Santa
Clara County
Biographies
CHARLES SIMARD
The career of Charles Simard
adds another to the many illustrations which Santa Clara has furnished of the
splendid results attained by intelligence, tact and perseverance, when applied
to the building up of a great business. The history of brick making, one of the
oldest occupations in the world, in the west has been signalized by the extent
and magnitude of its operations, the enterprise and ability with which it had
been pushed, and by the munificent reward it has brought to those who have
persistently followed it. It has come to be one of the great resources of the
coast country, and to conduct it successfully required not only large capital,
but the tact and ability which, if directed to the marshaling of military
forces in the field, would bring renown to the commander. Mr. Simard’s position as assistant general manager of the Remillard Brick Company and manager of the San Jose brick
manufacturing establishment argues the possession of the requisite ability for
such large responsibility. The business qualities essential for the management
of such enterprises are obvious. Breadth and comprehension of mind, quickness
to perceive opportunities and readiness to improve them, energy and push, as
well as a capacity for organization and attention to details, serve to make the
machinery move harmoniously, and establish the right to govern of the presiding
manager. Mr. Simard has learned the business from the
bottom up, has made it a life study, and while comparatively speaking a young
man, has mastered an essential and useful occupation.
Mr. Simard
never reached the top round of the ladder by watching the clock or refusing to
do a little more than was required of him. He established an ideal and
strenuously worked toward it, regardless of hindrances or interruptions. He was
born in the bracing climate of Vermont March 12, 1866, and is a French Canadian
descent, gaining his early inspiration from a father who thought much of mental
endowments, and who spent his life in educational work. Thomas Simard, as well as his wife, Rosalie, were born in Vermont,
and while the former died when Charles was five years old the latter still
lives in her home in the Province of Quebec. Besides Charles, who is the third
child, there were five other children in the family, four of whom sought the
west as a desirable field of activity. E. R. Simard
is vice-president of the Remillard Brick Company at
Pleasanton, Cal., and until his death in 1901, Samuel Simard
was manager of the Remillard Brick Company at San
Quentin, Cal.
Charles Simard
recalls little of his youth in the east, for he was barely thirteen when he
came to California, and his life since has been identified with western
interests. Arriving in San Francisco March 14, 1878, he had little upon which
to depend save his own ability, and it thus happened that he did as many
successful men before him have done, worked his way through school. His
industry and economy permitted his attendance at St. Mary’s College in San
Francisco for several years, and directly after finishing he gave up his whole
time to the brick business, which he was learning under the instruction of his
superiors in the Remillard yards at Pleasanton, Cal.
From the mixing of the clay to its burning and preparation for the market, he
omitted not the slightest detail, and finally was promoted to the position of
foreman of the yards at Pleasanton. He had long since gained the confidence and
good will of his employers, who saw in him a youth bound to rise in the world,
one who was conscientious and faithful, capable and morally strong. When the Remillards built and started their plant in San Jose in
1892, Mr. Simard was chosen superintendent of
construction, and has since managed the entire enterprise, improving its
methods from year to year, until now it is one of the finest and most complete
brick manufactories in the state of California. Given a fine quality of clay to
operate on and a kiln capacity of fifty thousand brick per day, behind which is
an established trade, and the opportunity of this able man is understood and
appreciated. The kilns are enclosed in sheds a thousand feet long and ninety
feet wide, thus enabling horse power to be used in carrying in and bringing out
the materials, a notable advance over earlier and smaller enterprises. One
hundred men are employed in the business, and shipments are made principally to
Oakland and San Francisco. The firm have years also at Pleasanton, San Quentin,
and San Rafael, and is one of the representative enterprises of the state of
California. Mr. Simard is a stockholder in the Remillard Brick Company, and in innumerable ways has
impressed his worth upon the development of the business. Not only has he
assisted in the construction and designing of much of the machinery but has
taken out patents on inventions suggested by his business sagacity and desire
to advance the interests of brick making in the west. His every resource is
constantly applied to render more practical and extensive the manufacture of
this useful commodity. Beside his brick making, Mr. Simard
is interested in ranching, and is superintendent of the Remillard
ranch of one hundred and seventy-three acres, devoted mostly to vegetables. He
is the owner of residence and other property in San Jose, and is one of its
most enthusiastic promoters as a home city. In San Jose he married Annie Davitt, a native of San Francisco, and his family consists
of two children, Edwin E. and Virginia. Mr. Simard
takes a commendable interest in Republican politics, but has never been drawn
from his business cares into the maelstrom of politics. However, he has
efficiently served as a member of the school board, promoting the cause of
education with that zeal and appreciation of its benefits which characterize
his all-around public spiritedness. Fraternally he is connected with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Druids, and the Woodmen of the World. Mr.
Simard’s life is an expression of zeal, manliness,
kind and courteous intercourse, and of success in reaching a given goal.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 1275-1276. The
Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.