Cone, Ralph M.

R. M. Cone, born in Winhall, Bennington County, Vermont, on May 10, 1878, became a successful resident manager and co-owner of the productive sixty-acre Dexter and Cone ranch near Reedley, California. As the only member of his family to move to the Pacific Coast, he initially worked as a coachman for Rear Admiral H. B. Robeson for four years and later became a foreman for the Vermont Marble Company. His seven years of service with the marble company included working at the branch plant in San Francisco, where he actively contributed to the material reconstruction of the city following the great fire. In 1911, he resigned from his position to purchase an interest in his Fresno County ranch, dedicating his full attention to improving the property from a barren plot with an old house into a highly developed agricultural site.

On June 27, 1912, Mr. Cone married Mary A. Wetherbee in Eugene, Oregon, and the couple subsequently had one son named Marion. Mrs. Cone, a highly educated former teacher and assistant principal who graduated from the State Normal at Monmouth, eventually registered her life teaching certificate upon joining her husband in Fresno County. Under the able management of Mr. Cone, the ranch became a top producer of Thompson seedless grapes, covering fifty-seven acres, after previously serving as one of the largest alfalfa-raising operations in the section. Beyond his independent farming achievements, Mr. Cone extended his community involvement by serving as an enthusiastic member and district correspondent for the California Associated Raisin Company.