San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ALEXANDER A. KELS
An apt and energetic young business
man of Lodi, whose success is due in part to his very thorough knowledge of the
meat business, is Alexander A. Kels, founder and proprietor of the Pacific Meat
Market located at No. 200 North Sacramento Street, as well as the Tokay Meat
Market, at No. 25 South School Street. A
native of Germany, he was born near Cologne, on October 3, 1884, and on October
5, 1885, he was brought by his parents to Platte County, Nebraska. He is a son of Peter and Charlotta (Altgeldt)
Kels. They were farmers in Nebraska until 1895.
Peter Kels came to Fresno, where he engaged in ranching until his
death. His widow resides in Santa Rosa. Of their eight children, Alexander A. is next
to the youngest, and he attended the public schools in Fresno County. After finishing the grammar school, he
entered the butcher shop of Mr. Bracker to learn the butcher’s trade, where he remained
until 1906, when he removed to Lodi and entered the employ of Guggolz &
Meehle as cutter and butcher. The following
year he purchased the interest of J. C. Guggolz and the business was continued
under the firm name of Meehle and Kels, which continued the Pacific Market
until the death of Mr. Meehle, at which time Mr. Kels purchased his interest in
the business from his widow. During 1917
he built the modern brick block, 50 x 125 feet, on his lot at the corner of
Sacramento and Locust streets and located at No. 200 North Sacramento
Street. Since then his plant has become
one of the most modern, up-to-date and sanitary markets in northern California;
recently two cold storage rooms have been installed where meat is hung for
curing; the sales room is modern, with tile floors, white enamel walls and the
most modern fixtures obtainable. In 1923
he established the Tokay Market, No. 25 South School Street, with a cold
storage plant. They employ competent and
experienced cutters and carry only the best quality of meat, and conduct both a
retail and wholesale business. His
abattoir is located 1-1/4 miles northeast of Lodi and he uses five delivery
trucks in his business. He is also
interested in ranching and stockraising.
He owns a 50-acre vineyard, which he has improved from a stubble field. He also owns a ranch of 160 acres on
Telegraph Road and leases a thousand acres more. On his ranches he raises about 200 head of
cattle. He also buys and ships cattle.
The marriage of Mr. Kels, in Lodi,
united him with Miss Annie T. Handlin, a native of San Jose, California, and
they have one daughter, Mary Laverne.
Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World, the Forests of
America, the Modern Woodmen, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, No. 848, the
Knights of Columbus, and the Lodi Merchants Association. He is a dependable citizen in every sense of
the word and can be counted upon to do his share toward the upbuilding of his
locality.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1628-1629. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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