By Martha Glauthier - Curator, Past President
San Dimas Historical Society
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The bride was crying as she stepped forward and kissed the surprised judge. He had just presented to her, as her first wedding present, the $10 bill that the groom had paid him for marrying them. This was his custom, as was his standard suggestion to every couple that they would be better off , being married in a church. He was proud of the fact that of the 50 couples who came to him to be married by 1942, 20 of them had chosen a religious ceremony. He said, “I’ve had the girls cry when I gave them the fee. After I’d married one couple (through a Spanish interpreter) and had slipped the money to the woman, she almost washed me out of the room.” Judge Fields was born in Missouri in 1887, and educated there. He taught school and ranched in Texas, and studied and practiced law in Oklahoma, before coming to California in 1913. He said if there was a better state, he might move again, but believed there was none. He stayed in the San Dimas/Claremont area until his death in 1965 at the age of 88. Mr. Fields was elected Justice of the Peace in 1938, served in several other courts, and was the first Judge of the Pomona Municipal Court. Judge Fields took pride in evaluating the character of those who came before him, and sometimes arranged payment of fines so that the accused could keep up with his other obligations. The Judge’s staff once figured that in 138 instances of this kind, only four persons had failed to keep their promises, and their total fines were only $33. |
When he was Justice of the Peace, eight boys were brought before him for “snitching” gasoline from private automobiles. The boys considered this only a “prank” and were really sorry characters when they found themselves in the hands of the police. Judge Fields called in the parents, and made an agreement with all of them that if he suspended sentence, the boys would stay home for six months, and not drive unless accompanied by their parents. They all stuck to this agreement, and all of the boys stayed out of trouble from then on. Judge Fields took a very active part in the life of the community. He was President and Director of the San Dimas Water Co. for 33 years, a member of the U. S. Reserve during World War I, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce for twenty years, and fulfilled many other community positions in his time. He was an orange grower, oil well owner, realty agent, insurance and fertilizer agent, and mine owner in the San Dimas Canyon. His first wife, sister of Susan Downs, died of pneumonia in 1936; his second wife, Lena, survived him. He never had children, so the Historical Society has been the grateful recipient of much of his memorabilia. The most visible article is the large oak “Stickley” Secretary/Desk with glass-fronted bookcases on each side. This is at present in the Chamber of Commerce office. It was advertised in the 1908 Sears Catalog at $25, but has been appraised at many times that amount recently. San Dimas has had many interesting and memorable citizens, but few who had as many and varied interests, and who left such an indelible and lasting heritage. |