This photo was taken in the 40s when Pomona Box Company was still in Pomona. The three Votaw brothers who run the company (the fourth, Howard, had not yet joined) are pictured in front of the entrance in a formal pose. From left to right: Harold, Vernon, and Clayton. This pose features a clever use of the steps to bring their heads into a line.
This framed set of portraits hangs on the wall today at Pomona Box Company. These four Votaw brothers were the first generation founders of the company. From left to right: Vernon, Clayton, Harold, and Howard Votaw.
Here’s Harold in a formal pose at his Pomona Box Company desk. I like this picture because I see the gentleness in his face, and his three beloved family members in photo frames on his desk.
An aerial view of Pomona Box Company’s shook plant in Pomona, taken in 1951. “Shook” is the name for the type of wood that was used in fruit and vegetable crates – thin slats, not suitable for lumber or woodworking.
Harold Votaw contracted rheumatic fever as a young boy, and the disease caused permanent damage to his heart. His chosen profession, pharmacy, required him to be on his feet for most of the day. (He owned a drugstore in Indianapolis when Dick was growing up.)
Standing and walking all day proved to be too hard on his heart as he got older, and he was advised to quit the pharmacy and get a job where he could sit down. His brothers Vernon and Clayton had started a business in California called Pomona Box Company, and they invited Harold to move his family west and join the firm.
So he moved the family to Whittier, and that’s how our family got to be there. Dick was in high school at the time and graduated from Whittier High School.
While we kids were growing up, Dick worked for his dad at Pomona Box. The company moved to La Habra, in Orange County, but had not changed its name. Dick stayed there until after Harold died in 1963. A few years later, he left Pomona Box, and sold his share of the company to his cousin Don. But Mildred retained her share of ownership in the La Habra property. Much of her income and my parents’ income in retirement was derived from business rentals on this property.
The property (on Imperial Highway in La Habra, California) is still owned by our family, with Clayton’s and Harold’s descendants as partners.
A Brief History of Pomona Box Company
(written by W.T. Boyce in 1980)
Pomona Box Company was established in Pomona, California in 1929 by Vernon J. Votaw AND C. E. Cotton as an office operation only, buying and selling produce shook, mostly for the shippers of oranges and lemons. Mr. Cotton left the partnership in 1935 because of heavy demands of certain contract mills. Vernon found it physically and financially impossible to carry the load; so in 1936 his brother Clayton Votaw joined him. They then began to expand the business and established a warehouse and began to truck their products. In the late 30s and early 40s they handled the shook from several mills and had at one time trucks hauling from Sacramento and Bishop.
The business occupied several locations in Pomona. In 1944, a third brother, Harold Votaw joined the company and they again expanded to do some contract nailing. 1952 showed several changes. Richard Votaw (Harold’s son) and Don Votaw (Clayton’s son) joined the company. The same year Vernon passed away and Howard, another brother joined the company.
Also, that year, industrial box manufacturing started.
In 1955, the move was made to La Habra. In 1963 Harold passed away, and at that time Dick and Don became 1/6th partners with Clayton and Howard. In 1968, Dick resigned, and Don began to buy him out. Don had worked as foreman in the shop since 1956 and he came into the office in 1968.
In 1970, Clayton and Howard retired, and Don, with the help of Robert Shaughnessy of Orvin Engineering bought out the corporation (Pomona Box Company had been incorporated for several years). Legal counsel recommended that the new Pomona Box Company (not incorporated) be owned by two corporations: Votaw Wood Products Inc. and Shaughnessy Wood Products Inc., as equal partners. Don’s son Daryl started working in 1979; in the office and they run the business; Mr. Shaughnessy is advisor on financial matters. The business continues to be a brokerage for shook as it was since 1929, but at a much reduced rate.
The company is also a distributor of corrugated cartons and a manufacturer of produce and industrial boxes and pallets. The premises are leased on a month to month basis from Orvin Engineering Corporation.
Dick’s uncle, Will Boyce, wrote this brief history of Pomona Box Company in 1980. Of course it’s way out of date now, and I hope to be able to update it.
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