One of Huntington’s premiere defenders

JERRY PERSON

It’s said that justice must be served no matter what the cost or

circumstances.

This was sure true in the case of a car accident between Frank

Froley of Beverly Hills and Sam Talbert. Froley ran into a house

being moved by Talbert, damaging both house and car.

Froley sued Talbert and a trial was set for 6 p.m. on March 10,

1933 at the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

Everyone arrived for the trial in Judge Frank Collier’s courtroom,

Froley with his attorney Franklin West and Talbert and his attorney

Ray Overacker.

But five minutes before the trial was to begin, Mother Nature

stepped in as if to say, “I’m boss here” and when she shuddered, it

was felt from Inglewood to Newport Beach.

The 6.25-magnitude earthquake emptied the courtroom and the trial

was held outside the courthouse under Judge Collier’s spotlight, as

it was now night when the two attorneys began pleading their cases.

This week we are going to look back at the life of one of those

attorneys.

It all began in Tulare, Calif., on March 29, 1891. Sarah Marie

Oliver married Sylvester Overacker. The newlyweds moved to Pixley,

Calif., a short distance south of Tulare to live.

In 1892, our future City Atty. Ray Overacker was born. For five

years, the Overackers farmed the area until 1897 when the family

moved to a small ranch three miles northeast of Fountain Valley.

That area was then known as Newhope and the young Overacker

attended Newhope grammar school.

In 1911, the family moved to Huntington Beach where Ray would

graduate from Huntington High School in 1912.

For a couple of years, Ray worked for the Holly Sugar Co. in

Huntington Beach and in Santa Ana. In 1914, he entered Leland

Stanford University in Palo Alto where he took a law course.

While in Palo Alto he met Irma Bradley, she was from Watsonville,

Calif., but was working in Palo Alto at this time near the

university.

It was at the First Christian Church in San Francisco on July 18,

1916, that the Rev. D.A. Russell married Ray and Irma. After their

marriage, Ray continued his education at Stanford.

In 1917 and all during World War I, Ray worked in the shipyards

for the Los Angeles Shipbuilding Co. and later he worked for Standard

Oil Co.

At this time, Ray attended Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles

where he graduated with a degree in law in 1929. It was during this

year that Ray’s father died and his mother Sarah moved to Santa Ana

to live.

It was on June 3, 1930, after taking a refresher law course that

he was admitted to the bar.

Deciding that Huntington Beach would be the best place to practice

law, he opened an upstairs law office at 112 1/2 Main St. and began

his practice on Oct. 1, 1930.

In early 1932, there was a rift between the City Council and then

City Atty. Lewis Blodget when the city settled a lawsuit without

consulting Blodget.

Bad blood resulted and the council declared that office vacant.

The City Council appointed Ray as the new city attorney of

Huntington Beach on March 23, 1932. He would hold that office for the

next 18 years except for a six-month period in 1937 when Tom Kuchel

temporarily held it.

Irma and Ray had three children: Ray Jr., Gladys and Clifford.

In 1939, the City Council asked Ray to draft a charter amendment

increasing the number of school board members from three to five. It

was also the year that Ray’s mother returned to Huntington Beach to

live.

Ray joined the Orange County Bar Assn. and in 1941 was elected its

president.

As World War II raged, their son Clifford was killed in action.

During those trying times his mother, Sarah, also passed away on Feb.

4, 1944.

Ray was a member of the Huntington Beach Toastmasters Club, a

member of the State Bar Assn. and a member of the California League

of Cities.

While Bill Gallienne served as secretary and manager of the

Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, Ray became its legal advisor

and later a director.

By 1950, Ray had moved his office to 412 Olive Ave. and had his

residence at 1206 Delaware St. Within a short time Irma and Ray moved

their residence next to the office at 412 1/2 Olive Ave.

It was in April 1950 that Ray handed the reins of city attorney to

another great man, Charles Bauer.

As to that outdoor trial between Froley and Talbert back in 1933,

Judge Collier ruled in favor of Talbert and his attorney Ray

Overacker and gave Talbert $100.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.