2100 Tulare Street, Fresno
Chester Rowell was one of the early leading figures in Fresno, starting and contributing to all kinds of civic activities. Being a physcian, he was held in high esteem by the citizens of Fresno, even so, after his death, his friends raised money for a statue of him. The statue was put into Courthouse Park, facing the Rowell Building and the Fresno Republican Printery. This was the earliest major office building still standing in Fresno.
Chester H. Rowell, publicist of worldwide note and now editorial
director of the San Francisco Chronicle, was for twenty-five years a
resident of Fresno. For twenty-two years he was editor and manager of
the Fresno Morning Republican.
Chester Harvey Rowell was born in Bloomington, Illinois,
November 1, 1867,
the son of Jonathan Harvey and Maria Sanford (Woods) Rowell. He had
preparatory training in the Illinois State Normal University and took
his degree of Ph. B. at the University of Michigan, 1888. During the
session of 1889-91, he was clerk of the committee on contested elections
of the National House of Representatives, of which his father was
chairman. He then spent three years in postgraduate work in Europe,
including terms at the Universities of Halle, Berlin, Paris and Rome.
Returning from abroad, Mr. Rowell taught in a small college in Kansas
for a year, and then came to Fresno to be instructor in mathematics and
German in the high school. After being in Fresno for two years, Mr.
Rowell became a member of the faculty of the University of Illinois
where he remained for a year. On the appointment of John W. Short as
postmaster of Fresno, Mr. Rowell succeeded him as editor and manager of
the Fresno Morning Republican, and returned to Fresno in May, 1898. He
continued as editor for twenty-two years. In 1912, on the death of Dr.
Chester Rowell, his uncle, who was the founder and president of the
board of directors of the publishing company, the younger man succeeded
as president of the board. In October, 1920, the paper and publishing
house was sold to George A. and Chase S. Osborn, Jr.
Mr. Rowell became active in California politics in 1907, as one of the
organizers of the Lincoln Roosevelt League of California, of which he
was the president for several years. He was chairman of the Republican
state convention in 1910, the year Hiram W. Johnson was elected
governor. In 1912, he was delegate from California, first to the
Republican and then to the Progressive national convention, and had the
unique experience of being a member of the small subcommittee which
wrote the platforms of both parties. In 1916, Mr. Rowell became the
member of the Republican national campaign committee from California.
During 1916 to 1918, he was chairman of the Republican state committee
of California. During the World war, Mr. Rowell was a member of the
California State Defense council.
On retiring from active newspaper work in 1920, Mr. Rowell was
appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as a member of the Federal
shipping board. From this he resigned in 1921 to become California
Railroad commissioner, in which position he continued for three. years.
He then gave himself
actively to the work of promoting international good will among nations
bordering the Pacific ocean, and as a member of the Institute of Pacific
Relations spent much time in the Orient. He has also lectured all over
the United States on financial questions.
Mr. Rowell is a member of the board of regents of the University of
California. He served as a commissioner of the Panama Pacific
International exposition. He is a lecturer in political science in
Stanford University. Since 1927, he has been a member of the National
Crime commission, and he has held many other positions of honor and
trust.
Mr. Rowell was married,
August 1, 1897,
to Myrtle Marie Lingle of Webb City, Missouri; they have three children:
Cora Winifred (Mrs. John A. Givens) Barbara, Lois (Mrs. W. D. Laughlin)
and Jonathan Harvey Rowell. The family home is in Berkeley, California.
Mr. Rowell is a member of many clubs and organizations, including the
Delta Tau Delta college fraternity, the Phi Beta Kappa Honor society and
the Golden Bear (University of California.)From CagenWeb
No comments:
Post a Comment