ANDREW P. LEPESH
Slavonian Community Leader
Bio- Sawyers
Having heard of the wonderful opportunities in
California afforded to any man who was willing to work, Andrew P Lepesh
left his native home in far-away Dalmatia to see what America had
offer, and he has not been disappointed, for he came to this county a
poor boy and has attained the success for which he has worked. He
was born in Smokavliani, Dalmatia, on December 11, 1865, and was the
son of Peter and Kate Lepesh, natives of that county, who have both
passed away.
Mr. Lepesh attended the schools of his native land, but gained most of
his knowledge from the severe school of experience which, though
sometimes a dear teacher, yet is a good one. He started to work
at the early age of twelve year, and at the age of seventeen he made
the trip to the United States, coming direct to San Jose, in 1883,
where he had a cousin living, John N. Lepesh, who had come here twenty
years before and who died in 1888. He began to work for
fruit ranchers and was in this line of employment for a period of two
years, when he engaged in restaurant work and continued in this
occupation for about a year and a half. In 1888 he bought the
grocery and fruit store, located in the Rea Building from his cousin's
widow, and in 1910, he and J. S Mise formed a partnership under the
firm name of Lepesh-Mise Company and moved to their present
location at Market and St. Augustine streets, where they are operating
a wholesale and retail grocery business which has proved most
successful.
Mr. Lepesh is an enthusiastic and energetic worker in the interest of
his people and in this work also he has made great progress. His
activities during the war in the various loan drives as a member and
captain of the Slavonian committee, were very commendable, so much so
that he received thanks from the state and received a medal from the
Federal Government for the good which he had accomplished. He is
considered the leader among the Slavonian people, having been president
of the Slavonian-American benevolent Society, and was a member of the
committee from San Jose that made the Slavonian day, September 20,
1915, such a success at the San Francisco Exposition. He is a
member of the Red Men, the Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the
advisory board of the Bank of Italy. In national politics he is a
Democrat, and in all charitable movements he has been a liberal
supporter.