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Home || Ministries & Organizations || Our History || Calendar || Contact Us || Donations Harry Kockos Autobiography - Chapter 6 Kockos Introduction || <--Go to Chapter 5 || Mr. Le Baron had taken some government orders for next year's business. That was in 1944 -- during the second world war. And though I was still packing jams and jellies as usual, labor was very scarce. One day, several tons of fresh fruit had just been delivered and I was expecting my usual workers to come in and take care of it; only a few showed up. I went down to Third and Howard to hire a few men and finally, after a lot of difficulty, the preserves were made. After that, I closed the doors and stopped packing jams and jellies. But the war ended and my sons would be coming home -- so I decided to keep Enjoy Packing Co. for them. And when the boys finally arrived, Basil was talking about Enjoy and I told him that I had approximately a quarter of a million dollars worth of government contracts. He would let me know within a few days. When we talked about it again the boys said that they would bring a cook in from the eastern states and operate the plant with some newer methods. They also wanted the Enjoy Packing Plant and a loan of $35,000 in cash. I told Basil that the way I saw things, he knew more about it than I did and for that reason, I didn't want him to worry about me or the Enjoy Packing Co. At the same time, I heard several people wanted to buy Enjoy and I immediately called one of the prospective buyers, Mr. Pomaroy. He came to my office to discuss the business and I showed him the government contracts. I asked him for $25,000 for the Enjoy Packing Co. and the equipment and he accepted my offer with a $5,000 deposit. The balance would be paid as soon as the deal was closed. Basil came into my office and I told him that the business had been sold and that he could do whatever he pleased. We both went home and as soon as we got into the house, Basil told his mother - in very strong language - that Pa had sold Enjoy to the highest bidder. With regard to this transaction, I want to clarify one point; I sold the business but retained the building and the corporation. Mr. Pomaroy filled all of the government contracts and made enough money on which to retire. He sold the equipment and the place was rented to a Mr. Nelson who had been occupying part of the building next door. Mr. Nelson also sold his business and retired and the place was rented to another party, Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown operated a cleaning and pressing business and, at his own expense, built another building next door. And though he did very well for several years he eventually went bankrupt and sold his business to the Yuthie Bros. We made a new listing with the Yuthie Bros. for the entire Enjoy building. Meanwhile, I had bought a 200 foot by 75 foot lot on the corner of Fitzgerald and Jennings. And because the government had built several hundred temporary housing units within a block of our location, I decided to construct about a dozen stores, including a grocery market. Thus, my entire lot, 200 feet by 300 feet, including the Enjoy building, was built for commercial purposes. And we did enjoy a nice business. One day, a real estate man came in and told me that he had a building at Gillman and Griffith - about three blocks away from my other property. We went down and looked it over and I purchased it at once for about $3000. The lot itself was 100 feet by 50 feet and included part of the bay. The real estate man found me so easy to deal with that he sold me about an entire block of land. When I went home and told my wife that I had bought a whole block of land, but most of it was in the bay, she began to cry, saying that I couldn't get anything else so I had to buy the bay. The government began a housing project within a block of my property and after some of my land had been filled, I built a few stores to accommodate the new housing development. And when the buildings were finished, our tennants enjoyed a fine business. At the same time, we sold a considerable amount of land and made a nice profit and a few years thereafter the government purchased part of my property that was needed for the construction of a sewer system. Then I purchased a considerable amount of filled land that was located next to my other property. After a considerable amount of time, I saw a block of land between Victoria and Randolph streets; there was nothing on it but a layer of sand, ten to fifteen feet deep. I thought that I could develop a nice business by purchasing the land and building some stores - just as I had done on Fitzgerald and Jennings. I learned that there were several owners on the block and I began buying each 100 foot by 25 foot lot. When I had purchased the entire block (200 feet by 100 feet), I immediately began to move the sand behind the retaining wall that I had built. I built two homes in back of the retaining wall and at the same time I put up a two story commercial building that was 100 feet by 75 feet. On the ground floor we had a food market, restuarant, bakery, and drug store; upstairs, several offices (I had my own office here) and an assembly hall. And fully rented, it brought us an excellent profit. I made the remaining land into a 100 foot by 75 foot parking lot. In 1958, the Giants baseball team moved to San Francisco. Candlestick Park was located about a block from my property on Fitzgerald and Jennings. I decided to put up a modern two story building, the ground floor contained a food market plus a half dozen stores, the upstairs, several offices and a church. All of these rentals have been occupied up to this time. I am extremely proud to say that all the property herewith mentioned has been paid in full. I am still running the business and I love it as much as ever. But because the conditions in the country change so much, I am unable to predict what the future will hold. At the time of this writing I am better than ninety years of age. About three years ago I had a small stroke, but I recovered very well. About a year thereafter, I fell and broke my hip and it left me pretty lame. In closing, I want to say something about the most important thing in my life. After ten years as a grocery man, I married a wonderful woman, Panagiota Christo. Within six years, our four children were born: Amanda, Elaine, Basil, and John. They are all well educated and graduates of different universities. Amanda married Dr. Antipa. Elaine received her teaching credential and taught several years before marrying an attorney, Paul Archbold. Basil married Maria Petropolis and John, Pat Moriarty. The boys went into the real estate business under the name "Kockos Realty." We now have twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. And I am proud to say that our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren are intelligent in every respect, form, and manner. When all of our children were married, our home on 37th and Geary became too large for us. So my wife and I sold our home and were looking for a smaller location.. Because it was my wife's birthday, I wanted to treat her to a nice dinner at a San Mateo restuarant. On our way, we decided to look at a home in Ray Park. After driving all around the park, we saw a big "For Sale" sign at 17 Valdivia Ct. We went inside the gate - there was a lot of oak trees as well as creek, and both my wife I fell in love with the place. I asked the owner what the price was and then made a counter offer - he accepted my offer. But I told him that we were going to dinner and that when we returned we would give him our decision. While eating dinner, I told my wife that if she loved the place that if she agreed with me, I would buy it on our return. She told me that she did love it and to go ahead and give the man a deposit. When we went back we gave him a $5000 check and bought the house. We have lived in paradise ever since. Kockos Introduction || <--Go to Chapter 5 || |