Biographies
PETER S. WAHRHAFTIG
PETER S. WAHRHAFTIG.--A pioneer
horticulturist who deserves and enjoys the highest esteem of his
fellow-ranchers interested in scientific agriculture, is Peter S. Wahrhaftig,
one of the prominent citizens of Orangevale, who is advantageously located some
eighteen miles north of
About
that time, the government passed a law prohibiting any Jew from holding public
office, and as Mr. Wahrhaftig was unwilling to tolerate such persecution, he
hastened to leave his benighted country, and to see
By
the hardest kind of work and the steady performance of uphill tasks, Mr.
Wahrhaftig gained a foothold in the land of his adoption and in a community
always eager to recognize worth and to welcome the stranger who has come hither
with the right kind of sensible, honest purpose; and as soon as he had paid for
the first ten acres, he continued, from time to time, to add to his
holdings. In the meantime, his eldest
son, Solomon, became an active partner with him in his work, and for the past
ten years he has been closely identified with his father, and has proven of
inestimable aid in their orchard and vineyard enterprises, in which they have
raised extensively the finest Tokay grapes, olives, peaches, and other
fruits. Mr. Wahrhaftig’s mother, whom he
had brought with him from
From
the start Mr. Wahrhaftig, a firm believer in the government and country of his
adoption, and always an ardent supporter of its laws, became interested in
community welfare. Shortly after his
arrival he was made a citizen. This was
at Sacramento on September 5, 1895, and since then he has always been
identified with all movements looking to the advancement of his community. Interested from the start in education, he
served his community as school trustee for many years. Likewise, for many years, as directior, and as secretary for the Orangevale Water
Company, the utility which distributed water to his community, he served his
community well. Though never an aspirant
for public office, he has, by reason of his ability and rectitude, enjoyed a
position of commanding influence in the community, and has at all times given
the best of himself for the upbuilding of the state, which he truly loves.
In
all his endeavors he has been aided by this worthy wife, Mrs. Leah Wahrhaftig,
who likewise, by her unselfish devotion to the community, and especially her
family, and by nobility of purpose and ideals, has endeared herself to the
community. They have four sons, one of
whom was born in the state. Solomon is a
rancher, who lives at home and is past master of the Folsom Lodge of
Masons. Myer J. is a physician, who,
having pursued courses at the University of California, and its medical school,
now practices medicine in Fresno. He is
a prominent physician of that city, and is also a prominent Mason. He married Miss Goldstein, a graduate of the
Sacramento high school, and they have two children. He offered his services to his country during
the World War, and served as First Lieutenant in the Medical Corps. Joseph is a graduate of Sacramento high
school, and is a member of the California bar.
He has offices in San Francisco where he is a successful insurance
broker. He is married to Miss Edith
Rubel, a granddaughter of that prominent and world famous man, David Lubin, who
founded the International Institute of Agriculture at Rome. Matt, the youngest son, also graduated from
the Sacramento high school, being president of the study body while there. He attended the University of California and
in 1914 received the degree of B. L. with honors. In 1917 he received the degree of J. D. from
the same University. While there he was
made a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor society, and was also
editor-in-chief of the “California Law Review,” one of the foremost legal
publications of the state. Since his
graduation he has been a member of the faculty of the School of Jurisprudence
of the University of California in the capacity of lecturer in law, and has
offered courses in the Law of Property, Agency, Business Law, and Elementary
Jurisprudence. During the World War he
offered his services to his nation, and was stationed at Washington, D. C.,
where as secretary of the Superior Board of Contract Review of the Army, and as
a member of the legal staff of the Purchase, Storage and Traffic Division, he
did creditable work. He is a practicing
attorney in Oakland, and a member of the firm of McKee, Tasheira &
Wahrhaftig. He is closely identified, in
most cases as an officer, with many fraternal and benevolent institutions in
Oakland, and like all the other sons is a prominent Mason, being a
thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner.
Mr. and Mrs. Wahrhaftig are rightfully proud of their sons, as also the
sons are proud of their parents; for by reason of the training and efforts of
their parents, they have been enabled to attain success in their chosen fields,
and to fill a prominent place in the professional and intellectual life of
their respective communities.
Mr. Wahrhaftig has had only two hobbies in all his life, and
they remain the same today as they were years ago, namely, reading and
farming. The latter, to be sure, has
been realized in a satisfactory manner only since his arrival in California,
the commonwealth of his adoption. He is
a member of Natoma Lodge No. 64, F. & A. M., and a past noble grand of
Folsom Lodge No. 62, I. O. O. F. Both he
and Mrs. Wahrhaftig, who have figured so prominently in the life of their
community and indeed of the state, deserve and enjoy the full confidence and
high esteem of their fellow-citizens.
The
story of this interesting and representative family of foreign birth is indeed
a story of the Old World’s folly and of
Transcribed by Donna L. Becker.
Source:
Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical
Sketches, Pages 513-514.
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
©
2007 Donna L. Becker.