San
Joaquin County
Biographies
HERBERT J. WOOCK
Prominent among the outstanding
figures in the business circles of San Joaquin County is Herbert J. Woock, who
was born on March 22, 1894, at Acton, in Los Angeles County, California, the
son of Julius and Elizabeth (Nickel) Woock, natives of Germany. Julius Woock came to California about
thirty-five years ago and settled in Los Angeles County, where he was
married. He and his wife are now
residing in Lodi, and are the parents of four children: Hattie; Walter R., a rancher near Lodi;
Herbert J., of this sketch; and Eric M., secretary of the Superior Iron Works,
Inc. Julius Woock is the owner of two
vineyards at Lodi. He was a bee-keeper
and rancher in Los Angeles County for some time, but has followed ranching and
horticulture since he came to Lodi.
Herbert J. Woock received his early
education in the public schools of Los Angeles County, and in 1904 came with
his parents to Lodi. He was raised on
his father’s farm; and in time he and his brother Walter R. Woock went into the
electrical wiring, engine repairing, and pump business, starting in a little
shop on their father’s farm which is located one and one-half miles southeast
of Lodi. They did general pump repairing
for the neighbors until they became the general sales agents for the well-known
Monarch Pumps manufactured by the Monarch Foundry. These two brothers invented the elbow
check-valve and the “Superior” Pump.
They are now the manufacturers of the celebrated Superior centrifugal and
turbine pumps, one of the leading pumps for irrigation purposes. They are also the manufacturers of the
Superior line of pumps for domestic and municipal purposes. As their business expanded, the Superior
Manufacturing Company was incorporated with Walter R. Woock as president and
Herbert J. Woock as sales and shop manager.
The name was changed to the Superior Iron Works, Inc., upon
reorganization of the company, January 1, 1923, and Herbert J. Woock then
became president as well as general manager.
The factory, which is located at 420 North Sacramento Street, Lodi, is a
fine brick and steel structure, having a frontage of 450 feet. The main building, built in 1920, is 206 by
139 feet, and the grey-iron and brass foundry building, which was added in 1922,
is 50 by 80 feet. This plant is
considered one of the best equipped machine shops in San Joaquin Valley.
The Superior Iron Works, Inc., is capitalized at $600,000, and its annual output is
$200,000. The company’s business is
expanding, and they employ approximately fifty men in full season. They do general jobbing in both the foundry
and the pattern-making department.
Through the efficient management and co-operation of the brothers, this
concern has become a thriving and successful business house. Herbert J. Woock is a member of the Lutheran
Church and the Luther Walther League of Lodi.
He is also a prominent member of the Business Men’s Association and the
Mokelumne Club.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
928. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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