Biographies
JOSEPH
MARTIN
MARTIN, JOSEPH,
General Manager of the National Ice and Cold Storage company,
Mr. Martin received
his general education at
His first employment
was in the ice business and he has been in that field practically ever since,
being at the present time one of the leaders of the industry. He remained
in
Later Mr. Martin
became a gold miner in
Early in the eighties
Mr. Martin organized the first company for the shipment of California fruits to
Eastern markets under ice, this being the starting point for the present
refrigerator car service which is now one of the most important industries in
the United States and the chief reliance of the great California fruit-growing
business.
Along this same line,
Mr. Martin was instrumental in sending to Australia one of the first ice and
cold storage machines ever seen in that country and this formed the basis of
the meat-shipping business in the Southern Continent, which now furnishes a
large portion of the meat consumed annually in the British Isles.
Mr. Martin, aside
from being a pioneer in the ice manufacturing business, has been one of its
greatest upbuilders, and has done quite as much as
any other man to advance the industry, especially on the Pacific Coast. At
different times he organized a score or more ice manufacturing and cold storage
concerns, each one operating its own plant, and these are now all controlled by
the national Ice and Cold Storage Company, which corporation he helped to
organize and of which he is the directing force at the present time.
Although Mr. Martin
has at different times invested in various oil and mining propositions, his
chief interests have been in the ice and cold storage business. In
addition to his position with the National Company, Mr. Martin is Vice
President of the Fresno Consumers’ Ice Company, and
holds the same office in the Nevada National Ice and Cold Storage
Company. He is also a Director in the Commercial Petroleum Company and the
Atlas Wonder Mining Company, and is Secretary of the Sparks-Reno Electric
Railroad.
In 1909, Mr. Martin
went on a tour around the world, primarily to visit the ice and cold storage
plants of the various countries, but he also combined business and pleasure,
taking the members of his family with him.
Mr. Martin is a
member of the Elks and the Transportation Club, of
Transcribed
Source: Press Reference Library, Western
Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 160, International News Service,
© 2006 Marilyn R. Pankey.