WILLIAM ROBERT BAKER. The individual who works perfunctorily may attain a certain degree of prosperity and even some reputation, but it is the man who exerts his every effort and who is in sympathy and understanding with his labor who will be found occupying a real position in his chosen field. The foregoing is one of the reasons for the undeniable success of William R. Baker, who within the space of a few short years has developed a large and lucrative patronage in the business of dealing in contractors' supplies. From modest beginnings he has worked his way steadily and faithfully upward, and while gaining material prosperity and success has secured and held the confidence and friendship of his associates and those who have come into contact with him.

William R. Baker was born at Omaha, Nebraska, August 15, 1897, and is a son of Samuel and Sallie (Lohrman) Baker. His father, a native of Russia, was a child when he was brought to the United States by his parents, who settled at Omaha, where the grandfather was engaged in the grocery and market business in a small way. Samuel Baker received a common school education and when still it youth began to assist his father in the elder man's business operations. When he came into control of the enterprise he enlarged it gradually, as his financial condition would permit, and eventually became one of the substantial men of his community, and a valued, desirable citizen who supported with enthusiasm all measures for the welfare of his community. He died in 1905 and was buried at Saint Louis, where he had been in the same line of business since 1900, while his worthy widow still survives him and makes her home at the Mound City. There were twelve children in the family, of whom William R. was the eleventh in order of birth.

One of the younger of a family of numerous children, William R. Baker had only ordinary advantages in his youth, but applied himself assiduously to his studies and took advantage of all his opportunities, with the result that he obtained a good practical working education in the grades and Fisher High School of Saint Louis. On leaving school he became associated with his father in the grocery and meat market business, and continued with the elder man for a number of years. He then joined his brother-in-law, L. Weiss, of Chicago, in the leather goods manufacturing business and after familiarizing himself with this line of work was in charge of the factory in the Illinois metropolis for five years. In 1924 Mr. Baker severed his connection with this concern and located at Hammond, where he became a salesman and junior partner with the McLaughlin Mill Supply Company, with which concern he remained three years. At the end of that period he decided to engage in business on his own account and accordingly came to Gary, where he established himself in business in the line of handling building specialties and contractors' supplies. The William R. Baker & Company, of which Mr. Baker is president, and the commodious office and display and stock rooms are located at 735 Washington Street. This is the only business of its kind at Gary, and Mr. Baker has built up a large patronage which extends over a wide area of country. He has been prompt in the fulfillment of his contracts and honorable in all of his dealings and thereby has won prestige and the confidence of those with whom he has had dealings. Mr. Baker has always taken an active part in civic affairs, and is vice president of the Young Men's Hebrew Club of Gary and a member of the B’nai B'rith and the Lincoln Hills Country Club. His political allegiance is given to the candidates and principles of the Republican party, but he has not sought nor cared for public office or political preferment. During the World war he was active in all of the various drives working for the support of American arms and was, although married, subject to the draft and had passed .the physical examination for the army. He had already received his railroad ticket and had made all preparations to go to the training camp when the armistice was signed and therefore he was not called for duty.

On September 29, 1918, at Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Celia Meizel, daughter of Joseph and Reva (Bruce) Meizel, both of whom were born and reared in, Russia, where they received public school educations. Shortly after their marriage in Russia, Mr. and Mrs. Meizel immigrated to the United States and settled at Chicago, where Mr. Meizel established himself in the tailoring, cleaning and dyeing business. During the many years that he was engaged in this line of effort he built up a large and lucrative business through industry and integrity, but for a number of years has lived in retirement, enjoying the fruits of his early labors. Mrs. Meizel died March 6, 1921, and is buried in Waldheim Cemetery, Chicago. Mrs. Baker received her education in the public schools of Chicago, and after her graduation from high school secured a secretarial position, in which she was employed for several years prior to her marriage. She takes an active part in the business of her husband and is a member of the Sisterhood of the Bethel Temple, Gary. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are the parents of three children: Arthur Sheldon, born March 11, 1920, attending the Horace Mann School; Regina, born December 7, 1921, also attending that school; and Leighton, born June 10, 1929.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


WILLIAM METTLER. The magic growth of Gary from an unimportant straggling village to a great industrial, commercial and financial center created a need for men of the greatest ability in every line and furnished ample opportunity for the development of every latent ability and energy there was in those who sought the city as the scene of their activities. In few cities have there been won more notable successes, and the successful men are not confined to the professions, to commerce, to finance or to industry, but uniformly extend all along the line in every calling where intellect, enterprise and energy may with reward. The rapidity with which the city's commerce and manufactures increased and leaped into importance paved the way for a demonstration of the very best skill and ability among the financiers, and that they were equal to the occasion the record shows. With the growth and development of the automobile industry many of the younger generation have turned their attention to this line, and one who has won well-merited success is William Mettler, proprietor of the Packard Auto Agency.

Mr. Mettler was born May 5, 1893, at Hammond, in Lake County, Indiana, and is a son of John J. and Elizabeth (Staub) Mettler. His father, a native of Switzerland, received his education in that country's public schools and accompanied his parents to the United States when still a youth, the family settling at Chicago some time after the close of the war between the states. Mr. Mettler established himself in the bakery and confectionery business at Chicago, and there married Elizabeth Staub, who was also born in Switzerland and came to the United States in young womanhood with her parents. For a time they resided at Chicago, but subsequently went to Hammond, Indiana, where Mr. Mettler continued in the same line for about thirty years. In 1914 he retired from active participation in business and returned to Chicago, where he died in 1917. Mrs. Mettler afterward resided at Van Nuys, Colorado. They were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which they were generous contributors all their lives, and Mr. Mettler was a member of the Masonic fraternity. To Mr. and Mrs. Mettler there were born three children: Elizabeth, the wife of Frederick Becker, of Chicago, Illinois; Ernest J., who is connected with the New York Central Railroad at Hammond, Indiana; and William, of this review.

William Mettler attended the grade and high schools of Hammond, graduating from the latter as a member of the class of 1912, and immediately thereafter secured employment with the New York Central Railroad, with which he was identified for three years. He then embarked in the wholesale grocery business at Chicago, and continued to be engaged therein for five years, but in 1922 disposed of his interests to engage in the automobile business at Gary and Hammond, under the firm style of William Mettler Packard Automobile Agency, with offices, plants and salesrooms at 121 East Fifth Avenue, Gary, and 429 Fayette Street, Hammond. He has beautiful show rooms and sales and service departments at both addresses and has built up a splendid business through industry, energy and good executive management. Mr. Mettler is one of the thoroughly informed men of his line of business and stands high in the estimation of his business associates, who have found his integrity and probity beyond reproach. He has formed an indissoluble connection with the buying public of the two cities in which his business interests lie, and this has its foundation in confidence and genuine friendship. Mr. Mettler has several business connections and is a member of the board of directors of the Beneficial Loan Association. He stands high in Masonry, belonging to McKinley Lodge No. 712, A. F. and A. M.; Hammond Chapter No. 117, R, A.. M.,the Scottish Rite, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, thirty- second degree, and Orak Temple, A. A: O. N. M. S., of Hammond, and belongs also to Hammond Lodge No. 485, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Gary Country Club, the Gary Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce and the Midland Club of Chicago. For several years he was also active in the Gary Kiwanis Club, but has given up his membership in that organization. Politically he is a Republican and his religious faith makes him a Christian Scientist. During the World war he was active in the sale of Liberty Bonds and in all war activities, and in peace times has given his moral, physical and financial support to all worthy movements of a civic, educational or religious character.

On September 17, 1916, at Hammond, Mr. Mettler was united in marriage with Miss Lytta Grace McMahan, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Asa C. and Margaret (Chase) McMahan. Mr. McMahan, who was for years a conductor in the service of the New York Central lines, died about 1920 and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Meadville, Pennsylvania, while Mrs. McMahan still survives and makes her home with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Mettler, of this review. Mrs. Mettler attended the grade and high schools of Hammond and is an earnest Christian Scientist and a popular member of the Gary Woman's Club. To Mr. and Mrs. Mettler there has been born one daughter: Lytta Jane, who is attending Horace Mann School at Gary.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


ANTHONY G. BIEBERICK. Not the least in importance of the activities which occupy the attention and labors of mankind are those which cater to our aesthetic natures. Among these there is none which contributes in a greater or more beautiful degree to the pleasures of existence as the vocation of the florist, and in this connection mention is due to the career of Anthony G. Bieberick, who has spent the entire period of his active life in this vocation and who is now the owner of the largest greenhouses in Huntington County, situated in Huntington.

Mr. Bieberick was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 18, 1883, and is a son of Henry Bieberick, an early pioneer of Fort Wayne, who is now deceased. Anthony G. Bieberick attended the public schools of Fort Wayne and commenced work as a youth as an employe of the Vesey Greenhouse of his native city, where he remained for several years. From Fort Wayne he went to Columbia City, Indiana, where he was associated with a florist for three years, and in 1908 took up his permanent residence at Huntington, which has since been his home. At the time of his arrival he embarked in business on his own account in a modest way, but soon found it necessary to enlarge his greenhouses, and from that time to the present he has been constantly developing his business until he now has 25,000 square feet under glass, this being the largest greenhouse in Huntington County, located at 407-17 Graystone Avenue, the office and retail store being at 12 West Market Street. Mr. Bieberick's business is not merely a local one, as he ships plants, shrubs, trees, flowers, seeds, etc., all over Indiana and to other states, his product having gained a splendid reputation. He has established himself strongly in the confidence of the public as a man of integrity who makes no false representations and who lives strictly up to the letter of his contracts. Promptness in delivery, adequacy of service and high quality of goods have combined to gain him success and reputation, and what prosperity he has secured, and it has not been inconsiderable, has come through the medium of his own efforts. Mr. Bieberick is a member of the National Association of Florists, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Loyal Order of Moose. As a hobby he is greatly fond of fishing, and whenever his business can spare him he takes trips, armed with rod and reel, to the streams, lakes and rivers. He has been active in civic work in a number of movements, and is a consistent member of the local Christian Church.

Mr. Bieberick married Miss Lillian Clark, a native of Whitley County, Indiana. They have no children and reside at 531 West Park Drive.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


LE ROY POPE is an Indiana business man, representative of a family that has been in the state since pioneer times. Mr. Pope formerly resided at Williamsport, where for many years he has conducted a monument business. In 1931 he moved to Crawfordsville and established business there in addition to the Williamsport office. His first occupation was the trade of stone cutter, and he was an expert worker in stone and for many years superintended stone construction contracts.

He was born in Benton County, Indiana, February 11, 1886. His grandfather, Robert Morton Pope, came to Indiana from North Carolina. The father of Le Roy Pope is James F. Pope, who was born in Grant County and formerly was a blacksmith and machinist. James F. Pope married Harriet A. Anderson, who was born in Warren County, Indiana. Her father, James Anderson, came from Warren County, Ohio, to Warren County, Indiana, in 1853. James Anderson was a sergeant in Company D, Eighty-sixth Indiana Infantry, during the Civil war. He was wounded in one battle, was captured and spent a term of confinement in Libby Prison at Richmond. James F. Pope and wife had four children: Vaughn L., now deceased, Le Roy, Lanford C. and James. Both Lanford and James are World war veterans. Lanford, who is now a train dispatcher at Thief River Falls, Minnesota, was in the wireless department of the army and for one year was a traffic chief in France. James was in the Ordnance Corps, and died while at the great testing grounds at Aberdeen, Maryland.

Le Roy Pope was educated in public schools and when a boy began an apprenticeship at the stone cutters' trade. After completing his apprenticeship he worked as a stone and marble cutter, and became a construction foreman and superintendent, a business that took him to all parts of the United States. In 1919 he established his monument business at Williamsport. Mr. Pope for a number of years has taken a great interest in marking with permanent memorials the graves of Civil war soldiers in this section of Indiana and has set up many such markers supplied by the Government. He also manufactures reinforced concrete burial vaults. Mr. Pope was a member of the Indiana National Guard, from January 1, 1901, to April, 1903. He is a Republican, a Royal Arch Mason, member of the Lions Club and is president of the Williamsport School Board.

He married, May 12, 1909, Miss Florence Levy, daughter of James and Lizzie Levy, of Chicago. They have two children, Isabella, born in 1916, and Le Roy, born in 1919, both attending school.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


MRS. ELLA D. McERLAIN, proprietor of the South Bend Engraving & Electrotyping Company, was called to the executive responsibilities of business after the death of her husband, and has shown a remarkable capacity for looking after executive details and supervising the work of the technical departments as well. Leaders in South Bend business affairs give her a very high rating as a successful business woman, and undoubtedly she owes her success largely to her habit of close attention and unremitting energy in the daily conduct of the business.

Mrs. McErlain was born in South Bend, February 5, 1883. Her parents were Germany, her father in 1841 and her mother in 1848. They were married in Saint Joseph County, Indiana, in 1871 and of their five children four are living. Mrs. McErlain’s father was reared and educated in Germany, served his apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade there, and this was his occupation after coming to Indiana. During his later years he was employed in the shops of the Studebaker Company. He died in 1903 and his wife in 1921. Both parents were charter members of Saint Peter's Evangelical Church.

Mrs. McErlain was educated in public and parochial schools, spent two years in the South Bend High School and also had a business college course. As a young woman she was employed in the South Bend Engraving & Electrotyping Company, and had acquired a considerable knowledge of the business before her marriage to its proprietor Mr. John J. McErlain. They were married July 30, 1921.

Mr. McErlain was a native of Missouri and of Scotch and German ancestry. He was brought to South Bend when a child and finished his education in Notre Dame University. His first business was manufacturing cigar boxes and later he organized the South Bend Engraving & Electrotyping Company, and he carried on that business until his death on October 23, 1926 at the age of fifty- seven. He was highly esteemed as a business man and citizen and was a member of the B. P. O. Elks.

Mrs. McErlain after the death of her husband at once took charge of the business, which has grown and prospered until it is one of the leading establishments of its kind in Northern Indiana. Mrs. McErlain is an active member of Saint Peter's Evangelical Church.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


HON. JOHN WILLIAM THIEL. Since his arrival at Gary, early in 1916, Hon. John W. Thiel has advanced steadily to a leading position at the bar of Lake County and is now in the enjoyment of a large and representative law practice. As a citizen he has taken a prominent part in all movements which have made for the betterment of both Gary and Hobart, and likewise has been a leader in the Republican party, now serving his fourth term as a constructive and aggressive member of the State Legislature.

Mr. Thiel was born at Zurich, Ontario, Canada, September 22, 1877, and is a son of Louis and Caroline (Finkbeiner) Thiel. His father, who was born and reared in Ontario, received a public school education, and as a young man applied himself to mastering the trade of blacksmith. In 1886 he moved to Huron County, Michigan, where he bought a farm and continued its operation for many years, at the same time occasionally working at his trade in doing necessary blacksmith work for his neighbors. He was a skilled mechanic and a capable farmer, and was highly respected in his community as a man of integrity and high character. About the year 1914, having accumulated a competence, he retired from active pursuits and moved to Pigeon, Michigan, where his death occurred in 1919, burial being made in the cemetery there. Mr. Thiel married Miss Caroline Finkbeiner, who was born at Crediton, Canada, and educated in the public schools there. Born July 1, 1854, she died August 27, 1880, in the faith of the Evangelical Association, in which she had been active all her life, and was buried at Crediton. There were three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Thiel: Thomas H., who is identified with the Holland Furnace Company, of Elizabeth, New Jersey; John W., of this review; and Caroline, now Mrs. D. C. Houpe, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. After the death of his first wife Louis Thiel married Miss Amanda Allendorf, and they became the parents of six children: Flora; Edward (who is deceased), Aaron, Oscar, George and Samuel.

John W. Thiel attended the public schools of Huron County, Michigan, following which he took academic work at Steinman College, Dixon, Illinois, and the Dixon Normal School. He commenced his career as a teacher, being for some months located in South Dixon Township, and for five years following in Lee County, Illinois. He then commenced attending the summer school of Valparaiso (Indiana) University, in the meantime continuing his teaching in Huron County, Michigan, and for three years was teacher at Bay Port Quarters, Michigan. Returning then to Valparaiso University, he took a course in elocution and law, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Oratory in 1911 and that of Bachelor of Laws in the following year. Admitted to the bar in Porter County, Indiana, in 1912, he resumed teaching school, at Kouts, Indiana, for one year, and then spent three years at Hobart, Lake County. On June 1, 1916, Mr. Thiel settled at Gary, where he has since been in the enjoyment of a large and representative law practice, with offices at 800 Broadway. He has risen to a high and recognized position in his profession and is a member of the Gary Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He has various business and financial interests and is a director and president of the Lake County Savings & Loan Association and a director of the Gibraltar Bond & Mortgage Company. He is a member of Pigeon Lodge, A. F. and A. M.; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Loyal Order of Moose. Mr. Thiel has been particularly prominent in the Moose, being former dictator of Gary Lodge No. 783, and a life member thereof. This lodge presented him with a gold card and case in appreciation of his work and services, and has already voted his son, John W., Jr., aged twelve years, a life membership in the order, in recognition of Mr. Thiel's work. He likewise belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Rebekahs, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce. Politically a Republican, Mr. Thiel has been one of the standard-bearers of his party, is now serving his fourth term as a member of the Legislature, and in 1930 was a candidate for re-election. He has been one of the working members of this body and has been instrumental in fostering and securing the passage of much needful arid beneficial legislation. Mr. Thiel belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Hobart, Indiana, where the family home is located, although Mr. Thiel's activities are centered at Gary.

At Cass City, Michigan, June 10, 1910, Mr. Thiel was united in marriage with Miss Anna Zinnecker, daughter of John and Elizabeth Zinnecker. Mr. Zinnecker was for many years a shoemaker, following that occupation up to his death in 1926, when he was buried at Cass City, where lies also the remains of his worthy wife, who survived him one year. Mrs. Thiel is a graduate of the high school at Cass City, a member of the Rebekahs and the Order of the Eastern Star, and is serving her second term as senior regent of the Women of Mooseheart Legion. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thiel: Caroline Elizabeth (Betty), a graduate of Hobart High School, class of 1930; Florence Lillian, in her second year of high school work; and John William, Jr., who is attending public school at Hobart.

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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


Deb Murray