Herbert P. Glasier is now president and manager of the Oakland Cream Depot, with which he first became identified as bookkeeper in 1892. His birth occurred in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the 10th of November, 1864, his parents being Rich and Anna Glasier. He attended the graded and high schools until fourteen years of age and subsequently went to Tower City, North Dakota, where he was engaged in farming for two and a half years. On the expiration of that period he made his way to The Dalles, Oregon, where he was employed as a hotel clerk for three years. He then followed farming in Washington territory for a few months and afterward carried on agricultural pursuits in the Sacremento valley of California for two years. Returning to The Dalles, Oregon, he was there employed as a drug clerk until 1892, when he came to Oakland, California, and secured a position as bookkeeper with the Oakland Cream Depot.
In 1893 Mr. Glasier began to institute needed reforms in the milk business. The first thing necessary was an accurate and detailed knowledge of every branch of the business, and he accordingly worked in every department until he knew not only all of the processes used, but their relation to each other, and their effect upon the quality of the product. He then began to institute beneficial changes and among other things did away with the use of preservatives in milk which was then common. Bicarbonate of soda and boracic acid were among those most frequently employed. He eliminated their use entirely in the Oakland Cream Depot and built instead coolers which were found to be very efficient and absolutely without injurious effects. His plan is now generally used in this locality. In 1894 the enterprise was incorporated and Mr. Glasier became its secretary, while upon the retirement of the president, Mr. Bliss, in 1909, he was made chief executive officer of the concern. It employs thirty-eight people in Oakland, has eight cream buyers in the country and utilizes seven wagons and five automobiles. It is the largest butter manufacturing company in Alameda county and the oldest in the city. It was also the first concern in the state to undertake the centralizing of butter making. Its brand is known as the O. C. D. and is a high grade product in all respects. The fineness of its quality is shown by the rapid growth in the number of pounds sold. The first year the output was two hundred and thirty pounds, but now four thousand pounds are used annually in Oakland and vicinity. Much of the growth of the concern is due to the able management and direction of Mr. Glasier, who is widely recognized as a man of excellent business ability and sound judgment.
In June, 1894, in Oakland, Mr. Glasier was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Hefty, by whom he has three children, namely: Harold, who is sixteen years old and attends high school; Eunice, a maiden of fourteen, who is a high-school student; and Alice, ten years old, who is also attending the public schools. Mr. Glasier exercises his right of franchise in support of men and measures of the republican party, being convinced that its principles are most conducive to good government. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World and also belongs to the Junior Order. He is known as a steady, reliable, and persevering man and whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion. This reputation has made him a person on whom his associates can always depend and he is known for his upright character and his straight-forward dealings in both social and business circles.
Past and Present of Alameda County California, Vol. II
Published in Chicago by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1914
Pages 312-313
Transcribed by Linda Jackson 6/19/2008
Alameda County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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