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Redfield, Georgia
1;111ML/ 1..
Mid asx„.19.3. 30_ 9 _1938
nosier Aerehant of Loswell
Member of urn Jaffa irager Conpany 1887
AM. of Primo end Company liar*" 1.ars
From IMO Up to Present Tins.
3idneyI.,Prager, also at the present time is one of the lead.
ing merehents of ;4rowel/. first came to Mew 14023.040 in len.
He was influenced by his brother William b. Prager in eosin'
for the purpose of attendinr the Jesuit College at Albuquerque,
*ash he attended for one pyre returning to his bone at .eittaburge
Pennsylvania in 1882.
He emme west in in 188t end was engaged as clerk for a
in the Pries Brothers Mercantile establishment at 3ftn, Antonio.
exioo eleven miles south ;Jf Soeorro.
In Jane 1887 he removed to Roswell where he became one of the
members of the firs of the Jaffa Prager Company ..iereantile business
organized in ma6. He was associated in the organisation with his
brothcr, 4illian ?racer who was president of the firm and
the Jaffa brothers -bthan,'Larry an Joe. The butanes:, was eon..
Amsted emeeessful4 bv- these progres.ive Vusines, t.tn fox ten years.
During All the ttme of their operation together in the strugeling
little village they es. ivied in all oivio movements for the develop.
sent and upbuilding of oewell, and of the ;ecos Valley, mainly by
extending credit where it was needed f3r eatablithaent of butiness
enterprise:. They Alo assisted n the finemoing of roma interests
and of stock and agricultural industrials for the .eitoos Valley.
In 1896 Jltfa ,:rager Company sold out their mereantile business
to Joyce .2ruit Gompany who after eoming to 1:oswell in 2895 had
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eonductod a general a.rshatstn€ Vastness eoncolidated with the firm
of Xieree and Nalksr that hal previoualy operated at ALAy, now
Carlsbad, Now Maximo°. After baying vat Jaffa :Prager and Company
the ne-ly organised. fir, operating with a oupital stook valued, at
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. snowed ;,idney I.4rager as
clerk. Namillar an r. krager was with the buxlness nethodr ams
ployed for suseesvfully oonduetine the bucinesve be etioiently as.
tasted in building up a firmly established mereantils bueinees that
was extended in broach houses opened, at Artesia in August 1904,
end. at liageraan in July 1906*
After remainiag vith the Joy,* Pruit co*pay two years Ar
in 18)S entered into the mereanille bueiness with Korria
member of the firm operating under the nese of Pries and
tkImpany, at whet is now frewertts laniard and Cigar .4tere„ 212 North
utn treot. later he Vaught out all interests of the business oen.
tinuing operations undtr the name of .rise and i;ospeny*
t1:4 time of the OQUIA6 of ir. zrager and the establishment
or the Jarra .erager Compeer Ysolowell had. made very little programs in
busines advaneement*
By when he became a &ember of the firm of Jrioe and Con.
puny• haves County had been crentet from a part of Lincoln County
had teen =ado ;trunty 3ent. a, °mart house and Jail and a now
three rlom briok school house with a =polo and bell haa bePn built
and the pioneer zrocery store 4i si. hiteman (still in operation)
had been eetebliahid.
All or these .kehlevoments for the advaneement of hoswsll as
somplished during the one year, 189 had been annoueed by a weekly
Lewspaper the ksoos Valley Register ahleh had been established
in November 18GS by James A *win and Louie 0. 2alleIU
In 1890 the f rst bank had ben organize& by
44.
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•;ahoon
vitieh was eAmblished in the slily hotel at that time operate& by
J. Chureh
In 1891 the existence c,f4 the Artesian Basin ha& been disooVer..
ea by oh,Inoe when water euLhed from the to of a surfate well When it
was drilled on the Mathes Jaffa pltoe at what is now 119 oe. Klegarg.
s ,n ^venue.
Very son other artesian wells were !Title& a% •',uth aia end
First LAreets an& at Zorth liain an& Fourth* vith kr. irager an& other
busineeP men of Loswell contributing to the expense of -letting this
dom.
Thousands of sores in the farmine.districts were gut into
oult vatic* that were watered by the underground water sure, *ad
Rosuell-socm beow4 the trading enter of a rich agricultural dietrhst
as well as of ram* and settle interests of 6ontheastern ibrir Itallasio•
In 1891 bi a&viee end influence of Judge Ceranville ARisk's-dam
Roswell 'we ineorporated as a Tillage.
4Juring the summer, 1891 the GOSS Military Institute was is
tabliehei by Q088 a graduate of the Ktintuek7 Military
Institute* who was brought to oseall by Captain Jocegh C. 1444
The year of 1894 (though remembered all the "Herd Time" year)
br,Jeught tLe firtlt railroad to 14swell which wa the extenzion of the
Northeastern allroad from -24,‘ now Carlsbad* and the uallieur
Block* iffiee and club rooms, l',uildinc was compltted and _oswell
Club for eocial p‘vp,. ee was orani7ed•
durin the same yew- of 1898 that 4r rater bowlit tut Morris
ice, and as owner atvumed the manacement 11" the mercantile buoi.
nes of .eriee and i;ompany' the buildings of the Mew i4exiec Military
Institute were oompleted and the school vow; .)pened in the fall for
studem
:fter fifty sueoessfUl4ms unde7 tLe aapable 4anagement of
tr. /rager the bv4ines now conducted by him at 308 North gain 'treet
has beeons one of the foremost general morahandiving establiehments
and as eounted by the years of aoutinmpuo operation krioe
en 4 Company is the oldeot operating at the prevent tire lin ,estbeast
Vivr.160* 114 bee guided the business throuzh many yers, of proem
Perity as weal ae through the hard ones of deprenslon 4fl. has Mtn*
ed araddt and help where in hi -4 judgement it wee needed 11o:A and
has aontributed eemerolu
to every rthy cause. He has truly boon
a friend to tlz eswell ;;;,opl-e Their welfare and thTm. upbuilding of
the city and of :,,autheast 11,L -T A xisa has be -ooze one of the main in.
tereats in his lif.
Ar. krager, the B.= 0;7' -mmemel and Lophie .zr4Ager f £ittar,
2enwiylvania was born in ittsburg June 5* 180, and was educated in
the pUblie sehoolz or.eittaburg vith the exception the year of lin
that be ter4ei the Jevit ";allece it AlbuquertAe New haxieo•
at ‘v4,11 marratit at )aliaa azas in 1896 to gls
ldaughteJ: of 11.L and Henrieta Gc1jn of Dallas) wh:_ aare to Roswell
iz; 189z, to fill tile iac3oe as intuotox o uto in the '‘'..oes
Institute. tour ens (..1L of eltIm were married) were b rn to Ur ami
grm Prager: Willls.rd ,oule, (dceeezet wt,) died. Amy 17, 198) Lemma
No
(deesased„ anuary 24, 1909) La ..or! -111 (with the Unita
ampamy ,matral aLA, tiy, ,j1:: it Government
Internal Revenue a6eut at )evxer, .4aloratio•.here were three grant..
ahl.ldren* he s4ator1.:)uis. ere Avuolo and Caen.* who were born
in Central .:t.meriest 5441 A.01mrtt. the old.e..sI son, vho died in 19:564,
.and. N2re 11.ger have lived continuo,lelz in th hone built
thez 1-)05 at 102 :-outh lAshardsn .A.enue. :hioh hae ever been
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opus to the i,osweil p.ople for soeial gatherings for musleales .0 and
for the enjoyment and. of litesiture. Their t%)pein House
on Jew Years day har become an annual event of the IA, swell soelel
season that has boon lookeu forward to by an the 'kAd Timers* of
;orweell t%r over thirty yes. itirangers are aLmays oordially
owsed at tese recteAion‘ and are craeloway reoeivet at all times
by both '44. and 41x. _rager.
graternaternally kr xTager is a kazon ad n 4.k. U. is a
member of the o wall euntry Clab, of the
the 4rchants Await Astoeiatione
,trs '.racer is a scriber of the lerwell C;rder of lia8tern 'tar,
of the iezwell oman' a 4.1111, the Amerlean Legion .4axidlara
.rioneer 4ock club, and (;hairee Ceunty 'krehasologlete and Histerioal
th Mr and Airs T•siger- are polar leaders in :Al cosial t.nd
busines afAiirs of icewell. They have a large olrele of friends
who a,:reeiate their efftrts in prozoting all educati,Jnal and cultm.
ral detiopments that are instituted for the pleasure and benefit of
the 4,ouwell peoples
zzati ,)22
tInd ...14me
ersanal knowledge of 'triter
of ‘461, el ee:yof