A LOOK BACK:Telling the Talbert story

A short time ago, I received a nice letter from a reader of this column thanking me for writing about our town’s history.

Marinka Horack of Huntington Beach suggested that I write about a gentleman she had read about who was responsible for saving our beaches for future generations.

The man Horack was referring to was forward-looking and accomplished much for Huntington Beach and Orange County.

This man was Thomas B. Talbert and, Marinka, this is his story.

It all started for Tom on the outskirts of Montecello in Piatt County, Ill., on a small plot of land his father James farmed. Thomas Talbert was born March 5, 1878.

When Tom was 13 years old, his parents and two brothers, Henry and Samuel, moved to Long Beach.

Tom continued his education in the public schools in Long Beach.

After he graduated from high school, Lynn Lovett offered Tom a job as a cook on the Bixby ranch in Long Beach. He earned $15 per month, along with room and board.

Tom’s father had started a dairy business with his sons in the Long Beach area, and Tom managed to save a little money.

Tom also grew interested in the peat fields just northeast of Huntington Beach.

About 1896, the family had purchased more than 300 acres of peat and swampland in what is now Fountain Valley.

The Talberts opened a general store near what is now Talbert Avenue and Bushard Street.

Several other small businesses opened around this location and the residents wanted to have a post office inside the Talbert store.

They chose the name Fountain Valley for their town, but since there was already another town with that name, the post office in Washington declined the name.

The residents named their town Talbert instead.

In 1899, President William McKinley appointed Tom postmaster of the town, and at 21 years old, he was the youngest postmaster in the country.

In 1903, Tom sold the general store for $10,000 to B.F. Taylor of Glendale and went back to farming on his ranch in Talbert, where he grew celery and other truck garden crops.

By 1904, Tom had sold his ranch and moved to Huntington Beach at the urging of William Newland and W.D. Maateer.

In 1905, Tom operated a real estate office in town with his partner, George O. Leatherman.

A land boom was happening, and there were many real estate offices in town, but when the boom ended nearly all the real estate offices closed.

Tom then opened a roller-skating rink on Fifth Street, and had an Edison cylinder phonograph supply music for the skaters.

In late 1905, he sold the rink to C.W. Sawyer, and returned to the real estate business.

Tom was a staunch supporter of the Republican party, and his first entrance into politics came in 1909, when he became a committee member to establish boundary lines to incorporate the city of Huntington Beach on Feb. 17, 1909.

In August 1909, Gov. James Gillett appointed 31-year old Tom as supervisor of the second supervisorial district, replacing George W. Moore, who had resigned.

In January 1911, Tom was reelected to office, and remained a supervisor until 1927.

Tom also became chair of the pier committee in 1911, and fought against several prominent residents for a $70,000 bond issue for the construction of a concrete municipal pier.

On July 17, 1912, Tom took time off from his real estate business and politics to marry Margaret Crum. They later had a son, Gordon.

Tom opened the first Ford car agency in Huntington Beach in 1913. He handled both sales and parts until 192, when he sold the agency to W.D. Young.

As Huntington Beach grew, Tom saw the need to bring in more businesses and he successfully attracted the Holly Sugar factory.

In the fall of 1914, Tom was president and general manager of Pacific Oil Cloth and Linoleum Co. and succeeded in bringing that factory to town, where it remained for many years.

We think that jumping into the ocean on New Year’s Day is something modern and new, but years ago Tom belonged to a swimming club that gathered every morning at the pier at 6 a.m. for a swim — summer or winter.

Every New Year’s Day, Tom and his group would pose for a picture before jumping into the cold water.

They wanted to show people back east how nice it was to have a “Polar Bear” surf dip in the dead of winter in Southern California.

Tom was also instrumental in securing a right-of-way for a Pacific Electric red car line between Huntington Beach and Santa Ana.

Next week, we’ll continue our look at the life of Tom Talbert and his accomplishments — how he helped organize a telephone company and became Huntington Beach’s mayor.