Who Remembers Bert Smith? Bertram “Bert” Smith was born in 1884 in Auburn. He moved to Cathey’s Valley with his father, John Richard Smith, in 1894. John Smith worked in the local mines and raised he son alone. When Bert was 17 years old, he and his father were waiting for the freight wagon that had gone to deliver supplies to the Francis mine. They were hoping to hitch a ride to Indian Gulch and were sitting in the shade behind a stump and a mail box when they heard the Chichizola team coming up the road. A young boy name Wegner who was riding on the team told the driver “watch me put a hole through that box” and grabbed is rifle and fired a shot. The young boys aim was perfect; unfortunately Bert was standing behind the mailbox out of sight and the bullet passed through the mailbox and right into Bert’s right arm. Bert was taken into town and patched up with no serious damage done. Bert’s father worked at the Francis mine as did Bert when he was young. The Francis mine was located between Cathey’s Valley, Ben Hur and Bridgeport. Rose Belle Hogan was born in Mariposa County where her parents, Samuel and Mary (Austin) Hogan had a ranch in the Ben Hur area. Samuel came to Mariposa in the early 1850’s from Missouri and Mary was a native of Mariposa. Where Bert and Rose met is unknown, but on March 16, 1902 they were married at the Arlington Hotel in Mariposa. It is believe that Bert continued working at the Francis mine for the first few years of their marriage. In 1906, Bert was hired to manage the dining room of the Commercial Hotel. The Commercial Hotel was previously known as the Arlington Hotel. Within a short time he had charge of the whole complex. In 1906, Bert was elected as constable for Mariposa and held that office for a year when an offer from the Omparisa mine came to him. He resigned his position as constable and manager of the Commercial Hotel and headed back to the mines. The Omparisa mine was later called the Mount King mine and when work would slow down in the mine he would return to Mariposa and find work at different positions. At one time he worked as a bartender for Reed’s Capital Saloon. At another time he worked for John Trabucco delivering supplies to the mines. During this time two daughters were born to Bert and Rose, one, in 1909, named Mildred and one in 1911, named Violet (Penny). In 1912, Bert was hired to be in charge of the boarding house at the Sunshine /Gold King mine in the Whitlock area. By 1917 he was working back at the Mount King mine. Bert continued to work there, but as he was turning 35 years old, he decided a change in profession was in order. Bert went to Fresno to barber college and in August 1919 opened a barber shop, cigar store and pool hall in the Capitol Saloon building. Undaunted by a fire in April of 1920 he continued to grow in the Mariposa Community. He was elected school clerk and trustee of Mariposa Grammar School. Bids for a new roof to the school could be turned in at the Bert’s pool room. In 1922, Bert brought in one of his in-laws to help run the saloon while Bert worked mainly as a barber. In 1929, Bert Smith took over the movie franchise from C. Flag and began to show movies in town. At the same time he opened up a Novelty Store next to the Barber shop. Bert dropped out of the pool hall in 1931, but continued to expand his barber business. In 1934, he hired Winnie Williams to cut hair in the shop. Their affiliation in business continued until 1951 when Bert retired. He was busy at home with the raising of his grandchildren who had come to live with him and Rose. 1935 and 36 was an eventful year for Bert, first his father died at the age of 79, then Bert’s sister, Mrs. C. R. Morrison from Alberta Canada came to visit him. The two siblings had not seen each other for 28 years. One of Bert’s favorite stories was when Henry Gordon brought him a leather strip that had been used on the Wawona Stage wagon driven by George Monroe, a noted colored stage driver. Bert converted this leather strip into a sharpening strap for his razors. No telling how many customers benefited from this gift. In 1943, Bert and his wife purchased a house one mile north of Mariposa. The little white house would be their home for many years. Today the road that passes by their little house is named “Smith Road”. Also in 1943, Winnie Williams bought out Bert’s interest in the barber shop and moved the business two doors up to the Bogan building. Bert continued to work as a barber but this time he let Winnie worry about the business part. In 1951, Bert finally retired from the barber shop and enjoyed the rest of his time with his grandchildren. In 1960, both he and his wife were moved to the Fremont hospital for care. They died a week apart and are buried in the Mariposa Cemetery. In 1954 Smith Road was improved connecting it with Hwy 140 on the north side. Today Smith road and Williams Road (Named for Winnie Williams) meet at the intersection like two old friends.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:32:11 +0000
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