Tulare County Biographies

JOHN VAN BLARICOM

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

        Among the citizens of Tulare who have by their earnest lives and the 
conscientious performance of their duties earned the appreciation and good will 
of their fellow citizens, stands John Van Blaricom, who occupies a responsible 
position as foreman in the water department of the city of Tulare. He is a 
native of the state of Minnesota, born on a farm, in March, 1874, the son of 
Philip and Roxy (Bailey) Van Blaricom.
        John Van Blaricom acquired his education in the common schools of his 
home neighborhood and remained with his father during his boyhood years, his 
mother having died while he was a baby. At the age of sixteen years he went to 
work on his own account, working in the woods during the winter season and being 
employed in the Dakota harvest fields in the summers. In 1904 he went to Cuba, 
where for five years he was employed as superintendent of a cattle ranch. In 
1907 he went to Florida, where during the following five years he worked in a 
crate factory. In 1913 Mr. Van Blaricom came to California and for two years was 
employed in ranch work near Tulare. In the fall of 1915 he entered the employ of 
the city of Tulare and two years later he was promoted to his present position, 
in which his sound judgment and his careful and painstaking work have wrought 
splendid results. During the period in which he has supervised the water lines 
of the city he has laid twenty thousand feet of new mains, worked over all the 
old mains and seen that the sewers were kept in good condition, thus maintaining 
the water service at a maximum of efficiency. By his faithful attention to the 
demands of his department, he has shown a commendable loyalty to the interests 
of the community, which has won him the favorable opinion of his fellow 
citizens.
        Mr. Van Blaricom was married to Miss Addie Martin, who was born and 
reared in the state of Minnesota, and they are the parents of one child, 
Virginia. Politically Mr. Van Blaricom is affiliated with the republican party, 
though in local elections he is independent, voting invariably for the men whom 
he believes to be best fitted for the offices they seek.
 
Source:  History of Tulare County and Kings County, California � Kathleen 
Edwards Small & J. Larry Smith, Vol. II, Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing 
Company, 1926. p. 287