E. C. COTTIER

 

             Eugene Charlie Cottier who owns a plumbing and tinning establishment at No. 37 B Street, San Mateo, is a man who did not learn his trade “from the ground up” but “from the box up.”  He was just a youngster in short pants when he first took up the solder irons, and in order to work on the high bench he had to stand on a soap box.  This old shop in Minneapolis where he learned his primary lessons in the trade still stands; and Mr. Cottier is still known to the old hands there as the man who learned his trade “from the box up.”

             The thoroughness with which Mr. Cottier learned his profession is exemplified in his establishment which is one of the most modern and complete in the State.  He put in the plumbing in many of the large country places.  One of the branches of his establishment is an extensive wholesale department.

             The pursuit of his chosen profession has taken Mr. Cottier to five different cities since leaving his home in Minnesota twenty-eight years ago.  He established himself in Sacramento then sold out and started business in San Francisco.  Believing that greater opportunities awaited him in Paso Robles he went there and started a plumbing and hardware store.  After devoting several years to this business he disposed of it, to again return to San Francisco.

             It was here that reverses overtook him, and he came to San Mateo penniless to start anew.  Although a total stranger, Mr. Cottier gradually built up a business which although only ten years old, is one of the largest on the peninsula.

             Eugene Charlie Cottier was born in Owatonna, Minnesota, on September 10, 1868.  His father was a tailor.  He spent his boyhood days there and was married in 1885.  Since becoming proprietor of a successful plumbing establishment, Mr. Cottier has done considerable traveling.  With his wife and son, John Eugene Cottier, who is ten years old, he has made three trips to Europe and has toured the United States.  Mr. Cottier and his family live at 522 South E Street, San Mateo.

 

Transcribed by Betty Wilson

 

Source: History of San Mateo County by Philip W. Alexander & Charles P. Hamm page 120. Press of Burlingame Publishing Co., Burlingame, CA. 1916.