So my grandfather was a tile contractor by trade. Although in his youth and before he met my grandmother he worked at the sugar beet factory in Chino. The factory closed in 1917. That looked to be really hard work, so it may have been a blessing. He moved to Pomona and began working at the Pomona Tile Co. Then he took out his contractor’s license sometime around 1924-25 and went into business with Schreiber.
The above gallery looks to be his business card. I mean he got every craftsman in the area to contribute to the building of this dream home. I’m not certain if you’ll be able to make out the content of the story. But my grandfather held a three-day open house to show off the place. Spoil Alert, there was extensive tile work throughout the home. He put it everywhere, and then he put a business office for McWilliams and Schreiber on the north side of the home. Which gave him a permanent showroom for prospective clients.
You’ll notice the date was 11/19/1926. Well my mother was born on 12/18/1926. My poor grandmother had to allow an almost 12 hour public viewing of her new home for three days, at eight months pregnant. My mom and my Uncle Ted loved this house. Unfortunately after my grandfather passed in 1936, they eventually had to sell it.
I went to elementary school just down the block a bit. My mother, when taking us to school, would deliberately drive by it just to see its condition. It went through a lot of hands and abuse. It’s been years since I’ve seen it. I might have to check in and see if it still stands a century later.
I’m not sure if my grandfather would consider it his legacy, but it certainly was one hell of a showpiece in its day.
Leave a Reply