The Valley of Heart's Delight
ALVIN M. BLOUNT
President of the Retail Grocers Association of San Jose
1922
HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY 508
SURNAMES: WAGERS, WRIGHT
Some men are born with a genius for leadership and no obstacle can
prevent them from attaining the object of their ambition. To this class
belongs Alvin M. Blount, president of the Retail Grocers Association of
San Jose and also proprietor of one of the leading grocery stores in
the city. A native of the South, he was born in Atlanta, Ga., September
7, 1878 his parents being P.W. and Sarah (Wagers) Blount. The father
was a farmer by occupation and in Georgia grew corn and cotton,
remaining a resident of that state until 1893, when he removed to near
Dallas, Texas, where he raised corn, cotton and sugar cane.
The seventh in a family of ten children, Alvin M. Blount attended the
schools of Atlanta, Georgia, to the age of fifteen, when he removed
with his parents to Texas, pursuing his studies in the Northern Texas
Normal College at Denton, from which he received a second grade
certificate. He then went to Parker County, that state, where for a
time he engaged in teaching, and then resumed his studies in the normal
school, working his way through, and received a first grade certificate
as a teacher. Leaving Texas, he went to Pueblo, Colorado, where he
secured a position in the freight department of the Denver & Rio
Grande Railroad Company, acting as a clerk with that corporation for
three years. In 1908 he came to San Jose and entered the shipping
department of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, with which he
remained for nine years. Through thrift and economy he at length
accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to embark in business on
his own account, and in August, 1916, he purchased a grocery store at
the corner of San Fernando and Seventh Streets, choosing a location
near the high school. For three years he conducted that establishment
and then when plans for the new high school were completed it took in
his location, and he then purchased a building at the corner of Tenth
and William Streets, to which he removed his stock, consolidating the
two, remaining in that locality for a year, until March 14, 1921, when
he obtained an option on the old Bluett property at the corner of
Twenty-third and San Fernando streets, transferring his stock to this
store, although still retaining his former holdings on Tenth Street,
which he rents for store purposes. Here Mr. Blount built up a
successful business, thus enhancing the value of the corner to such an
extent that early in 1922 he sold it to great advantage and then
purchased his present location, the old Home Union corner at East Santa
Clara and Twenty-first street, where he conducts a splendid retail
grocery establishment.
His business has rapidly developed and the property has also
become more valuable. His stock is of the hightest grade and he has
ever followed the policy of "Pay as you go". A keen observer, he has
made a close study of the business, comparing his methods of those of
other merchants, and he has become recognized as an authority in this
line, his advice being often sought by those similarly engaged. He
started in the business over five years ago without any previous
knowledge of the trade and through his intelligently directed efforts
has risen to a foremost position in the line in which he specializes,
being president of the Retail Grocers' Association of San Jose and also
a member of State Retail Grocers' Association.
In Austin, Texas, on March 12, 1903, Mr. Blount married Miss Annie R.
Wright, who was born in Paris, that state, a daughter of Calvin Jones
and Mary A. (Rogers) Wright. Her mother was born in Alabama, while her
father was a native of North Carolina, becoming a resident of Texas in
the early days. He followed the occupation of farming and passed away
in 1895. but the mother is still living at the age of sixty-six years.
They had a family of four children, of whom three survive.
Mr. and Mrs. Blount have become the parents of two sons, Alvin H.,
class of 1922, and Travis W., class of 1923, San Jose High school,
after which they will enter Leland Stanford University. Fraternally Mr.
Blount is identified with the Woodmen of the World of San Jose; and he
is also an enthusiastic member of the Chamber of Commerce and the
Merchants' Association of San Jose.
Transcribed by Marie Clayton, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California, published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 508
SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES
SANTA CLARA COUNTY -The Valley of Heart's Delight