born in Detroit, Michigan; his mother was a
native of Manitoba, Canada. Howard
Riddle graduated from Bob Jones High School in Greenville, South Carolina, then
studied at Biola Bible Institute, Wheaton College,
and graduated from Bob Jones University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Mr.
Riddle is a member of the Rosemead Chamber of Commerce and the Rosemead Kiwanis
Club in which he is on the Scouting committee.
A member of the Bethany Church of Sierra Madre, he is most vitally
interested in Christian teaching and is a past trustee of Bethany Church and
past president of its Mariners group.
While
attending Bob Jones University, Mr. Riddle met Mary H. Williams of Hadden Heights, New Jersey, whom he married on December 10,
1938, in Inglewood, California. Mrs.
Riddle has been active in church work, in the Young Women’s Christian
Association, and in a literary study club.
Mr. and Mrs. Riddle are the parents of a daughter, Mrs. Larry (Marilyn)
Roper, who attended Arcadia High School and Coulter Academy and lives in
Newport Beach, and two sons, Richard Riddle, who is attending Bob Jones High
School where he plays basketball and is an outstanding golfer, and Donald
Riddle, a student at Santa Anita School in Arcadia.
The
Riddle’s have a home in Newport Beach and love
boating. Mr. Riddle also enjoys
photography, golf, and travel. In
February, 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Riddle flew to the Holy Land with a group guided
by Bob Jones, Jr., who heads Bob Jones University. Meeting in New York, the group traveled to
Cairo, Jerusalem, the Jordan, Syria, Rome and Greece. The Riddle’s stayed on in Europe after the
others had left, and visited Switzerland, France, and Denmark.
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Historical Volume & Reference
Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple
City, by Robert P. Studer, Pages 442-443,
Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California.
1962.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
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BIOGRAPHIES