A LOOK BACK:Talbert’s wide-ranging impact

This week we’ll continue our look back at the life of one of Huntington Beach’s most prominent citizens, Thomas B. Talbert.

Last week, we learned how Talbert served the people of Orange County as a civic-minded citizen by serving on several boards and committees.

He championed the construction of a concrete pier for Huntington Beach, served on the committee to incorporate Huntington Beach as a city, and this week we’ll learn more about Talbert’s service to the community.

In the early years of the last century, one crop — celery — dominated the area near Edinger Avenue and Gothard Street. The farmers of that area organized a small town to be built that they called Smeltzer.

Smeltzer served as a hub for the railroad to ship the farmer’s celery crops to other parts of the country.

Long-distance communication in those days was scarce, and it was Talbert, along with J.B. Lossing, Ed Lauter, Bruce Wardlow, Sterling Price and others, who brought telephone service to Smeltzer.

They organized the Smeltzer Telegraph and Telephone Co. and began stringing copper wire anywhere they could — on farm fences, on trees — just about any place that would hold their wire. They charged their subscribers in Smeltzer $1 a month per phone.

As you read last week, Talbert owned a Ford agency in Huntington Beach since 1913. He planned to sell the agency and City Garage to W.D. Young and F.M. Clark in 1921, but the transfer of ownership of the car agency wasn’t finalized until April 1922.

In the meantime, the Ford Motor Co. purchased the Lincoln car factory in Detroit in early 1922 to make luxury cars.

The honor of selling the first Lincoln in Southern California goes to Talbert & Co on Feb. 20, 1922, when Talbert sold a Lincoln to Charles Bergey of Orange. Talbert, as sales manager, would’ve signed that historic contract.

Some of Talbert’s later accomplishments include being the first president of the Orange County Realty Board.

In 1904, Talbert donated and helped solicit $10,000 for the Southern California Methodist Assn. to build a tabernacle on the Methodist campgrounds between 11th and 13th Streets on the east side of Orange Avenue.

Talbert served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors from August 1909 to Jan. 3, 1927.

He would also serve as chairman of the Board of Supervisors Assn. of the State of California in 1923.

Talbert led a 12-year campaign to build a coast highway through Orange County.

He led a bitter fight to gain title to oceanfront property for Huntington Beach and he served as president of our chamber of commerce in 1933.

Talbert was a chairman of the Orange County Republican Central Committee and the Southern California Assn. of Republican County Central Committee.

We also have Tom Talbert to thank for getting a naval base established at Anaheim Bay in Seal Beach.

In October 1933, Talbert was named chairman of the Orange County National Defense Assn. with the objective of getting that base in Orange County.

Others serving with Talbert were L.H. Loudon, Anaheim; M.B. Wellington, Santa Ana; Edward Craig, Brea; P.A. Stanton, Anaheim; A.C. Peterson, Laguna Beach; B.Z. McKinney, Santa Ana; and F.L. Crowley, Los Alamitos.

When City Councilman J. Ed Huston resigned from our city council to become acting city postmaster, the remaining council of E.G. Conrad, Chris King, John Marion and E.B. Stevens deadlocked on naming a successor to Huston’s unexpired term and called for a special election Nov. 6, 1933.

Whoever won would serve for only six months and would have to run again for election for a regular term.

In September 1933, Tom Talbert announced his candidacy for a City Council seat vacated by Huston.

Those signing Talbert’s petition included Warren J. Bristol, Anthony Tovatt, Joe Loretz, David White, D.W. Huston, Dr. L.F. Whittaker, Mary Andrews, S.H. White, Gale Bergey and Vernon Brown.

Talbert was pitted against another well-known resident, Willis Warner.

Warner was also running as a candidate for a director seat on the Orange County Water District.

J.K. McDonald was chosen to be Talbert’s campaign manager, while John Whitfield became Warner’s manager.

As the election date approached, things heated up, and the propaganda boys went to work with a letter purporting that Talbert received an irregular commission when the city bought the oceanfront land from the Huntington Beach Co., a charge that was erroneous.

Whether voters believed it or not, this election between Talbert and Warner was even closer than the presidential vote in Florida in 2000.

When all the votes were counted, Talbert edged Warner by just 14 votes — 657 to 643.

Although Warner lost in this election, he did win a seat on the water board.

At the Nov. 13 City Council meeting, the council certified the election of Thomas B. Talbert, and City Clerk Charles Furr administrated the oath of office to Talbert.

If this were the beginning of the 20th century instead of the 21st century, a bronze statute of Tom Talbert would be found somewhere in our city to honor this great citizen of Orange County and of Huntington Beach.