Initials follow progress in Hollister
Few people will leave as lasting a mark upon their communities
as Owe C. Samuels.
Initials follow progress in Hollister
Few people will leave as lasting a mark upon their communities as Owe C. Samuels.
Samuels was born in Mandale, Norway, and came to Hollister in 1908. He began a concrete contracting business, where he left his durable mark. In Hollister’s established neighborhoods, the legend, “O. C. Samuels” frequently pops up, accompanied by a date. On Fifth Street, Samuels’ work indicates the neighborhood got its sidewalks in 1910 and 1911.
Samuels continued his trade until he was 80, and died three years later 56 years ago last week. He died on May 21, 1952.
Samuels was the man who built the swimming pool at Bolado Park. The large plunge was for many years an attraction for people from throughout the area. The pool was filled and capped in the 1990s following a fatal accident.
When Samuels died, many of the streets in Hollister still lacked sidewalks and pavement. It was in the same newspaper edition that noted Samuels’ passing that a news account indicated the Hollister City Council had ordered the remainder of Hollister’s streets paved.
