Jacob P. Rettenmayer (1881-1937)

Jacob Paul "JP" Rettenmayer was born 29 June 1881 in Ellwanger, Württenberg, Germany and immigrated in 1901. He apparently had some experience with the brewing industry in Germany, and subsequent to his arrival in the US, he graduated from the Wahl-Heinus Institute of Brewing in Chicago. He followed that by attending the Sheldon School of Scientific Salesmanship, also in Chicago. He next secured a position with the Minneapolis Brewing Company, in Minnesota. JP stayed in Minneapolis only briefly before departing for the West Coast. 

After only six years in America JP is one of the three principals named on the papers of incorporation of the new Acme Brewing Company of San Francisco. He is listed as treasurer, with Leopold Schmidt, president, and William Schuldt, secretary and manager.
JP was not a man of means who merely bought into the venture, but was a focused businessman and trained brewmaster who may have had a letter of introduction to Leopold Schmidt.
 
By 1909 the City Directory shows JP Rettenmayer as president & manager of the brewery. JP was no doubt the "de facto" president from the beginning since Leopold was not residing in San Francisco, but remained at Tumwater.
The directories for 1910 & 1911 lists a Frank Rettenmayer as a brewer for Acme. Frank (Franzc) was JP's younger brother who immigrated in 1909.

In 1916 plans were formulated to establish a co-operative business association with other San Francisco brewing interests. Subsequently, on 17 January 1917, the Acme Brewing Company became part of the the newly formed California Brewing Association, with JP named president of the organization.

On 29 Nov 1917, Leopold Schmidt's youngest child, and only daughter, Phillipine (1895-1989) became Mrs. Jacob Paul Rettenmayer.

Anticipating the passage of national prohibition, JP formed a new company in an entirely different industry. In May of 1918, as president of the Remar Company, he announced plans to begin construction of a bakery at Forty-ninth and Adeline Streets, across the Bay in Oakland. By June of the following year, the Oakland Tribune reported that the large bakery was now turning out 40,000 loaves of bread daily.

With the advent of Prohibition in1920, JP assumes the leadership position of the Calif. Brg. Assn's Fulton St. plant.  This unit was doing business as the Cereal Products Refining Corporation, and produced near beers, malt syrups, Peerless Yeast, and Peerless Vinegar. Obviously, JP had numerous and varied business interests other than brewing. In addition to his Remar bakery, JP established a confectionary plant in San Francisco called Remar Candy. And then he struck out in an entirely new direction.

The following year JP vectors off again. This time he's intrigued with auto manufacturing. The March 27, 1921 Oakland Tribune ran a story on plans to build a new automobile plant, the Tunison Motor Company, in Oakland. The story, complete with photos of the the prototype, gave a lengthy description of the vehicle's innovative design, part of which follows: 

"Features of the Tunison may be said to herald a new era in automobile construction. From the lessons learned in the development of the automobile and the success of aviation, M.C. Tunison, the inventor, has designed a car that combines lightness and strength with efficient performance and economy. From the airplane he has designed an eight-cylinder V-type motor of remarkable lightness and flexibility, possessing the strength to withstand every road condition."

The following November the Tribune printed an announcement from the Tunison Motor Co. in which it named the personnel of its officers and directors. On its Board of Directors was JP Rettenmayer. Apparently the company was unable to raise the necessary capital as the manufacturing facility never materialized. But JP pressed on, and returning to a more familiar venue he established the Samarkand Ice Cream Company, with the head office at 893 Folsom St., San Francisco. The ice cream was marketed throughout the State, and here's a photo of an outlet in South Pasadena. These folk art or roadside attractions were popular in the 20s and 30s.

In September of 1922 JP announced the opening of an Oakland branch of the Remar Candy Company, and that he had leased a property at 2833 Hannah St. for that purpose. About the same time he made some major changes at the Remar Baking Company. By December of 1922 the firm had merged with the Golden Sheaf Baking Co. of Berkeley. Then in 1924 he sold the entire baking business to the Hutton Flour Co., but retained ownership of the plant. The plant is now on the National Registry of Historical Places (#0200328). It's current address is 1010 46th St., Emeryville -  and the plant can be seen here in a recent photo.

By 1933, with Prohibition over, the Schmidt family was no longer involved with brewing in San Francisco. Though JP may have retained a financial interest in the California Brewing Association, he too was no longer actively involved with the production of Acme Beer. However, he was not through with the brewing industry. He, along with Paul L. Schmidt - Leopold's nephew and ex-president of the Salem Brewery Association - made plans to start a new brewery in Oakland. The following is from the 18 June '33 issue of the Oakland Tribune:

"Big Brewery Planned Here - - Plans for the construction of an Oakland brewery at a cost of $275,000 were disclosed yesterday by the recently organized Samarkand Brewing Company, with headquarters at 893 Folsom Street, San Francisco. The proposed plant, it was learned, will have an output of 100,000 barrels of beer annually and will provide employment for a large number of workers. Details as to the location and date when work will start have not been settled. A firm of San Francisco architects has been commissioned to prepare plans. Directors of the brewing company are: J. P. Rettenmayer, Paul L. Schmidt, Frank M. Kenny, Lee M. Olds, Phillip H. Hess, L. A. Enge, and Walter K. Olds. Rettenmayer is president and general manager which operates a plant at the Folsom Street address."

Apparently the necessary capital could not be raised for the Samarkand Brewing Co. and like the Tunison Motor Co., the ventured was cancelled.

But JP, intent on remaining in the brewing business, found that the old Salinas Brewery was available, but in need of some major improvements. His supervisor from his first job with the Minneapolis Brewing Co., Armin L. Neubert, had retired from his Black Hills Brewery, and was residing in Santa Cruz. JP convinced him to come out of retirement and help with plans for his Samarkank brewery and when that fell through he enticed Neubert to help redesign the old Salinas Brewery, for which he would receive equity in the company. The plant was located at 347 No. Main St. and resumed operation as the Salinas Brewing and Ice Company in 1934.
 
Rettenmayer's imprint can be seen with the introduction of their Remar Beer. What at first seems odd - to name a beer after a popular brand of bread - probably appeared quite logical to the pair of German brewers. In the old country they consider beer equivalent to "liquid bread" - and there was just such a product produced in the U.S. prior to Prohibition. However, the brewery also produced brands with local connotations, such as Rodeo Beer and Cypress Beer, plus their primary brands - Monterey Beer and Monterey Ale.

But JP continued to dabble in other endeavors. On 8 February of 1936 a news story reported that the Samarkand Ice Cream Company had been sold, and that the proceeds were to be used to purchase a winery in Monterey County - possibly the La Colma Wine Co. However, there's no indication that those plans were ever realized.

JP continued as president and manager of the Salinas Brewing & Ice Company until his untimely death on 24 February, 1937. He was found below a second story window of the Santa Lucia Inn, ½ mile north of Salinas on the Coast Hwy.  A Neubert family member recalls that contrary to published reports, JP's death was understood to be a suicide. However, as was usual for the time, his death was ruled an accident in deference to the family.

A San Francisco newspaper ran this story on 25 February:

"The body of J. P. Rettenmayer, 56, prominent San Francisco financier and clubman, was returned here from Salinas today. It was found yesterday on the lawn of a Salinas inn. Doctors said Rettenmayer apparently had gone to the window of his room for air, following a heart attack, and had fallen, suffering a second attack. Rettenmayer was founder of the Samarkand Ice Cream Co., president of the Salinas Brewing and Ice Co., and a member of the Commonwealth, Rotary and Olympic clubs in San Francisco."

Jacob Paul Rettenmayer was certainly an imposing figure in the business world of San Francisco in the 20s and 30s. I believe that much of his success was due to his business ethic acquired at Sheldon's school in Chicago. This was a school of salesmanship based on the idea that successful business depended upon rendering a service, and that no transaction was justified unless all parties concerned were to benefit. Dr. Arthur F. Sheldon was a pioneer of the Rotary Club, and coined the phrase "He Profits Most Who Serves Best." JP Rettenmayer certainly profited, and it's no coincidence that he was one of San Francisco's earliest Rotarians